The Kansas high school baseball season kicks off on Mar. 19, opening day for regular season action under KSHSAA regulations. Leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2026 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down to the official Prep Baseball Kansas Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a preseason questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2026 preseason coverage continues today.

---

2026 SEASON OUTLOOK

No. of Returning Position Players: 5
No. of Returning Pitchers: 2

Top Returners:

• Brett Rhoades (2026) - 3B, 5'11 175, R/R
  • Also threw 15 innings. Top returning hitter from last year after graduating 10 seniors.

Top Newcomers:

• Kal Lonsdale (2026) - SS/P, 5'9 160, R/R
  • Will play SS and compete for the #1 starter on the mound. So some time last year due to a late injury.
• Karsen Flaska (2026) - C/1B, 6' 185, R/R
  • Will start season as #1 catcher but may see some time at first base.
• Kaleb Roe (2026) - 2B, 5'8 165, L/R
  • Speedy second baseman that also saw varsity time late last year due to an injury.

Key Players Lost:

• Carter Graham - Colby CC
• Tiger Johson
• Johnny Cano
• Ian McGuire

Coach’s Insight: “We graduated 10 seniors last year so have a lot of kids hungry for varsity time after being behind seniors last year. We will have a quick team that will use our speed to create extra bases. We will be somewhat inexperienced this year as many of our juniors and seniors had to wait their turn on varsity after having 10 Seniors on last years team.” – Dustin Dreher, head coach

---

Find more information on the 2026 Hays program below:

+ Follow them on X: @baseball_HaysHi
+ Visit Prep Baseball Kansas’ 2026 KSHSAA Team Previews page to learn more.

+ If you are a high school coach and didn’t receive our questionnaire, please click HERE to fill out the form

---

Related Content