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.

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2026 SEASON OUTLOOK

No. of Returning Position Players: 6
No. of Returning Pitchers: 10 

Top Returners:

• Brody Epke (2026) - CF/P, 6-1 185 lbs, L/L 
  • Omaha signee
  • True 2-way guy and is our ace on the mound. Returned from Tommy John last year. Should be our frontline starting pitcher and starting CF. All-State OF and 1st team All-AVCTL OF as well.
  • 2025 Stats: .355 AVG, .495 OBP, .500 SLG, 27 H, 7 XBH, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 31 R, 11 SB.
• Keegan McLachlan (2027) - P, 6-0 190 lbs
  • Was a starter as a sophomore for us. Will be starting pitcher again this year. All-league honors as a sophomore.
  • 2025 Stats: 29 IP, 3.211 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 3-0. 
• Kanyon Akers (2026) - RF/P, 5'10 170lbs
  •  Kanyon was our back-end guy by the end of the year. Had off-season shoulder surgery so his status on the mound is unknown right now. All-League pitcher/outfielder as a junior.
  • 2025 Stats: .337 AVG, .411 OBP, .434 SLG, 28 H, 5 XBH, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 21 R, 8 SB; 28 IP, 0.76 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 3-0.
• Logan Rogers (2027) - P, 6'3 220 lbs
  •  Logan will compete for a starting spot in the rotation. Looking for a bounce back year. Has been a varsity arm for two years already.
• Cole Haynes (2028) - P/OF, 6'4 195 lbs
  • As a freshman, Haynes became a starter in the rotation and everyday outfielder by May. He threw the first no-hitter in Maize South HS history vs Goddard HS on 4/8/25.
  • 2025 Stats: .333 AVG, .371 OBP, .364 SLG, 11 H, 1 XBH, 1 RBI, 8 R... 18 IP, 2.71 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 1-0.
• Kade Cary (2027) - C/DH/RP, 6'1 230 lbs
  • Kade was an All-State and All-League player last year for us. We will look to use him on the back-end of games this year on the mound as well.
  • 2025 Stats: .390 AVG, .489 OBP, .519 SLG, 30 H, 9 XBH, 27 RBI.
• Connor Muccaccio (2026) - LF, 5'9 160 lbs
  • Connor was our everyday LF and was 1st team All-AVCTL last year.
  • 2025 Stats: .356 AVG, .453 OBP, .397 SLG, 26 H, 2 XBH, 14 RBI, 24 R, 13 SB.
• Cy Stucky (2026) - 1B, 6'7 230 lbs
  • Cy is signed to play basketball at Washburn. He is an All-State basketball player and was All-League last year for us at 1B.
  • 2025 Stats: .267 AVG, .483 OBP, .350 SLG, 16 H, 4 XBH, 12 RBI, 13 R.
• Tanner Herrington (2026) - SS, 6'0 160 lbs
  •  Tanner is our leader up the middle on defense and was an All-League shortstop last year. He had a .936 field percentage last year at SS.
    

Top Newcomers:

• Levi Hansen (2027) - UTL, JR, 6'0 200 lbs
  • Levi is a move-in from Maize HS and will be an impact bat in the middle of the order for us. We are looking for him to be our 2B/3B everyday guy as well.
• Grayden Lillig (2026) - UTL, 5'10 180 lbs
  • Grayden is looking to be our everyday 2B/3B guy as well. He came off the bench last season as junior.
• Brock Epke (2028) - C/3B/P 6'3 195 lbs
  • Brock will compete for time behind the dish, 3B and on the mound. He has a big time bat as well. He could emerge as a middle of the order hitter. 

Key Players Lost:

• Tate McNew - Butler CC

Coach’s Insight: “The Mavericks enter 2026 with an experienced varsity roster returning. Maize South returns 145 innings on the mound and over 75% of last season's at-bats. A school rich in tradition and excellence has not won a postseason game since 2022 and have not been to state since 2021.” – Andy Preston, head coach

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Find more information on the 2026 Maize South program below:

+ Follow them on X: @baseball_mshs
+ 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

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