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: 9
No. of Returning Pitchers: 5

Top Returners:

• Sawyer Newton (2026) - SS, 6’2 180, L/R
  • Cloud County CC commit
  • Fabulous speed and defense
• Jackson Goos (2026) - C, 6’1 215, R/R
  • Terrific hitter with power.
• Brayson Gnirk (2026) - 3B/P, 6’2 200, R/R
  • Versatile with great instincts
• Carter Goodpasture (2026) - RHP, 6’0 165, R/R
  • Potential to be the ace of the staff.
• Asher Newton (2028) - 2B, 5’9, 170, L/R
  • Vital part of the offense

Top Newcomers:

• Easton Duff (2027) - LHP, L/L
• Riland Boyer (2027) - INF/OF, R/R

Key Players Lost:

• Carter Aslin
• Sam Spiegel - Washburn

Coach’s Insight: “Our team this year will have really good flexibility in our lineup. I believe that we will hit well, play solid defense and put competitive guys on the mound. Like any team, we will need to rely on pitching and chemistry to make us successful. We have good players returning, so we will now count on us being hungry to compete.” – Don Hess, head coach

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Find more information on the 2026 Manhattan program below:

+ Follow them on X: @MHS_Baseball_
+ 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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