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: 4
No. of Returning Pitchers: 3

Top Returners:

• Caleb Hynek (2027) -  INF/P, 5’9”, 170, R/R
• Jack Macke (2026) - INF/P, 6’4”, 175, R/R
• Kamden Schmitz (2026) - P/OF, 6’3”, 190, L/R
• Carter Hajek (2026) - OF, 5’10”, 215, R/R
• Levi Thomas (2027) - C, 5’10”, 185, L/R
  

Top Newcomers:

• Jackson Haverkamp (2027) - UTL, 5’11”, 175, R/R
• Carter Stallbaumer (2028) - INF/P, 5’8”, 150, R/R

Key Players Lost:

• Sam Nordhus
• Evan Olberding
• Reese Gerety
• Derek Wurtz 

Coach’s Insight: “We have a competitive group back from last year. Our returners have a lot of experience (3 and 4 year starters) and we should be able to rely on our team defense to make plays for our young pitchers. We lost most of our offensive production from last year. We’ll have a lot of new faces in the lineup with not a lot of Varsity experience.” – Schuyler Mayberry, head coach

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Find more information on the 2026 Nemaha Central program below:

+ Follow them on X: @centralnemaha
+ 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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