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: 3
No. of Returning Pitchers: 5

Top Returners:

• Max Thornhill (2026) - 1B/3B, 5'10 190, R/R
  • Disciplined hitter that uses the entire field.
• Cory Kirchner (2027) - P/OF, 6'3 190, R/R
  • Covers a lot of ground in the OF, plus arm with a great frame.
• Ben McDermott (2027) - P/C, 6'1 210, R/R
  • Best arm out of the bullpen last season, lots of pop.
• John Hornback (2027) - P/UTL, 6' 165, R/R
  • Top athlete in the 2027 class, comes into the season with two years of varsity experience.
• Hayden Wren (2026) - P/UTL, 6' 160, R/R
  • Threw 16 innings on varsity last season and looks like he will take a big step forward this season.
    

Top Newcomers:

• John West (2027) - P, 6' 155, R/R
  • Threw 9 innings on varsity last season, has a live arm with lots of action.
• Billy Burns (2026) - OF, 6' 170, R/R
  • Good speed, covers lots of ground in the OF, great competitor.
• Dane Mossiman (2026) - P, 5'11, R/R
  • Should be a great addition to our staff, excited to see his role develop this spring.
• Dalton Ashley (2027) - UTL, 5'11 170, R/R
  • Can do a lot of things offensively, should be a great addition to our lineup.
• Jude Battles (2027) - C/OF, 5'9 170, R/R
  • Has lots of tools and versatility, ready to make an impact.
• Brody Hills (2027) - C/OF, 5'8 160, R/R
  • Has an opportunity to make an impact behind the plate this season.

Key Players Lost:

• Jack Larsen 
• Brogan Jaworski - Benedictine
• Cal Clark - Washburn
• Garrett Colgan 

Coach’s Insight: “Our squad returns a lot of arms that have varsity experience. Team defense should be solid and a lot of juniors will get opportunities to compete for starting positions. We will replace a lot of our lineup from last season, but this group has a lot of tools to work with. We have a smaller senior class than the 2025 class, so we will lean on those juniors and sophomores to step up this season.” – Mike Consiglio, head coach

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Find more information on the 2026 St. James Academy program below:

+ Follow them on X: @Baseball_SJA
+ 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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