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: 7
No. of Returning Pitchers: 7

Top Returners:

• Tyler Birch (2026) - INF/P, 6'0, 205 lbs
  • 2025 Stats: .419 AVG, 26 H, 21 RBI; 3.65 ERA
• Killian McCann (2026) - IF/P, 5'10, 180 lbs
  • 2025 Stats: .308, 20 H, 6 RBI, 16 R, 2.87 ERA, 2-1
• Lane Smith (2026) - OF/P, 5'10, 165 lbs
  • 2025 Stats: .338 AVG, 22 H, 4 RBI, 26 R
• Landon DeVader (2027) - IF/P, 6'4, 175 lbs
  

Top Newcomers:

• Dayson Jacobsen (2028) - C, 5'10 170 lbs, R/R
  • WIll have to come in and catch every game after getting 1/3 of reps last year. Will have to be huge for us to have the success we think we can have this season.

Key Players Lost:

• Kodyn Moylan 

Coach’s Insight: “Our senior class has been starting since they were freshman so we will have to rely on their leadership and abilities this season. We will go as they go. Our offense has been our weakness the last couple of seasons. We need to put the ball in play and then use our team speed to cause problems for teams on the base paths.” – CJ Marple, head coach

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Find more information on the 2026 St. Marys program below:

+ Follow them on X: @SMBearsBaseball
+ 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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