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2026 OSSAA Team Preview: Kiefer Trojans

February 19, 2026
Prep Baseball Oklahoma Staff

The Oklahoma high school baseball season kicks off on Feb. 23 for classes A and B and Mar. 1 for classes 2A-6A, opening day for regular season action under OSSAA regulations. Leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2025 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down to the official Prep Baseball Oklahoma 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.

High School: Kiefer
Head Coach: Sheldon Fairchild (40)
Classification: 3A
2025 Record (Finish): 21-12

 

2026 SEASON OUTLOOK

No. of Returning Position Players: 8
No. of Returning Pitchers: 6

Top Returners:

  • Trent Cantrell: P/1B, JR, 6’1, R/L 
  • Daxton Smith: P/2B, SO, 5’7, R/R
  • Landon Ruggieri: P/3B, JR, 5’7, R/R
  • Phillip Crabtree: P/CF, SR, 5’8,  R/R
  • Rhyder Stephens: P/INF, SO, 5’7, R/R

Top Newcomers:

Key Players Lost:

  • Owen Murphy 

Coach’s Insight: “Pitching and defense will be strengths of our team. A weakness of our team could be scoring runs.” – Sheldon Fairchild , head coach

Outlook: Kiefer returns a bult of a talented roster from a season ago that appears primed for a deep run in 3A. They will be led with a stout rotation that also offers depth that should pay dividends down the stretch when we get into postseason play. Throughout the year, Coach Fairchild will undoubetdly learn a lot about just how deep that staff is and be prepared in May. Defensively, they will also offer versatility with athleticism around the diamond and should be sure-handed. Throughout the spring, the challenge will be consistent offense and finding a way to score runs against high-level arms. Expect Kiefer to win with the traditional championship formula of pitching at a high level and steady defense to back it up.

Find more information on the 2026 Kiefer program below:

+ Visit Prep Baseball Oklahoma’s 2026 OSSAA 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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