SURPRISE, Ariz. – For the first time in 20 years, No. 13 Kansas Baseball has won the Big 12 Baseball Tournament. Kansas defeated No. 9 West Virginia 9-0 on Saturday in the championship game at Surprise Stadium.
The Big 12 Tournament title is the second in program history and the first for Kansas since the 2006 season. Kansas became the first team to win the Big 12 regular season title outright and the Big 12 Tournament title since Texas in 2009. The shutout was only the second shutout in a Big 12 Tournament title game in conference history, with the other coming in 2005.
With the victory, Kansas has punched its ticket to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship that begins next week. Kansas improved to 42-16 overall and the 42 wins are the fourth most in school history.
“These guys are a special group,” head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “That’s not a good West Virginia team, that’s an elite West Virginia team in all phases. They’re incredibly well coached, they play defense, they’re super offensive and they can pitch. They’re the real deal. To do it against them is a monster feat. When you think of the Big 12 season and 10 weekends, it’s a mountain to climb and every weekend is a battle. Then, you come to weekend 11 and it’s another battle. Super proud of these guys. Great team effort and excited to bring this back home to Lawrence. Hosting a regional in Lawrence is going to be incredible. Incredibly proud, incredibly blessed and very thankful.”
The Kansas pitching staff of Mathis Nayral, Toby Scheidt, Manning West and Boede Rahe combined for the second shutout of the season. Kansas turned three inning-ending double plays defensively in the first, third and fifth innings.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Kansas got out to a lead in the first inning. Owens hit a solo homer for his 14th long ball of the year to give Kansas a 1-0 lead.
• West Virginia (39-14) had runners on base in five of the first six innings, but the Jayhawks had timely defense and pitching to keep the Mountaineers off the scoreboard. Kansas turned three double plays in the game, ending threats in the first, third and fifth innings. With one out and the bases loaded in the fifth, Jordan Bach caught a fly ball in right field and threw out WVU’s Brodie Kresser at the plate to end the frame.
• Kansas extended its lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth. Josh Dykhoff drew a two-out walk and advanced to second after Augusto Mungarrieta was hit by a pitch. Bach then came through clutch at the plate, taking the first pitch he saw through the right side for an RBI single, scoring Dykhoff.
• The Jayhawks added six runs in the seventh inning, starting with an RBI single from Tyson LeBlanc, which scored Dariel Osoria from third. Three batters later, Dykhoff stepped up with two runners on and crushed his 15th home run of the season over the right field fence to give KU a 6-0 advantage.
• After a WVU pitching change, Mungarrieta hammered the first pitch he saw deep to left for his 15th home run of the season and Bach sent his 7th home run of the season out to right, putting KU on top 8-0.
• Kansas added an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth to extend the lead to the final margin of 9-0.
• Boede Rahe closed out the game with three strikeouts in the final 2.0 innings, allowing just one hit.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
Win: Toby Scheidt (5-1)
Final line: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO
Loss: Ian Korn (5-1)
Final line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 SO
SOCIAL POST OF THE GAME
DUGOUT CAM AFTER DUGOUT CAM AFTER DUGOUT CAM ????? pic.twitter.com/94JXW3D1F9
— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) May 24, 2026
NOTABLES
• Kansas won its second Big 12 Tournament title in program history and the first since 2006.
• Kansas became the first team to win the Big 12 regular season title outright and the Big 12 Tournament title since Texas in 2009. The Jayhawks are the fourth team to ever do it (Texas – 2009, Texas – 2002, Nebraska – 2001).
• Kansas has qualified for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship for the seventh time in school history (1993, 1994, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2025, 2026). It’s the first time in back-to-back seasons since 1993 and 1994.
• Kansas recorded only the second shutout in a Big 12 Tournament title game in conference history (May 29, 2005 – Nebraska defeated Baylor, 1-0).
• Kansas improved to 42-16 overall this season. The 42 wins are the fourth most in a season in program history.
• Kansas has at least 42 wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.
• Kansas has set a new school record with 24 wins that have either come on the road or at a neutral site.
• Kansas is now 19-27 all-time in the Big 12 Tournament.
• Kansas is now 4-8 all-time at Surprise Stadium.
• Kansas recorded its second shutout of the season (March 18 vs. Missouri).
• Kansas hit four home runs in the game, marking the fifth time this season that KU has hit at least four homers in a game. The Jayhawks also hit four home runs in the quarterfinals vs. Baylor.
• Owens hit his second home run of the Big 12 Tournament and 14th of the season in the first inning. He also hit a solo homer in the fifth inning of KU’s quarterfinal victory over Baylor.
• Dykhoff, Mungarrieta and Bach hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Dykhoff and Mungarrieta are tied for second on the team with 15 home runs for the season, while Bach is now tied for fifth with seven. This instance marked the first time this season that KU has hit three consecutive home runs this season.
• LeBlanc finished 3-for-5 at the plate, marking the 10th time this season he’s had 3+ hits in a game. He extended his team-leading hit total to 80 for the season.
• Kansas finished with 11 hits against WVU, marking the sixth consecutive game and 36th time this season that KU’s offense produced at least 10 hits.
UP NEXT
Kansas will await its fate to see if it will host a regional in Lawrence or where it will travel for the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. The 16 regional hosts will be announced on Sunday, May 24 at 7:30 p.m. CT via NCAA social media, ESPN bottom line, NCAA press release and NCAA.com.
