Kansas State in Big 12 championship hunt as best baseball season in a decade rolls on
The Kansas State baseball team is having its best season in a decade, and there are many reasons why.
Head coach Pete Hughes can tell you all about how the Wildcats upgraded talent via the transfer portal last summer or why his team is pitching at a high level or why his players are drawing way more walks and stealing way more bases than they have in previous years.
And yet, he points to something much simpler to explain why the Bat Cats are off to a 31-18 start and seem destined for their first appearance in an NCAA Regional since 2013.
For him, this season has boiled down to peer pressure. After all the other success that K-State athletics has enjoyed during the past academic year, the baseball team felt like it had to win.
“That’s what we do at Kansas State of late,” Hughes said. “We all came here to win Big 12 championships and be national programs. I have certainly enjoyed watching two of our other programs do that. We are just trying to fall in stride with what everyone else is doing around here. It’s a pretty good motivator to watch our football team win a Big 12 championship and our basketball team get to the Elite Eight.”
K-State baseball is on the verge of adding another success story onto a dream year for the athletic department.
The team vaulted all the way up to No. 15 in the Collegiate Baseball top 30 poll this week following a weekend sweep against Southeast Missouri State. You will also find the Wildcats projected to make the NCAA Tournament in several different bracket projections.
And, most importantly, the Wildcats are very much alive in the Big 12 championship race. With an 11-7 conference record, they sit two games back of West Virginia. If K-State can close out the season by winning series against Oklahoma State and TCU, it could put some pressure on the Mountaineers.
“Our main focus right now is trying to win the Big 12,” Hughes said. “It is our goal to be a national program and to stay there. We would love to add winning this conference to our resume. That is what really good programs do. But we’ve got six games left against two good teams. So we’re just going to continue to get better and try to get hot at this time of year.”
It has been a while since K-State has been in the mix for a NCAA Regional or a conference championship.
The program reached its zenith in 2013 when the Wildcats won 45 games, claimed a Big 12 title and then reached a Super Regional. But mostly disappointment has followed.
Hughes, who was hired in 2019, had the makings of a strong team in 2020, but COVID wiped away that season. The Wildcats were solid the following year and won 34 games, but that wasn’t enough to reach the postseason.
Tired of being on the wrong side of the bubble, Hughes decided to make a few changes during the offseason. He brought in Rudy Darrow as the team’s new pitching coach, which has led to a team-wide ERA of 4.72.
The Wildcats have also thrown 429 strikeouts compared to 177 walks. Starting pitcher Owen Boerema is 6-1 with a 3.91 ERA and closer Tyson Neighbors has recorded nine saves.
Hughes also added several key transfers, such as Venezuela native Roberto Pena. He has slugged a team-high 15 home runs this season.
Brady Day is hitting .348 and Brendan Jones has 24 steals.
Plate discipline has been a big point of emphasis. K-State has earned 304 walks this season. Hughes has never been big on stealing, but he has asked his players to run this season, and that has translated into 101 steals on 123 attempts.
Add it all up, and the Wildcats are playing more aggressive than they have previously been known for.
That has helped them win a lot of games and keep up with other teams on campus.
“I just thought we were athletic enough to do it,” Hughes said. “I had to get out of my comfort zone as a coach. I always try to coach to what our personnel allows. To be able to be more athletic and to run and to put pressure on a defense helps you in so many ways. But you have to have the guys to do it. This year, we do.”
