The Kansas baseball program made history on Friday night, winning their first regular season conference championship since 1949.
program finds itself atop the conference standings after the No. 14 ranked Jayhawks narrowly defeated BYU 7-6 at Miller Park in Provo, Utah, on Friday night.
The win, plus the loss by No. 9 West Virgina to TCU, gave the Jayhawks the Big 12 crown outright. It’s the first conference title for the KU baseball program since 1949 when the Jayhawks won the Big Seven Conference under then head coach William “Red” Hogan. May 16, 2026) and moves the Jayhawks to 39-15 overall.
Friday’s win also gives KU 20 road wins on the season – matching a school record – and their eighth conference series win of the year, which sets a new school record. The Big 12 title is the crowning achievement thus far of head coach Dan Fitzgerald’s career at Kansas.
The 2025 Big 12 Coach of the Year has led KU to rapid growth of these past four years and has now left his mark on the university for years to come.
"It feels pretty good. I'm so proud of these guys," Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald said.
"This is four years in the making. It's our families, it's all of our wives. It's the entire Jayhawk Nation, it's our administration and it's hundreds of people who have led to this moment. It's pretty special.
"The Jayhawks have solidified the No. 1 seed in next week’s Big 12 Tournament, which begins Tuesday, May 19, in Surprise, Arizona – the spring training home of the Kansas City Royals. As the top seed, KU will play its first game of the tournament on Thursday against the game winner of the No. 8 seed versus either the No. 9 or No. 12 seed.
The Big 12 crown also likely secures the Jayhawks a spot as a regional host in the NCAA Tournament, which begins May 29. That means all of KU’s games in the regional stage of the tournament will be played in Lawrence at Hoglund Ballpark – eliminating travel and giving the Jayhawks a big homefield advantage against their opponents.
But first, KU will finish off their three-game series against BYU on Saturday with a chance to make more history with another win. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN+. A Topeka native and lifelong Jayhawk, Dillon Davis was born into the fandom during a Kansas basketball NCAA Tournament run in the early ‘90s.
Since graduating from the University of Kansas in 2014, he has channeled that passion into sportswriting, contributing thousands of stories to the KU beat since 2018. Following tenures at Armchair Media and Fansided, Dillon joined Kansas on SI in May 2025 to bring his unique storytelling and deep-rooted perspective to Jayhawk fans across the country. KC Sports Network is the premier destination for Kansas City sports fans with podcasts, YouTube and social media content.
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