After playing exclusively first base for Kansas in 2025, Brady Ballinger will take his talents to the outfield this season. Head coach Dan Fitzgerald said Ballinger played almost exclusively left field in the offseason in an effort to open up things in the Jayhawks’ lineup.
Part three of our Kansas baseball roster preview looks at who else may be lining up in the outfield.
Ballinger cementing role in left field
The D1Baseball Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year returns to Kansas with a lot of national attention. Ballinger was also named a Preseason First Team All-American and a top 100 MLB Draft prospect.
The hype for Ballinger comes with good reason. The junior returns on the heels of a D1Baseball Third-Team All-American season and an invite to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training camp over the summer. Ballinger slashed .353/.495/.670 for the Jayhawks in 2025, while tallying 21 doubles, 16 homers, 56 RBI and 56 walks.
The hitting numbers speak for themselves, and now the biggest adjustment will be the move defensively to the outfield. Back in the fall after Kansas scrimmaged Kansas State, Fitzgerald compared Ballinger to a former bat-first MLB outfielder.
“He’s kinda got a little Lance Berkman look to him in the outfield,” Fitzgerald said. “Super confident catching fly balls. Brady’s kind of super confident doing everything, so fully anticipate that to be a real thing.”
Kansas relying on transfer portal additions in other outfield spots
To no one’s surprise at this point, the other two outfield spots are likely to be occupied by transfers. Fitzgerald tabbed Cowley Community College transfer Cade Baldridge as a starter somewhere in the lineup in one of his “Fitz Fridays.”
That spot is likely center field, another move to the outfield after Baldridge primarily played on the infield for Cowley. Baldridge slashed .328/.475/.544 in 57 games in 2025, scoring 73 runs and driving in 42 to go along with 24 stolen bases.
Another potential contributor in center is David Hogg II. Hogg appeared in 12 games for national champion LSU in 2025. Out of Mansfield High School, Hogg ranked as the no. 79 high school player in the 2024 class.
The well-traveled graduate student Jordan Bach may get the bulk of the playing time in right field. Kansas will be Bach’s fourth school in his fifth season, spending time at Southern Illinois Carbondale, Northeast Oklahoma A&M, and Saint Xavier University.
Bach, a native of Ladner, British Columbia, tallied 19 doubles, 11 homers, 41 RBI, and 48 walks for Southern Illinois Carbondale in 2025. He also can fill in at catcher if needed.
The Jayhawks also have Tyson Owens, Savion Flowers, and utilities Landen Lozier and Gavyn Schlotterback as potential contributors in the outfield.