Okay-State Faces Utah in 2026 Big 12 Championships

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Okay-State heads into the 2026 Big 12 Baseball Championships because the No. 11 seed and can face 10^th-seeded Utah within the opening spherical Tuesday at 10 p.m. CT at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona.

The 12-team discipline is ready for the 2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament introduced by Allstate at Surprise Stadium – the spring coaching dwelling of the Texas Rangers – with KU securing the No. 1 seed within the occasion. The Jayhawks claimed the common season title and will likely be joined by West Virginia, Arizona State, UCF, Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, TCU, Baylor, BYU, Utah, Kansas State and Texas Tech. Eight of the 12 groups collaborating within the occasion have an RPI of 60 or higher, with 4 within the top-30.

The 2026 Tournament will likely be performed at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona for the primary time and will likely be a single-elimination format. All-session and single-session tickets for the 2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament introduced by Allstate could be bought here.

 

Tuesday’s contest will broadcast on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, whereas radio protection is on the market on the Okay-State Sports Network. A free reside stream audio is on the market for Okay-State baseball video games at kstatesports.com/watch and on the Okay-State Sports app.

How to comply with the Cats: For full data on Okay-State Baseball, go to www.kstatesports.com and comply with the group’s social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

GAME 55

No. 11 Okay-State (28-26, 11-19 Big 12) vs. No. 10 Utah (26-24, 12-18 Big 12)

Tuesday, May 19 // 10 PM CT // Surprise Stadium // Surprise, AZ

Projected Starters: James Guyette (6-4, 5.69 ERA) vs. RHP Demitri Diamant (2-1, 3.16 ERA)

Watch: ESPN+ // Kyle Youmans, Alex Coil

Radio: Okay-State Sports Network // Brian Smoller, Matt Wallters

Listen: kstatesports.com/watch

Live Stats: kstate.statbroadcast.com

 

THE MATCHUP

Okay-State (28-26, 11-19 Big 12) heads into the 2026 Big 12 Baseball Championships because the No. 11 seed and can face 10^th-seeded Utah (26-24, 12-18 Big 12) within the opening spherical Tuesday at 10 p.m. CT at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona … The 12-team discipline is ready for the 2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament introduced by Allstate, with KU securing the No. 1 seed within the occasion … The Jayhawks claimed the common season title and will likely be joined by West Virginia, Arizona State, UCF, Oklahoma State, Cincinnati, TCU, Baylor, BYU, Utah, Kansas State and Texas Tech … Eight of the 12 groups collaborating within the occasion have an RPI of 60 or higher, with 4 within the top-30.

 

FOLLOW THE CATS

Tuesday’s contest could be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app whereas radio protection is on the market on the Okay-State Sports Network  … A free reside stream audio is on the market for Okay-State baseball video games at kstatesports.com/watch and on the Okay-State Sports app … Fans can even comply with alongside opening weekend motion via reside stats by visiting the group’s schedule web page or on the Cats social media platforms (@OkayStateBSB).

 

THE TOURNAMENT FIELD

Tuesday, May 19

Game 1 – No. 9 BYU vs. No. 12 Texas Tech – 4:30 p.m. – ESPN+

Game 2 – No. 10 Utah vs. No. 11 Kansas State – 8 p.m. – ESPN+

 

Wednesday, May 20

Game 3 – No. 8 Baylor vs. Game 1 winner– 4:30 p.m. – ESPN+

Game 4 – No. 7 TCU vs. Game 2 winner – 8 p.m. – ESPN+

Thursday, May 21

Game 5 – No. 4 UCF vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State – 9 a.m. – ESPNU

Game 6 – No. 1 Kansas vs. Game 3 winner – 12:30 p.m. – ESPNU

Game 7 – No. 2 West Virginia vs. Game 4 Winner – 4:30 p.m. – ESPNU

Game 8 – No. 3 Arizona State vs. No. 6 Cincinnati – 8 p.m. – ESPNU

 

Friday, May 22

Game 9 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner – 4:30 p.m. – ESPN+

Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner – 8 p.m. – ESPN+

Saturday, May 23

Game 11 – Championship Game – 4:30 p.m. – ESPN2

All instances listed in MST.

 

A LOOK AT Okay-STATE

The Wildcats enter Big 12 Baseball Championships because the No. 11 seed after wrapping up the common season 28-26 general – their seventh consecutive profitable season – with an 11-19 convention mark … The Wildcats are hitting .298 as a group with 129 doubles, 9 triples and 85 homers, the fourth-most within the league … The group’s 85 dwelling runs rank fourth general in Okay-State historical past … Five on a regular basis starters are hitting north of a .300 clip, led by Dee Kennedy’s .359 common … Carlos Vasquez follows Kennedy at .346, with AJ Evasco (.342) and Ty Smolinski (.338) trailing carefully behind … The pitching employees boasts a 6.08 ERA, hanging out 473 with opponents hitting .288 … Junior right-hander James Guyette (6-4, 5.69 ERA) will get the beginning on the mound for Okay-State … Guyette has struck out 99 batters this season, rating fifth general within the league and 31^st nationally.

 

SCOUTING UTAH

Utah (26-24, 12-18 Big 12), which enters the match because the No. 10 seed, is headed into its first-ever Big 12 Championship after falling quick final season … Utah completed 5-5 in its final 10 video games of the common season … In the common season finale, the Utes jumped out to an early 5-0 lead however in the end fell 11-10 to Baylor within the sequence rubber sport, because the Bears scored three within the ninth … Utah is hitting .308 as a group with 100 doubles, 10 triples and 63 dwelling runs … Jake Long leads the offense with 27 extra-base hits (14 doubles, two triples, 11 dwelling runs) and 56 RBI … The pitching employees boasts a 6.65 ERA (319 ER, 432 IP) with a 1.80 strikeout-to-walk ratio …

 

INSIDE THE SERIES

The Wildcats lead the all-time sequence 9-3 … Utah claimed the regular-season sequence in March, 2-1, whereas Okay-State swept the Utes within the first-ever convention sequence final season … Okay-State has outscored Utah, 116-60 … In the Hughes period, Okay-State is 5-3 in opposition to Utah … Tuesday’s contest marks the primary assembly between the 2 squads within the convention match, nevertheless, the Wildcats are 5-1 when taking part in in impartial territory vs. the Utes.

 

LAST 5 MEETINGS

W, 13-2 – March 15, 2025 (Manhattan)

W, 14-2 (7) – March 16, 2025 (Manhattan)

W, 8-5 – March 27, 2026 (Salt Lake City)

L, 11-13 – March 28, 2026 (Salt Lake City)

L, 14-16 – March 29, 2026 (Salt Lake City)

 

CATS IN THE TOURNIE

Okay-State heads into its seventh consecutive Big 12 Baseball Championships … The Wildcats are 22-29 all-time on the Big 12 Championship, whereas it’s the first assembly in opposition to the Utes within the postseason … The Cats’ three wins in 2021 season’s match had been probably the most in any Big 12 Championship match … Okay-State is 8-11 on the convention match beneath Hughes.

 

TOURNAMENT BREAKDOWN

Kansas (22-8) is the top-seeded group within the 12-team discipline after clinching its first Big 12 common season title in program historical past … The Jayhawks earned a double bye … West Virginia (21-9) earned the second seed and a double bye … Arizona State (19-11) secured the No. 3 seed after holding the tiebreaker over UCF as a consequence of its 2-1 sequence win originally of May … UCF (19-11) rounds out the highest 4 seeds and can open Thursday’s slate of video games in opposition to No. 5-seed Oklahoma State (18-12) because the final pair of groups to earn the double bye … TCU (17-13) will look to make its return to the Big 12 Tournament last because the No. 7 seed … Baylor (14-16) grabbed the No. 8 seed and the ultimate single bye … The Tournament will start Tuesday, May 19 a with No. 9-seeded BYU (14-16) taking over No. 12-seeded Texas Tech (10-20), adopted by No. 10-seeded Utah (12-18) squaring off with No. 11-seeded Kansas State (11-19).

 

SEMICATS

Two Wildcats have been named semifinalist by nationwide organizations for his or her performances on the diamond in 2026 … Okay-State’s Dee Kennedy was chosen a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award by USA Baseball, which honors the nation’s high newbie baseball participant … Additionally, he was voted a semifinalist the for the Dick Howser Trophy, awarded yearly to the highest collegiate participant primarily based on two rounds of nationwide voting by National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association members since 1987 … Senior catcher Bear Madliak was chosen as a semifinalist for the 2026 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award introduced by Hasty Awards, introduced by the Wichita Sports Commission.