Dan Fitzgerald, the head coach of the Kansas baseball program, has been crowned the 2026 Baseball America College Coach of the Year, a testament to a four‑year transformation that began when he took over a team that was mired in the bottom of the Big 12.
Under Fitzgerald’s guidance the Jayhawks captured three championships in 2026: the Big 12 regular‑season title, the Big 12 tournament crown and the Lawrence Regional championship, propelling them into the Super Regionals and marking their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The 2026 season will be remembered for its statistical dominance: Kansas posted at least 45 overall wins, 20 conference victories and 20 road wins, while tying the school record for total wins and establishing new marks for conference wins, road wins, series victories, home runs, slugging percentage and pitching strikeouts.
Historic Milestones
Kansas finished the year ranked 11th nationally in home runs and walks, 16th in winning percentage and tied for 21st in batters struck out, while also ranking among the top five teams nationwide with multiple double‑digit winning streaks.
The program’s resurgence was underscored by its performance in the Big 12, where it emerged as one of only two teams to win both the regular‑season and tournament titles outright, a feat that helped secure a top‑10 national ranking.
Fitzgerald’s impact extended beyond the diamond; 19 of his players have signed professional contracts over his first three seasons, and the team logged 81 regular‑season victories in the last two years — the most of any Big 12 counterpart.
A Legacy in the Making
The accolade makes Fitzgerald the 40th coach in history to receive Baseball America’s Coach of the Year honor and the fifth from the Big 12, cementing his place among the conference’s most celebrated mentors.
Having inherited a last‑place squad in 2022 and turned it into a national contender with a 144‑90 record over four seasons, Fitzgerald’s journey exemplifies how strategic leadership can rewrite a program’s destiny.