How ‘battle days’ — and LASIK — juiced MLB Draft outlook for K-State’s Dee Kennedy
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Dee Kennedy experienced frequent ‘battle days’ during his freshman college season.
- Kennedy hit .209 with 17 RBIs and four stolen bases as a freshman at Texas.
- Kennedy flipped the script at Kansas State and has become a top-100 MLB Draft prospect.
At Dondreone “Dee” Kennedy’s North Texas high school, Prestonwood Christian Academy, there are only three types of days you can have on a baseball field.
There are “routine” days. There are “click” days, when everything feels great and is going right. And then there are “battle” days, the days when you’re slumping at the plate or struggling in the field and you have to fight your way back.
Kennedy had a lot of battle days in his first year of college baseball. Two years before his breakout junior season as Kansas State’s shortstop, he was playing second base for Big 12 rival Texas, still struggling with the jump to the college game.
“I feel like I had a lot of challenges there,” Kennedy said. “But it built me into who I am now.”
As a high school senior, he batted .438, drove in 32 runs and stole 18 bases en route to all-state and District MVP honors. In his first season with the Longhorns, he hit just .209 with 17 RBIs and four steals.
The mindset he had adopted in high school, of fighting through the tough days and getting to the days when everything was clicking, kept him going. That was no small feat: He also placed high expectations on himself.
“During those battle days, you’ve got to still go out there with the same mindset that you would go out there whenever you’re doing good,” Kennedy said. “Knowing that I could still be myself and play how I normally would, even though I’m battling — that helped me out big-time.”
After his freshman year with Texas, Kennedy transferred to K-State. He flourished in Manhattan, improving in nearly every offensive statistic during his sophomore season. His real breakout came in his junior year, when he hit .357 with 69 RBIs and 20 home runs — all team highs.
Along the way, he established himself as a top-100 prospect in the 2026 MLB Draft (Saturday-Sunday in Philadelphia).
So how did Kennedy blossom from a struggling freshman into one of the best shortstops in the country?
Some will point to his LASIK eye surgery, a procedure that uses a laser to correct vision issues. Kennedy underwent the procedure after his sophomore season, before his name began appearing more frequently on awards ballots and draft boards.
Kennedy and the people around him would tell a different story: His success isn’t just the product of a medical procedure, it’s the result of hours of work and a thirst for knowledge.
From battle days to breakout
K-State baseball coach Pete Hughes knew the type of player Kennedy could be long before the shortstop set foot on campus. He had recruited Kennedy heavily when the shortstop was in high school and jumped at the chance, a second chance, to sign him.
“He was our No. 1 recruit for two years, maybe even three years before that,” Hughes said. “We knew what kind of player he was going to be. We just wanted to get him in our system.”
That system prides itself on player development, specifically in the middle infield. K-State is one of two programs in college baseball with four or more middle infielders selected in the top-10 rounds of the MLB Draft in the last three years.
In his first season in Hughes’ system, Kennedy showed flashes of potential, with one glaring exception: Kennedy struck out a Big 12-leading 79 times.
His tendency to strike out was a weakness dating to his high school days in North Texas. Still dogged by that issue in college and desperate for a solution, he talked it over with his father at the end of his sophomore year and chose to undergo LASIK.
His reasoning was simple.
“I just couldn’t see the ball,” he said.
But for Kennedy, the doctor’s table isn’t where the work ended — it’s where it really got started. Kennedy took his talents to the Cape Cod League, one of the nation’s premier collegiate summer-ball settings, in order to get used to his newly improved vision before returning to Manhattan to continue his offseason work.
“I feel like I hold myself to a very high standard,” Kennedy said. “Just working on my craft every day during the fall to have a lot of confidence going into the season.”
But Kennedy wasn’t just working. Instead, K-State “let him fail.” Hughes employs this as another piece of his development philosophy — similar to the battle days Kennedy endured in high school. Some players struggle, especially initially, with the jump from prep baseball to college. Adjustments and improvements are required of many.
Kennedy worked alongside K-State hitting coach Austin Wates to tweak his swing and plate approach.
“Sometimes you’ve got to let a kid fail and stick with him so he can make adjustments and continue to grow,” Hughes said. “For Dee, his preparation’s always on point. His thirst for knowledge and to get better is always there, and to put a plan in action, you need to work and be consistent with it.”
Constructively failing in the fall led to success for Kennedy in the spring. He took center stage in the Wildcats’ first four games, going 7-for-14 with three home runs — including two grand slams. He also stole five bases as KSU swept aside Iowa, UConn, Penn State and Air Force in MLB’s Desert Invitational.
“He wasn’t pitchable anymore,” Hughes said. “He may miss one, but if you try to go back again, he’s going to burn you. That happened early on a couple of times. And I’m like, ‘Yep, he’s a different guy this year.’”
Suddenly, Kennedy was one of the hottest hitters in the college game, racking up weekly Big 12 and National Player of the Week honors and finally performing at the level he always expected — even during those grueling battle days as a Longhorns freshman.
“I always felt like I was this player, to be honest,” he said. “In Texas, I learned so much from those guys, and then taking that with me to K-State and picking up more stuff — all of it went to a good cause.”
In addition to his impressive hitting numbers, Kennedy finished this past season with 22 stolen bases, becoming just the fifth player in Big 12 history to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in the same season. He also broke K-State’s single-season home run record.
A cascade of accolades followed. Kennedy earned five Big 12 Player of the Week awards throughout the season, as well as first-team All-Big 12 recognition. He was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award and Golden Spikes Award given to the best shortstop and player in college baseball, respectively.
Hughes believes Kennedy’s place in the K-State record books cements his status as one of the Wildcats’ greatest players ever.
“He’s a 20 (home runs), 20 (steals) guy. That’s rare air in college baseball,” Hughes said. “It’s the first time it’s happened at Kansas State. Just the fact that you’re trying to research numbers should tell you how rare it is and what he did.”
A willingness to learn
In early July, Kennedy hopped aboard a flight to Arizona to attend the MLB Draft Combine. There, he ran drills, took batting practice and met with teams ahead of the two-day 2026 draft.
“I just told my life story, and we talked about the ball,” he said. “I just enjoyed the experience because it was my first time being there. Every kid wants to go to the draft combine.”
A week later, Kennedy was back home. His time as a college baseball player is done; all he can do now is wait to see when MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will call his name.
The experts say Kennedy shouldn’t have to wait long. He is a top-100 prospect, according to MLB.com. JustBaseball.com expects to hear his name called in the second or third round. Some insiders rave about his power, defensive abilities and speed on the base paths.
His selection won’t come without some questions: Can he adjust to the higher velocity of major league pitching? Can he hit for contact? And is he tall enough to play shortstop at the highest level?
Hughes said the answer to that last question is a resounding yes.
“He has enough arm, superior range, quickness and explosiveness,” Hughes said. “Once he starts playing that position every day, you’re going to see another jump. And then the questions will stop coming concerning his ability to play shortstop.”
Kennedy plans to ignore such noise in the lead-up to the draft. His nonlinear path to stardom and faith have fostered a quiet confidence that is yet another major factor in the player and person he has become.
“Going into my sophomore year, I leaned on it heavily and it shaped me into who I am now,” Kennedy said. “I felt better about myself, more confident — I’ve kept doing that all the way up to now, and it’s never going to stop.”
The other thing that won’t stop is Kennedy’s curiosity. He asks questions and displays a willingness to fail, improve and learn. It was developed in Texas and utilized throughout his time in Manhattan.
After building a paltry .200 average into one of the best in college baseball over the past two years, he’s ready to go all in for the team that drafts him this weekend.
“I’m going to ask questions. I’m going to talk to older guys. I’m going to try to pick their brain, learn new stuff and improve my craft,” Kennedy said. “They’re going to get a game player, a player that wants to win and one that is going to ask questions.”
