KU Jayhawks baseball team to open NCAA regional play against Creighton on Friday
Kansas baseball players and coaches haven’t spent any time complaining about the difficult endeavor they face this weekend at the four-team NCAA Fayetteville (Arkansas) Regional.
“It’s four really good teams, which is exactly what you want,” third-year KU coach Dan Fitzgerald said in previewing Friday’s game between the No. 25-ranked Jayhawks (43-15) and unranked Creighton Bluejays (41-14), set for a 7 p.m. start at Baum-Walker Stadium, which seats 11,000 fans.
The other two teams in the double-elimination regional — No. 6-ranked Arkansas (43-13) and unranked North Dakota State (20-32) — will open the proceedings at 2 p.m. Friday.
“You want to go to a regional where you’ve got to compete at the highest level. That’s literally the highest form of sport, is going up against the best. So we’re thrilled and couldn’t be more excited to get to Fayetteville,” added Fitzgerald, whose Jayhawks have earned the school’s first NCAA bid since 2014.
The Jayhawks, who enter the NCAAs with an RPI of 24, were one of eight Big 12 teams to be invited to the 2025 Big Dance. All eight teams have been shipped out to regional sites and been denied the advantages that go with hosting.
The Bluejays of the Big East Conference have won seven in a row and 13 of 14 overall while KU has won six of its last seven contests.
Arkansas, 32-4 at home, is two wins shy of tying its single-season home win record of 34 victories, set in 2018 and 2024. KU is two wins shy of its school-record 45 wins (in 1993). A year ago, Kansas State knocked off Arkansas in the Razorbacks’ own regional in Fayetteville and advanced to super regionals.
The winner of the double-elimination Fayetteville Regional will play the winner of the Knoxville, Tennessee Regional in the best-of-three-game super regional June 6-8 or June 7-9.
No. 14 national seed and top regional seed Tennessee (43-16) hosts No. 2 seed Wake Forest (36-20), No. 3 seed Cincinnati (32-24) and No. 4 seed Miami of Ohio (35-21) this weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee. Arkansas is seeded No. 1, KU No. 2, Creighton No. 3 and NDSU No. 4 at the Fayetteville Regional.
This is the seventh time in the past eight seasons for Arkansas to host, and the 12th time in program history. It’s also the 11th time under head coach Dave Van Horn. The Hogs are one of eight SEC teams set to host a regional alongside Auburn, Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU, Tennessee, Texas and Vanderbilt.
This marks the first time since 1999 no Big 12 team will play at home during the first weekend of the NCAAs.
“I think the Big 12 is the best conference in the country. I think the conference will do very well in regionals and supers,” said KU infielder Michael Brooks.
He actually played at Arkansas one season.
“When I was there, it was during COVID, so they didn’t really even let fans in the stadium. So I never got to experience that,” Brooks said of the great atmosphere in Baum-Walker Stadium.
“But I’ve heard stories about it, and I’ve seen, obviously, pictures and videos of it. We’re all super excited for that, because it’s one of the best, if not the best, atmosphere in college baseball. We know that we can play through anything, excited to go against the highest level.”
Brooks noted that “maybe (there will be) some butterflies at the beginning. But we’re all capable of competing at the highest level no matter where we are playing or who we’re playing. Maybe take a little breath here and there but I think that we’re all capable of calming each other down.”
The Bluejays hold a 25-18 edge in the all-time series vs. KU. Kansas has won each of the last six meetings between the two teams. All six of those games have been played in Lawrence and the most recent time the teams played was March 29, 2023, when Kansas won 3-1.
KU is expected to start Domenic Voegele (7-4, 5.34 ERA) while Creighton will counter with Big East pitcher of the year Dominic Cancellieri (2-1, 1.94 ERA in 12 starts).
Both teams have lockdown closers. KU’s Alex Breckheimer has seven saves and a 3.80 ERA. Creighton’s Garrett Langrell has a 6-1 record with 13 saves and an ERA of 2.77.
“I’m always excited for postseason baseball,” said KU senior Jackson Hauge, whose 19 home runs lead the Jayhawks. KU has blasted a school-record 100 homers to Creighton’s 47. KU’s opponents have hit 57 homers; CU’s have hit 42.
“I’ve been part of regionals and super regionals at the Division II level but it’s obviously not the same as Division I. So it’ll be really fun,” added Hauge, who is a transfer from Minnesota State Mankato.
KU coach Fitzgerald is expecting a rugged test in the regional opener against Creighton. Bluejays coach Ed Servais has announced his retirement at the end of the season. He’s been head coach at CU 22 years and assistant at the school six campaigns.
“Creighton is a really good team and is playing really good baseball,” Fitzgerald said. “They’ve got a fantastic coaching staff. Coach Servais, what a cool accomplishment for him to go (to NCAAs) in his final year. He’s a Hall of Fame coach, and he might be the greatest defensive teacher in college baseball history, certainly top 5. He is such an incredible tactician on the defensive side.”
Fayetteville regional schedule
Friday’s games
Game 1 – Arkansas vs. North Dakota State – 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Game 2 – Kansas vs. Creighton – 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday’s games
Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser – 2 p.m.
Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner – 8 p.m.
Sunday’s games
Game 5 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser – 2 p.m.
Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner – 8 p.m.
Monday, June 2 (If Necessary)
Game 7 – If the Game 5 Winner Wins Game 6 – TBD
