photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State center fielder Ryker Mahnke high fives second baseman Ben Graves after scoring a run in a 10-2 win over Lawrence at Hoglund Ballpark on Monday, May 12, 2025, in Lawrence.

Three Free State baseball players are a part of the 2025 Kansas High School Baseball National Championship Series team, the most from any Kansas high school this year.

Ben Graves, Ryker Mahnke and Zane Shaw are three of 19 players on the 2025 Kansas team in the three-day baseball tournament in Omaha, Neb., that features teams from Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas.

“It feels pretty good knowing that we got a couple of Free State guys on the team,” Mahnke said. “It just shows how well (Free State) coach (Mike) Hill and coaches really helped us out through these years.”

This is the second year that Graves will be on the team, as he and coach Hill were the two representatives from Free State to be a part of the 2024 Kansas team. This year, due to KSHSAA’s summer moratorium that bars coaches from any activities with school athletes during the first week of July, Hill will not be coaching the Kansas team in the National Championship Series.

Not only is the tournament a chance to play alongside some of the top talent in the state, it gives players a chance to compete against rising juniors and seniors who are committed to play at some of the top colleges in the country.

Shaw is one of eight pitchers on the roster, Graves is one of five infielders and Mahnke is one of three outfielders.

“It’s cool — it means a lot,” Shaw said. “I felt like I did pretty good this high school season, so the fact that people noticed is pretty cool. Getting to represent Free State in this — I got some (Free State) teammates on the team, too, so (it) should make it a lot more fun.”

Shaw is a multi-sport athlete, but baseball is the sport that he’s focused on playing after high school. While this week is also a recruiting dead period in the NCAA, the tournament could be an opportunity to continue to get his name out there with college teams.

Of the 19 players on the Kansas team, only three — including Mahnke — are rising juniors.

“I just really want to show that I can compete out here,” Mahnke said. “I really like to compete against the best of the best, so it’ll be a lot of fun to see what I can do. I’m excited to see the competition from other states and see what they can do.”

Players arrived on July 3 and will start with team meetings before getting into competition on Friday. Both Mahnke and Shaw said they were excited to play on the team with some of the top players in the state and see how they can match up against the rest of the country.

“The fact that we can put together this good of a team just from kids around the state is exciting, and it should be fun,” Shaw said. “We have a really good team, so it’s cool that we have good enough players around here that can form this good of a team.”

Games start on July 4 and continue through July 6. Kansas is placed in the ‘A’ bracket that includes Arizona, Hawaii and Nebraska. Kansas starts with Nebraska at 8 p.m. at Schwab Field on Friday. On Saturday, Kansas plays Hawaii at 5 p.m., followed by Arizona at 8 p.m., both at Creighton Prep. The final day will have the semifinal and championship games at Schwab Field with consolation games at Creighton Prep. The two semifinal games will be broadcast on ESPN+, with the championship game being broadcast on ESPNU.

photo by: Nathan Friedman/Special to the Journal-World

Free State junior pitcher Zane Shaw delivers a pitch during the game against Mill Valley Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Lawrence.