photo by: Courtesy of Kansas Athletics

KU pitcher J'Briell Easley, left, and infielder Ben Hartl signed to play for the Texas Rangers.

All six Kansas players selected in the MLB Draft have signed professional contracts, bringing the total number of former Jayhawks entering the pros this year to eight.

That group includes pitchers Hunter Cranton (third round, Seattle Mariners) and Reese Dutton (undrafted, Philadelphia Phillies), both transfers who played at four-year schools and JUCOs and then exhausted their eligibility at KU. But it also features six additional Jayhawks who could have potentially returned for additional seasons in college.

Infielders Ben Hartl (14th round, Texas Rangers) and Kodey Shojinaga (sixth round, Phillies); left-handed pitcher Evan Shaw (16th round, Los Angeles Dodgers); and righties Tegan Cain (13th round, Phillies), J’Briell Easley (undrafted, Rangers) and Ethan Lanthier (12th round, New York Mets) all opted to start their journeys through minor league baseball rather than returning to Lawrence.

Baseball America’s draft tracker had previously listed each draftee as having signed, and by the end of Monday, the official KU baseball X account had posted a series of photos featuring each player inking a deal with his professional team.

photo by: Courtesy of Kansas Athletics

Former KU pitcher Reese Dutton signed to play for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The result is that the KU coaching staff will now be charged with replacing a great deal of talent next season. In Cranton and Dutton the Jayhawks were already losing their closer and Friday night starter, but they knew for sure those hits were coming.

The selection of Shojinaga, a catcher by trade who primarily played second base at KU, wasn’t too unexpected after the draft-eligible sophomore turned in two stellar seasons in Lawrence, and the Jayhawks should be well situated with young returnee Ty Wisdom and Minnesota transfer Brady Counsell.

Cain, Easley, Lanthier and Shaw combined to eat up 133 2/3 innings last season. Cain, Lanthier and Shaw were among the team’s most reliable and heavily deployed relievers, while Easley was a periodic starter with a late-season breakout.

KU has plenty of right-handed pitching set to arrive for next year, with a wide array of JUCO arms and a couple freshmen on deck, not to mention early transfer additions Jake Cubbler (USC Upstate), Eric Lin (South Alabama), Connor Maggi (Gardner-Webb) and Malakai Vetock (Creighton), with Maggi and his 3.00 ERA the apparent headliner. Cooper Moore should move into an even more prominent role after a strong freshman campaign. KU did lose one potential long-relief or starting option when another transfer, Brandon Downer (Cal Baptist), got drafted by the Baltimore Orioles.

The Jayhawks’ first post-draft addition in this realm was Manning West, a JUCO transfer from Walters State Community College who had a 3.64 ERA during the 2024 season. On Tuesday night, they also earned a commitment from Robbie Knowles, another righty who previously played at San Diego and El Camino College, has spent two years rehabbing from injury, and has allowed just one earned run in eight California Collegiate League innings this summer.

The cabinet is a bit barer when it comes to left-handed pitching in Shaw’s absence. Gavin Brasosky was uneven and Brigden Parker did not play in 2024; Naun Haro, a starter, arrives from the JUCO ranks next season, as does Porter Conn. KU has not yet used the transfer portal to bolster this area.

Hartl and Jake English combined to form a potent catcher-first-base duo last season, but now neither is returning. Ian Francis (Youngstown State) brings plenty of experience and KU recently took a flier on Max Soliz Jr., a former Arkansas and Chattahoochee Valley Community College catcher who has impressed in the Northwoods League this summer. The Jayhawks also signed two freshman catchers in January.

photo by: Walters State Community College

Walters State’s Manning West delivers against Highland (Ill.) Community College on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2024, in Morristown, Tenn.

photo by: AP Photo/John Peterson

Arkansas’ Max Soliz Jr. (44) in the dugout getting ready for the game against Mississippi during an NCAA College World Series baseball game Thursday, June 23, 2022, in Omaha, Neb.