photo by: Emma Crouch/Kansas Athletics

Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald instructs his team during practice at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024.

First pitch for the third season of Kansas baseball under head coach Dan Fitzgerald is set for 5 p.m. on Friday at Whataburger Field, as the Jayhawks travel for a four-game series on the road at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Sophomore standout Dominic Voegele will make his return to the mound for the Jayhawks after becoming the first player in program history to receive preseason All-American honors from three different publications.

Junior college transfer Manning West, from Walters State, will debut for KU on Saturday; last year’s Sunday starter Patrick Steitz will pitch on a limited basis the following day, as he continues his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery; and Cooper Moore is expected to take the hill for the finale Monday.

“That will probably change in some form (next weekend at Tarleton State) with Coop bumping back into maybe a higher spot in the rotation, but Steitz really becomes kind of an opener,” Fitzgerald said. “A lot of big-league teams use an opener … He’s going to want to go five innings, he’s going to go two. Weekend two, he hopefully goes two innings, weekend three, three, and just keeps stacking on there.”

Certain roles at the back end of the bullpen are still up for grabs, but the transfer trio of Jake Cubbler (USC Upstate), Connor Maggi (Gardner-Webb) and Malakai Vetock (Creighton) will team with Thaniel Trumper, who makes a welcome return to action, in middle relief. Keep an eye as well on Alex Breckheimer (Bryant & Stratton College), Robbie Knowles (El Camino College), Eric Lin (South Alabama) and Dalton Smith (Kansas City Kansas Community College) for various other relief roles; the Jayhawks also bring back lefty Gavin Brasosky.

In what Fitzgerald called the “question that I juggle the most right now,” it’s still not clear whether veteran infielder Michael Brooks will stay at third base or move to shortstop, where Fitzgerald has said he is about even with St. Cloud State transfer Sawyer Smith, who could also play second; the result may ultimately be matchup-dependent. Brady Counsell and Chase Diggins are other key pieces on that side of the infield. JUCO transfer Dariel Osoria is a potent option at first base, while Max Soliz Jr. is the leader at catcher, and other new faces include catcher Ian Francis and infielder Brady Ballinger.

The outfield includes returning starters like Mike Koszewski and Ty Wisdom, highly touted center fielder Derek Cerda (a JUCO teammate of Osoria’s), East Tennessee State transfer Tommy Barth and plenty more.

If it sounds like an influx of new talent for the Jayhawks, it’s much the same at A&M-Corpus Christi.

“They’re good,” Fitzgerald said. “They’re like everyone else right now — a lot of new faces. They have two returning pitchers, and so in our scouting report, it’s a lot of watching video on guys not wearing a Corpus Christi uniform because they’re transferred in from somewhere else.”

The Islanders were picked to finish ninth of 11 teams in the Southland Conference, led by a pair of preseason all-conference selections in left-handed pitcher Zach Garcia, who tallied a 4.94 ERA in 82 innings as a starter last season, and senior second baseman Isaac Webb, a former Arkansas transfer who batted .339 with 19 stolen bases.

photo by: AP Photo/Michael Wyke

Texas A&M Corpus Christi pitcher Zach Garcia during an NCAA baseball game against Houston Christian on Friday, April 28, 2023, in Houston.

photo by: AP Photo/Michael Wyke

Texas A&M Corpus Christi infielder Isaac Webb during an NCAA baseball game against Rice on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in Houston.

photo by: AP Photo/Michael Wyke

Texas A&M Corpus Christi infielder Logan Vaughan during an NCAA baseball game against Rice on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in Houston.

photo by: AP Photo/Michael Wyke

Texas A&M Corpus Christi batter Christian Smith-Johnson bunts against Houston Christian during an NCAA baseball game on Friday, April 28, 2023, in Houston.

Other returning starters and frequent contributors include the likes of catcher Chance Reisdorph; infielders Stephen Hom, Mason Persons and Logan Vaughan; and outfielders Josh Blount, Drake Kerr and Christian Smith-Johnson.

The primary newcomers are part of the pitching staff; reliever Cam Soliz is, as Fitzgerald referenced, the only returning Islander with more than three pitching appearances in 2024 besides Garcia. As KU has been known to do, A&M-Corpus Christi went on a spree in the JUCO ranks, filling its staff with players like lefties Gage Burdick, Michael Infranca and Luke Singleton and righties Braden LaRusso, Nathan Darden, Luke Robertson, Easten Smith and Preston Watkins.

From the four-year ranks, on the mound, David Dean joins after he did not play at Oklahoma last season, Adam Muirhead from Baylor, Dante Cano from UT Arlington and Pearson Pollard from Division II Oklahoma Christian. Washington transfer Brody Mills is listed as a two-way player who could also play first base.

Garcia, Singleton and Burdick are the Islanders’ announced starters for the first three games of the series.

“The consistent things with Corpus, and Tarleton in terms of our first road trip, they’re both really well coached, very fundamental,” Fitzgerald said. “There’s pretty much straight-up baseball. They’ve got good starting pitching, they’ve got good back-end and they can defend in the middle. It’ll be a great challenge.”

He suggested both of KU’s upcoming opponents could also have a bit of a preparation advantage due to winter weather in Kansas.

“The other thing is they’ve both been outside for a long time,” he said. “… They’re sweating in the south and we’re getting outside in limited chunks here.”

The Jayhawks beat the Islanders 13-7 in their lone meeting last season. That was part of a lackluster opening weekend for KU that included losses in two out of three matchups with Illinois-Chicago; the Jayhawks will look for a stronger start this time around.