photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas junior Tyson LeBlanc celebrates as he rounds the bases during the Jayhawks' NCAA tournament game against Arkansas on Sunday, May 31, 2026, at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence.

Kansas shortstop Tyson LeBlanc and pitcher Dominic Voegele became the highest-drafted players in Dan Fitzgerald’s tenure as head coach when they were selected in the early rounds of the 2026 MLB Draft on Saturday afternoon.

LeBlanc went No. 61 overall to the Detroit Tigers, making him also the highest-drafted position player in program history and second highest among all former Jayhawks behind Curtis Shaw, who went No. 42 to the Oakland Athletics in 1990. This year’s No. 61 pick carries a slot value of $1.52 million.

LeBlanc, originally from Maurice, Louisiana, spent two years at LSU Eunice, where he won a junior-college national championship. The shortstop was a fixture in the starting lineup during his junior season at KU and ultimately set the Jayhawks’ single-season record with 25 home runs while hitting .341 with a 1.131 OPS and 69 RBIs.

At one point in April, LeBlanc was the national hitter of the week when he had three home runs and 10 RBIs in a four-game stretch. He homered in six of KU’s eight postseason games, including in all three games of the Lawrence Regional, supplying critical two- and three-run bombs in KU’s pair of victories over Arkansas.

After the season, the graduate of North Vermillion High School earned All-American honors from six different publications, including a first-team distinction from Perfect Game, second-team recognition from D1Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, third-team selections from Baseball America and ABCA/Rawlings and an honorable mention from the College Baseball Foundation.

KU coach Dan Fitzgerald recently called LeBlanc the best player he has ever coached and said, “I think his ceiling is a long career as a big leaguer. I think his floor is like a big-league utility guy.”

LeBlanc is the first Jayhawk selected by Detroit since Kodiak Quick in the 33rd round in 2006 (the draft now contains just 20 rounds). Former Philadelphia Phillies manager and KU single-season batting average record holder Rob Thomson was a Tigers draft pick.

The only KU product to play in the major leagues for the Tigers was Tom Gorzelanny in 2015.

photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas pitcher Dominic Voegele strides out to deliver a pitcher during the Jayhawks’ game against West Virginia on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence.

As for Voegele, he didn’t have to wait long to hear his name called, as the Baltimore Orioles picked him at No. 82 early in the third round. The pick has a slot value of $1 million.

He’s the second KU player taken by Baltimore in the draft after Jimmy Walker, also a third-round right-handed pitcher, in 1993. No Jayhawk has played for the big-league club.

Voegele is a native of Columbia, Illinois, who spent three seasons in Lawrence. A standout first year earned him the title of Big 12 freshman of the year and a handful of freshman All-American honors, as well as a spot on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.

The right-hander battled some inconsistency over the course of his next two seasons while serving as KU’s Friday night ace, but put it all together during a stretch late in his junior year in which he struck out double-digit batters four times in a five-game span. Voegele finished the season with the program’s single-season strikeout record at 120, and ultimately went 6-4 with a 5.85 ERA on the year. He was a second-team all-league selection.

The second day of the draft, which includes rounds five through 20, begins at 10:30 a.m. Central on Sunday.