No. 1 Seed Kansas Baseball to Face No. 8 Baylor in Big 12 Tournament

The Kansas baseball team will begin their quest for a Big 12 Tournament title on Thursday as the top-seeded Jayhawks and reigning Big 12 regular season champions take on No. 8 seed Baylor Bears in the quarterfinals at Surprise Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona, at 2:30 p.m. CT with the game streaming live on ESPNU.

After earning a first-round bye, the Bears advanced past the second round by defeating No. 9 seed BYU Cougars 13-9 on Wednesday night. They earned a 14-16 Big 12 record (29-26 overall) this season on their way to an eighth place finish in the final Big 12 standings. KU finished the Big 12 regular season with a 22-8 record in conference play and 39-16 record overall.

"To win the regular season title was step number one," said Kansas head coach Dan Fitzgerald. "We've got multiple opportunities for championships throughout the year, with one being the regular season and two being the conference tournament."

Thursday’s matchup will be the first time these two teams have met this year as KU and Baylor did not meet during the Big 12 season, and it has the chance to be a high scoring affair.

The Jayhawks are one of the top scoring teams in the Big 12 – averaging 8.1 runs per game. They’re also third in the conference in home runs with 83 on the year. Meanwhile, Baylor averages 6.2 runs per game and have scored 41 runs over their last four. They hit 11 home runs in their three-game series versus Utah last week.

Baylor’s premier power hitter is redshirt senior first baseman Tyce Armstrong. He was named the 2026 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after setting Baylor’s single-season home run record with 24 deep shots this year.

The Bears also have a talented freshman outfielder named Brady Janusek who broke the school’s single-season record for most home runs by a freshman this year. His hot streak continued into the Big 12 Tournament as he launched a three-run home run against BYU on Wednesday that proved to be a difference maker in the game.

The winner of Thursday’s game between KU and Baylor will move on to the semifinals on Friday against the winner of No. 4 seed UCF and N0. 5 seed Oklahoma State. Friday’s game is slated for 5:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU.

A win for KU on Thursday could go a long way toward helping the Jayhawks secure a spot as a regional host in next week’s NCAA Tournament and potentially as a host for the Super Regionals if they make it out of regionals. And if the Jayhawks can win the Big 12 Tournament, it will be the first time since 2006 and just the second in program history.

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