Kansas State University Athletics
‘We Plan on Getting There’
Jun 10, 2024 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Here he sits, Pete Hughes, upon a stage. Behind him is a blue backdrop that in white letters reads, "THE GREATEST SHOW ON DIRT." He sits upon a medal chair and at a table with the fancy black bunting and in front of a nameplate that says, "PETE HUGHES," and he grabs a Dasani water bottle and begins to twist it open before speaking into the microphone. He is still wearing his gameday attire — a purple long-sleeve Powercat top and purple ballcap with the trademark "KS." And alas, he is not in Kansas. He is currently on the second-floor ballroom of a red-brick manor with dark wood trim nestled behind Disharoon Park, where Hughes saw the Wildcats' incredible baseball season come to a heartbreaking end in a 10-4 loss to Virginia.
Virginia — not K-State — is going onto the College Baseball World Series in Omaha. The Wildcats fall two games to none in the Super Regional in Charlottesville, Virginia, which bustles with activity as the Cavaliers prepare for their third trip to Omaha in four years.
A couple times on stage, Hughes' throat tightens. He swallows hard.
"We're really close," he says. "We didn't come here to get close. We came to Kansas State to get to Omaha. We don't know exactly what it looks like, but we can see it. We plan on getting there."
The ending hits hard, hurts the most. The Virginia reporters ask Hughes over and over again his thoughts on the Cavaliers, 46-15, who advance to the College World Series for a third time in four years. He politely answers their questions over and over again while thoughts trail to his own team, which is packing its gear and heading toward an idling bus to make one last trip to the hotel.
K-State finishes its season 35-26 following the second Super Regional in the program's 124-year history. It's a journey that, much like the road to get to this Virginia manor, twisted and turned, and twisted and turned some more, until reaching the doorstep. K-State missed out on the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Everybody said the strength of schedule kept them out of the tournament. Hughes beefed up the schedule this year. There was no doubt. As it says inside Tointon Family Stadium: We Play to Win.
The 2024 season schedule, one of the toughest in Division I baseball, featured neutral-site games against California, Boston College and Georgetown, and road trips to Arizona State, No. 1 Tennessee, No. 7 Clemson, UConn and Northeastern. In all, K-State played a total of 10 teams and 20 games against teams that competed in the 2023 postseason.
"I couldn't be more proud of our team, how we battled through adversity throughout the whole season and how we ended up playing this postseason," says K-State senior second-baseman Brady Day, who was drafted in the 12th round of the 2023 MLB Draft yet returned to Manhattan to help the Wildcats do something special. "I'm super proud of everybody on this team."
Saturday's game marks the finale for Day. The game is possibly the last for juniors Kaelen Culpepper and Tyson Neighbors in a K-State uniform as well. Culpepper, the electrifying shortstop and one of the greatest players in K-State lore, is projected as a mid-first round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, which would make him the highest-drafted position player in K-State history. Neighbors, a preseason All-American pitcher armed with a cannon, has been projected to be selected in the first two rounds of the MLB Draft.
"It's taken us to a different level, but the standard and the expectations are already there, and it doesn't happen without that message being spoken every day in your clubhouse," Hughes says. "We had a lot of kids who turned down a lot of opportunities professionally. That's a pretty good role model for our guys going forward."
K-State turned in a herculean performance in sweeping through the Fayetteville Regional. It topped Louisiana Tech (19-4), outlasted No. 5 Arkansas (7-6) and then beat SEMO (9-4) to launch itself into rarified air in the scope of K-State baseball. The national media didn't give the Wildcats a chance. And they persevered. And they proved the doubters wrong. And everything just felt different, in the words of Hughes, in a special, magical, kind of way.
Everything also feels different against Virginia. And it is painful. And it is maddening. And it is a pair of games that Hughes might or might not choose to rewatch in their entirety.
In the Super Regional opener, K-State led 3-0 before falling 7-4. In the second game of the series, K-State tied the score at 2-2 in the second inning. Then Virginia began to pull away in frustrating and excruciating fashion.
"We're close," Hughes says. "It's a line drive here, a bloop hit there. When you can start talking in those terms, you're right there. Maybe a little depth. Maybe a little luck. But I know we're doing it the right way. From where we were five years ago to where we are today is a million miles. But we're all about closing the gap.
"We're this close. That's what baseball and what success is, it's right here, and we just have to work harder, recruit more, be better as a coaching staff, and we'll close that gap."
He talks about his players.
"They're emotionally invested," he says. "I love seeing that hurt in June. That's what it's all about. That's what we signed up for. We have the right guys in our clubhouse for sure."
How special was this season?
"It's unbelievable," he says. "It's the best team I've ever coached, and I have no problem saying that from top to bottom to character to culture to talent and athleticism and pitching, and great kids, kids you want to be around. The best three hours of my workday are being around them, and I know the best three hours of their day are on the baseball field. And that's a healthy culture.
"I'll remember this one for a long time and it'll be a motivating one, too."
Hughes is finished talking, the reporters are finished questioning, and Hughes rises and walks down a plush staircase and out of a large doorway and down a smooth driveway to an awaiting white SUV.
After a lengthy journey, Hughes, and this incredible season, disappear into the night.
Here he sits, Pete Hughes, upon a stage. Behind him is a blue backdrop that in white letters reads, "THE GREATEST SHOW ON DIRT." He sits upon a medal chair and at a table with the fancy black bunting and in front of a nameplate that says, "PETE HUGHES," and he grabs a Dasani water bottle and begins to twist it open before speaking into the microphone. He is still wearing his gameday attire — a purple long-sleeve Powercat top and purple ballcap with the trademark "KS." And alas, he is not in Kansas. He is currently on the second-floor ballroom of a red-brick manor with dark wood trim nestled behind Disharoon Park, where Hughes saw the Wildcats' incredible baseball season come to a heartbreaking end in a 10-4 loss to Virginia.
Virginia — not K-State — is going onto the College Baseball World Series in Omaha. The Wildcats fall two games to none in the Super Regional in Charlottesville, Virginia, which bustles with activity as the Cavaliers prepare for their third trip to Omaha in four years.
A couple times on stage, Hughes' throat tightens. He swallows hard.
"We're really close," he says. "We didn't come here to get close. We came to Kansas State to get to Omaha. We don't know exactly what it looks like, but we can see it. We plan on getting there."
The ending hits hard, hurts the most. The Virginia reporters ask Hughes over and over again his thoughts on the Cavaliers, 46-15, who advance to the College World Series for a third time in four years. He politely answers their questions over and over again while thoughts trail to his own team, which is packing its gear and heading toward an idling bus to make one last trip to the hotel.
K-State finishes its season 35-26 following the second Super Regional in the program's 124-year history. It's a journey that, much like the road to get to this Virginia manor, twisted and turned, and twisted and turned some more, until reaching the doorstep. K-State missed out on the NCAA Tournament a year ago. Everybody said the strength of schedule kept them out of the tournament. Hughes beefed up the schedule this year. There was no doubt. As it says inside Tointon Family Stadium: We Play to Win.
The 2024 season schedule, one of the toughest in Division I baseball, featured neutral-site games against California, Boston College and Georgetown, and road trips to Arizona State, No. 1 Tennessee, No. 7 Clemson, UConn and Northeastern. In all, K-State played a total of 10 teams and 20 games against teams that competed in the 2023 postseason.
"I couldn't be more proud of our team, how we battled through adversity throughout the whole season and how we ended up playing this postseason," says K-State senior second-baseman Brady Day, who was drafted in the 12th round of the 2023 MLB Draft yet returned to Manhattan to help the Wildcats do something special. "I'm super proud of everybody on this team."
Saturday's game marks the finale for Day. The game is possibly the last for juniors Kaelen Culpepper and Tyson Neighbors in a K-State uniform as well. Culpepper, the electrifying shortstop and one of the greatest players in K-State lore, is projected as a mid-first round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, which would make him the highest-drafted position player in K-State history. Neighbors, a preseason All-American pitcher armed with a cannon, has been projected to be selected in the first two rounds of the MLB Draft.
"It's taken us to a different level, but the standard and the expectations are already there, and it doesn't happen without that message being spoken every day in your clubhouse," Hughes says. "We had a lot of kids who turned down a lot of opportunities professionally. That's a pretty good role model for our guys going forward."
K-State turned in a herculean performance in sweeping through the Fayetteville Regional. It topped Louisiana Tech (19-4), outlasted No. 5 Arkansas (7-6) and then beat SEMO (9-4) to launch itself into rarified air in the scope of K-State baseball. The national media didn't give the Wildcats a chance. And they persevered. And they proved the doubters wrong. And everything just felt different, in the words of Hughes, in a special, magical, kind of way.
Everything also feels different against Virginia. And it is painful. And it is maddening. And it is a pair of games that Hughes might or might not choose to rewatch in their entirety.
In the Super Regional opener, K-State led 3-0 before falling 7-4. In the second game of the series, K-State tied the score at 2-2 in the second inning. Then Virginia began to pull away in frustrating and excruciating fashion.
"We're close," Hughes says. "It's a line drive here, a bloop hit there. When you can start talking in those terms, you're right there. Maybe a little depth. Maybe a little luck. But I know we're doing it the right way. From where we were five years ago to where we are today is a million miles. But we're all about closing the gap.
"We're this close. That's what baseball and what success is, it's right here, and we just have to work harder, recruit more, be better as a coaching staff, and we'll close that gap."
He talks about his players.
"They're emotionally invested," he says. "I love seeing that hurt in June. That's what it's all about. That's what we signed up for. We have the right guys in our clubhouse for sure."
How special was this season?
"It's unbelievable," he says. "It's the best team I've ever coached, and I have no problem saying that from top to bottom to character to culture to talent and athleticism and pitching, and great kids, kids you want to be around. The best three hours of my workday are being around them, and I know the best three hours of their day are on the baseball field. And that's a healthy culture.
"I'll remember this one for a long time and it'll be a motivating one, too."
Hughes is finished talking, the reporters are finished questioning, and Hughes rises and walks down a plush staircase and out of a large doorway and down a smooth driveway to an awaiting white SUV.
After a lengthy journey, Hughes, and this incredible season, disappear into the night.
Players Mentioned
K-State Football | Postgame Highlights vs KU
Sunday, October 26
K-State Football | Pregame Hype vs KU
Friday, October 24
K-State Men's Basketball | Cat Q's - Elias Rapieque and Exavier Wilson
Thursday, October 23
K-State Football | Joe Klanderman press conference - Oct. 23, 2025
Thursday, October 23