All Eyes on Dee
Feb 19, 2026 | Baseball, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
Yoga was the vibe of the day. After Dee Kennedy and Kansas State powered through a school-record four wins in four days against four different opponents to start of the year in brushing aside Iowa, UConn, Penn State and Air Force in the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Arizona, the junior shortstop and hottest player in college baseball put down his bat and picked up a yoga mat his first day back in Manhattan.
"Yoga is good after a long week," Kennedy says. "It helps out big time."
Years from now, Kennedy will have a story to tell, and it'll be no stretch — how in a span of 48 hours, the native of Fort Worth, Texas, mopped up virtually every possible college baseball national award for his other-worldy efforts for the Wildcats, who come off back-to-back NCAA Regionals and certainly captured attention with their dominant season-opening statement.
"We'd been talking about this for a couple months," Kennedy says. "We said, 'This is a new year, a new team, and we're not going to go down. We're going to be up, be positive, and play for that name across the chest.'"
Iowa, UConn, Penn State and Air Force fully know the name across the chest.
The rest of college baseball will soon also know the name on the back of Kennedy's jersey as well.
Kennedy belted his first grand slam of the season for the Wildcats, who had 14 hits and used a career-high eight strikeouts from James Guyette in a 15-6 win over Iowa on Opening Day. After the Wildcats loaded the bases to force Iowa to the bullpen, Kennedy welcomed the reliever by crushing the first pitch — a 106-mile-per-hour blast to left center — for his first home run of the season.
"Obviously, I knew I was going to go after him, especially after a new pitcher came into the game," Kennedy says. "Bases loaded, I felt he was going to challenge me, and that's exactly what happened. I ended up winning that challenge."
Then K-State scored five unanswered runs in the eighth inning, including a go-ahead two-run triple by AJ Evasco, in a 7-3 win over UConn.
Then Kennedy hit a grand slam and also a 426-feet solo blast over the left field wall while driving in a career-high seven RBI, as K-State put up 24 runs on 21 hits in a 24-5 win over Penn State.
Finally, it was a pretty special sight when Kennedy and his teammates left the field after an 11-8 win over Air Force at Sloan Park that gave the Wildcats their four-wins-in-four-days desert sweep.
"The statement we made is we're going to come out and give it to everybody," Kennedy says. "We're going to give it our all, and we're not going to stop until the last inning is done. Our mindset is very strong, especially after our first four wins. We're going to keep getting after it and keep our foot on the gas."
There was simply no stopping King Kennedy, who produced a monstrous 1.857 OPS while hitting .500 (7 for 14) with five extra-base hits, including three home runs — two of them grand slams. He slugged an impressive 1.286 while posting a .571 on-base percentage. Kennedy was also perfect on the base paths, going 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts, while he scored 10 runs.
Kennedy currently ranks second in the nation in RBI (15), third in runs (10), eighth in steals (five), 11th in home runs (three), 13th in total bases (18), and 15th in slugging percentage (1.286).
On Monday, the waterfall of awards began. Kennedy was named the Golden Spikes Award x D1 Baseball Player of the Week and Big 12 Conference Player of the Week. On Tuesday, he was named the Brooks Wallace Award Player of the Week by the College Baseball Foundation, an award that honors the nation's top shortstop. Finally, he was named the National College Baseball Writers Association Dick Howser Trophy Co-National Hitter of the Week, and he was selected to Baseball America's Week 1 National Team of the Week.
"I don't know what's up with all that," Kennedy says, laughing humbly. "I mean, I'm grateful. I'm still trying to get caught up on everything. I didn't envision it, really. It's just the preparation with me and the team. They're a huge part of my success. It does really feel good to finally see my name after all the hard work I've put in, but again, the reason I was able to play to the best of my ability was because of my teammates and everything we do together during those off days and the practice days that nobody really pays attention to."
As for the key to Kennedy's success?
"My eyesight," he says. "I got Lasik surgery in the summer. That was big time, especially going into the summer. It took a couple weeks to adjust and get used to everything, but, I mean, it's going great. I'm so happy I ended up doing that."
On the field, eyes didn't deceive the MLB scouts and national experts.
"I've shown them that I'm fast," Kennedy says. "I can get from A to B like that. My defense has gotten way, way better. Especially with hitting, I'm electric on the field. That's what I'm showing and bringing to the table.
"I've gotten way, way better with my contact to the ball. It's something I've been working on and reducing strikeouts. I've worked on competing and staying in those counts, and coming out, finishing, and putting the ball into play, and using my speed to get to where I need to go."
Kennedy and K-State won't have to wait long to put their wares on display again, as the Wildcats (4-0) face No. 5 Auburn (3-1), Nebraska (3-1) and Michigan (3-1) in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
First pitch in the opening game against No. 9 Auburn is set for 7:00 p.m. Friday. The Tigers come off an 8-0 loss to Cincinnati.
First pitch against Nebraska is 7:00 p.m. Saturday. The Huskers come off an 11-6 loss to Stanford.
First pitch against Michigan is 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The Wolverines come off a 5-4 loss in 10 innings against Oregon State.
"Playing high-level competition brings the best out of everybody," Kennedy says. "I'm excited to see how we go up against these highly regarded teams."
This start to the season, and this kind of competition, and these coaches, and this new team, and the possibilities that exist, are a part of why Kennedy opted to return to K-State this season.
"I chose to stay at K-State because of our coaches, who believe in me, and I was going to play, which was a big aspect in why I ended up staying," he says. "I saw the guys we're bringing in and thought we had a chance to be special and be better than last year. That's a reason why I ended up staying."
And how far could K-State go in 2026?
"Oh, we're going to go pretty far," Kennedy says. "We just have to stay healthy and for everyone to have each other's backs, and everything will play itself out. We play for the name across our chest. Everyone is on the same page.
"We're playing for K-State."
Yoga was the vibe of the day. After Dee Kennedy and Kansas State powered through a school-record four wins in four days against four different opponents to start of the year in brushing aside Iowa, UConn, Penn State and Air Force in the MLB Desert Invitational in Scottsdale, Arizona, the junior shortstop and hottest player in college baseball put down his bat and picked up a yoga mat his first day back in Manhattan.
"Yoga is good after a long week," Kennedy says. "It helps out big time."
Years from now, Kennedy will have a story to tell, and it'll be no stretch — how in a span of 48 hours, the native of Fort Worth, Texas, mopped up virtually every possible college baseball national award for his other-worldy efforts for the Wildcats, who come off back-to-back NCAA Regionals and certainly captured attention with their dominant season-opening statement.
"We'd been talking about this for a couple months," Kennedy says. "We said, 'This is a new year, a new team, and we're not going to go down. We're going to be up, be positive, and play for that name across the chest.'"
Iowa, UConn, Penn State and Air Force fully know the name across the chest.
The rest of college baseball will soon also know the name on the back of Kennedy's jersey as well.
Kennedy belted his first grand slam of the season for the Wildcats, who had 14 hits and used a career-high eight strikeouts from James Guyette in a 15-6 win over Iowa on Opening Day. After the Wildcats loaded the bases to force Iowa to the bullpen, Kennedy welcomed the reliever by crushing the first pitch — a 106-mile-per-hour blast to left center — for his first home run of the season.
"Obviously, I knew I was going to go after him, especially after a new pitcher came into the game," Kennedy says. "Bases loaded, I felt he was going to challenge me, and that's exactly what happened. I ended up winning that challenge."
Then K-State scored five unanswered runs in the eighth inning, including a go-ahead two-run triple by AJ Evasco, in a 7-3 win over UConn.
Then Kennedy hit a grand slam and also a 426-feet solo blast over the left field wall while driving in a career-high seven RBI, as K-State put up 24 runs on 21 hits in a 24-5 win over Penn State.
Finally, it was a pretty special sight when Kennedy and his teammates left the field after an 11-8 win over Air Force at Sloan Park that gave the Wildcats their four-wins-in-four-days desert sweep.
"The statement we made is we're going to come out and give it to everybody," Kennedy says. "We're going to give it our all, and we're not going to stop until the last inning is done. Our mindset is very strong, especially after our first four wins. We're going to keep getting after it and keep our foot on the gas."
There was simply no stopping King Kennedy, who produced a monstrous 1.857 OPS while hitting .500 (7 for 14) with five extra-base hits, including three home runs — two of them grand slams. He slugged an impressive 1.286 while posting a .571 on-base percentage. Kennedy was also perfect on the base paths, going 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts, while he scored 10 runs.
Kennedy currently ranks second in the nation in RBI (15), third in runs (10), eighth in steals (five), 11th in home runs (three), 13th in total bases (18), and 15th in slugging percentage (1.286).
On Monday, the waterfall of awards began. Kennedy was named the Golden Spikes Award x D1 Baseball Player of the Week and Big 12 Conference Player of the Week. On Tuesday, he was named the Brooks Wallace Award Player of the Week by the College Baseball Foundation, an award that honors the nation's top shortstop. Finally, he was named the National College Baseball Writers Association Dick Howser Trophy Co-National Hitter of the Week, and he was selected to Baseball America's Week 1 National Team of the Week.
"I don't know what's up with all that," Kennedy says, laughing humbly. "I mean, I'm grateful. I'm still trying to get caught up on everything. I didn't envision it, really. It's just the preparation with me and the team. They're a huge part of my success. It does really feel good to finally see my name after all the hard work I've put in, but again, the reason I was able to play to the best of my ability was because of my teammates and everything we do together during those off days and the practice days that nobody really pays attention to."
As for the key to Kennedy's success?
"My eyesight," he says. "I got Lasik surgery in the summer. That was big time, especially going into the summer. It took a couple weeks to adjust and get used to everything, but, I mean, it's going great. I'm so happy I ended up doing that."
On the field, eyes didn't deceive the MLB scouts and national experts.
"I've shown them that I'm fast," Kennedy says. "I can get from A to B like that. My defense has gotten way, way better. Especially with hitting, I'm electric on the field. That's what I'm showing and bringing to the table.
"I've gotten way, way better with my contact to the ball. It's something I've been working on and reducing strikeouts. I've worked on competing and staying in those counts, and coming out, finishing, and putting the ball into play, and using my speed to get to where I need to go."
Kennedy and K-State won't have to wait long to put their wares on display again, as the Wildcats (4-0) face No. 5 Auburn (3-1), Nebraska (3-1) and Michigan (3-1) in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
First pitch in the opening game against No. 9 Auburn is set for 7:00 p.m. Friday. The Tigers come off an 8-0 loss to Cincinnati.
First pitch against Nebraska is 7:00 p.m. Saturday. The Huskers come off an 11-6 loss to Stanford.
First pitch against Michigan is 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The Wolverines come off a 5-4 loss in 10 innings against Oregon State.
"Playing high-level competition brings the best out of everybody," Kennedy says. "I'm excited to see how we go up against these highly regarded teams."
This start to the season, and this kind of competition, and these coaches, and this new team, and the possibilities that exist, are a part of why Kennedy opted to return to K-State this season.
"I chose to stay at K-State because of our coaches, who believe in me, and I was going to play, which was a big aspect in why I ended up staying," he says. "I saw the guys we're bringing in and thought we had a chance to be special and be better than last year. That's a reason why I ended up staying."
And how far could K-State go in 2026?
"Oh, we're going to go pretty far," Kennedy says. "We just have to stay healthy and for everyone to have each other's backs, and everything will play itself out. We play for the name across our chest. Everyone is on the same page.
"We're playing for K-State."
Players Mentioned
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K-State Football | Christian Ellsworth press conference - Feb, 18, 2026
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