K-State Faces Utah in Big 12 Action Friday

Friday, March 27

Salt Lake City, Utah

7 p.m.

Kansas State University

Utah

Mar 26, 2026 | Baseball

Game Notes Watch (ESPN+)Live Stats

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State begins a three-game set with the Utah Utes Friday at America First Ballpark at 7 p.m. CT in Salt Lake City, Utah. Game two between the Wildcats (17-8, 3-3 Big 12) and Utes (13-9, 3-3 Big 12) is scheduled for 3 p.m., followed by the series finale at 2 p.m. Sunday.

The entire Big 12 series can be seen on ESPN+ and the ESPN app, while a free live streaming audio is available for all games at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app.

How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

GAME #26
K-State (17-8, 3-3 Big 12) at Utah (13-9, 3-3 Big 12)
Friday, March 27 // 7 PM CT // America First Ballpark // Salt Lake City, UT
Projected Starters: RHP James Guyette (3-1, 5.51 ERA) vs. RHP Colter McAnelly (2-3, 3.94 ERA)
Watch: ESPN+ // Bill Riley
Radio: KMAN // Matt Walters
Listen: kstatesports.com/watch
Live Stats: kstate.statbroadcast.com

GAME #27
K-State (17-8, 3-3 Big 12) at Utah (13-9, 3-3 Big 12)
Saturday, March 28 // 3 PM CT // America First Ballpark // Salt Lake City, UT
Projected Starters: LHP Lincoln Sheffield (5-0, 3.97 ERA) vs. RHP Payton Piske (2-1, 5.06 ERA)
Watch: ESPN+ // Bill Riley
Radio: KMAN // Matt Walters
Listen: kstatesports.com/watch
Live Stats: kstate.statbroadcast.com

GAME #28
K-State (17-8, 3-3 Big 12) at Utah (13-9, 3-3 Big 12)
Sunday, March 29 // 2 PM CT // America First Ballpark // Salt Lake City, UT
Projected Starters: RHP Tanner Duke (2-1, 4.88 ERA) vs. TBA
Watch: ESPN+ // Bill Riley
Radio: KMAN // Matt Walters
Listen: kstatesports.com/watch
Live Stats: kstate.statbroadcast.com

FOLLOW THE CATS
The three-game Big 12 series ESPN+ and the ESPN app … A free live streaming audio is available for all games at KStateSports.com/watch and on the K-State Sports app ... Fans can also follow along opening weekend action through live stats by visiting the team's schedule page or on the Cats social media platforms (@KStateBSB).

A LOOK AT K-STATE
K-State (17-8, 3-3 Big 12) suffered a 14-9 loss at home against Nebraska on Tuesday night … The Wildcats scored nine on 11 hits, committed no errors and stranded 10 on base … Designated hitter Kyan Lodice led the Cats offense with three hits while Ty Smolinski and Grant Gallagher each added two … Lodice along with AJ Evasco each drove in a pair of RBI … Right-handed reliever Aaron Arnold (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing three runs (earned) on three hits in his two innings … With the loss, K-State moved to 8-4 at home, with a 7-2 record in non-conference matchups … The Wildcats enter Friday's game tied sixth in the league standings alongside Cincinnati and Utah … As a team, K-State posts the third-best batting average in the Big 12 and 19^th-best in the country at .322, while ranking 13^th in the nation with a .555 slugging percentage … The Wildcat pitching staff leads the league in walks allowed per nine innings at 3.55 … Defensively, K-State has turned 20 double plays this season, ranking fourth in the Big 12, while the team's .981 fielding percentage is good for second in the league.

THE WILDCAT ROTATION
Friday: James Guyette (3-1, 5.51 ERA) leads the pitching staff with a season-high 37 strikeouts, ranking sixth in the Big 12 … He has punched out a career-high eight in three starts this season.
Saturday: Lincoln Sheffield (5-0, 3.97 ERA) leads the conference and is fifth in the nation in victories (5), while averaging 1.85 walks allowed per nine innings – the third-best mark in the conference.
Sunday: Tanner Duke (2-1, 4.88 ERA) registered a career-high nine strikeouts in the Cats' run-rule victory at Houston – the most by a Wildcat pitcher this season.

SCOUTING UTAH
Utah (13-9, 3-3 Big 12), which boasts a 7-2 home record, is coming off a 6-5 non-conference loss against in-state rival BYU … A two-run homer by Jake Long trimmed the deficit to one in the ninth inning, but the Utes were unable to complete the comeback … The Utes enter the series with a 3-3 mark in Big 12 play that includes a series win over Arizona over opening weekend, before dropping the series at Cincinnati … Utah won the series finale against Cincinnati, 13-11, with eight players combining for 14 hits … Outfielder Bradley Navarro led with three hits in the series finale … Utah is hitting .288 as a team with 35 doubles, six triples and 15 home runs … Luke Jacobs leads the offense with 10 extra-base hits, while Long and Cameron Gurney combined for 53 of the Utes' 130 RBI … The pitching staff boasts a 5.36 ERA (115 ER, 193 IP) with a 1.81 strikeout-to-walk ratio … Right-hander Colter McAnelly (2-3, 3.94 ERA) will get the nod in the series opener, sitting No. 5 in the league with a 1.09 WHIP … Payton Riske (2-1, 5.06 ERA) will start in the middle matchup, while Sunday's starter will be announced at a later date.

INSIDE THE SERIES
The Wildcats lead the all-time series 8-1 with a 3-0 edge in Big 12 action, sweeping the Utes in the first-ever conference series last season … K-State has outscored Utah, 83-26 … The Cats outscored the Utes 34-10 in the first conference series between the two squads included a 14-2 seven-inning run rule victory in the series finale … In the Hughes era, K-State is 4-1 against Utah … Friday's contest marks the first meeting between the two squads in Salt Lake City, however, the Wildcats are 5-1 when playing in neutral territory vs. the Utes.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
W, 6-4 – February 23, 2019 (San Diego, Calif.)
L, 1-2 – February 23, 2020 (Corpus Christi, Texas)
W, 7-6 – March 14, 2025 (Manhattan)
W, 13-2 – March 15, 2025 (Manhattan)
W, 14-2 (7) – March 16, 2025 (Manhattan)

PLAYER RANKINGS
Five players earned a spot on D1 Baseball's Week 6 Player Rankings … Dee Kennedy and Shintaro Inoue each came as a the No. 1 shortstop and second baseman in the Big 12, ranking fourth and 11^th nationally … Grant Gallagher was ranked the No. 2 third baseman in the conference and 14^th overall across the country … Ty Smolinski, who has had a standout sophomore campaign, earned a spot among the top first baseman, ranking fifth in the Big 12 and 47^th nationally … AJ Evasco ranked 12^th in the conference and 90^th in the country for outfielders.

CATS IN THE BIG 12
With a 3-3 mark in league action, the Wildcats are hitting .388 as a team, outscoring opponnents 70-49 … All three conference victories came in run-rule fashion … Shintaro Inoue leads the offense hitting .615 in league games with 12 RBI, while Carlos Vasquez follows with 13 … Seven starters are hitting .330 in conference games … K-State is 15-for-19 on the bases led by five stolen bases from Dee Kennedy … Opponents are hitting .295 against Wildcat pitchers.

CAN'T TOUCH THIS
K-State has recorded the second-most stolen bases in the Big 12 with 48, ranking 47^th nationally … The Cats are 48-for-61 on the bases with a 78.7% success rate … Dee Kennedy leads the league with 15 stolen bases and sits at No. 33 among all Division I players … He surpassed his career mark against Baylor, registering his second consecutive season with 10+ stolen bases.

AROUND THE LEAGUE
West Virginia and UCF sit atop the league standings with a 5-1 Big 12 record, followed by Arizona State, KU and Texas Tech at 4-2 to round out the top five … Cincinnati's Quinton Coats (player) was joined by TCU's Lance Davis (pitcher and co-newcomer) and Texas Tech's Connor Shouse (co-newcomer) as the Big 12 Baseball Players of the Week for the second week of league play.

NUMBERS NUGGETS
The Wildcats 240 runs are the ninth-most runs scored in the nation, ranking second in the league … K-State has a +101-run differential through 25 games this season, averaging 9.6 runs per game on 10.5 hits ... The Wildcats outscore opponents 116-57 (+59) through the first four frames ... The Cats are 12-5 when hitting a home run, with an 8-2 record when hitting two or more ... K-State has won eight of 10 games when it has not committed an error while going 9-6 when committing at least one error ... When holding opponents to five or fewer runs, the Wildcats are 12-4 ... K-State is 3-4 when scoring five or fewer runs in a game and are 14-4 when scoring six or more ... K-State is 3-4 in games decided by two runs or fewer.

INNING SURGES
K-State scored 14 runs in the top of the seventh vs. Penn State at the MLB Desert Invitational – its largest single-inning run production in K-State recorded history ... The Wildcats have scored five or more runs in 15 innings this season … The Wildcats have hit through the order 17 times this season, sending a season-high 18 to the plate in the team's 14-run seventh against Penn State (February 15).