Coming off a historic 2024 season with the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013, Kansas State baseball dug into its baselines.
“I think we set the standard for our program and where we want to be,” head coach Pete Hughes said ahead of his seventh season in Manhattan. “Our next step is sustaining success, and that’s what really good programs do year in and year out. They survive drafts, they reload and they continue to elevate their standard. That’s our goal this year.”
The Wildcats captured the second regional title in school history with a sweep of the Fayetteville Regional, which included a 7-6 triumph over regional host Arkansas. However, they lost five collegiate draft picks in the same year for the first time since 2011, including first-round draft selection in All-American Kaelen Culpepper.
So what does the standard for 2025 look like? According to Big 12 coaches, the Wildcats are not expected to repeat their postseason prowess after being voted 8th of 14 in the conference preseason poll.
Hughes, who said he doesn’t look at the yearly results of the preseason coaches poll, isn’t worried about where the ‘Cats landed.
“I don’t know where we ended up, but I would imagine it’s pretty low,” he said. “And if you look at what we lost, and you don’t know our players in our program. You’re probably gonna vote that way. I just have a heck of a lot of faith in these guys. They’re really good players in our program, where it’s at and where it’s gonna stay.”
Part of the challenge of building a program that reloads as opposed to rebuilds is managing the transfer portal and finding high school talent who can compete early on.
“Sustainability is our goal. We want to be really good year after year,” Hughes said. “Our recruiting coordinator, Ryan Connolly, and our staff are as talented as anyone in the country when it comes to reloading—whether it’s on the recruiting trail or in the transfer portal.”
This year, K-State had a pitching priority in the portal after losing a handful of masters of the mound, highlighted by veteran southpaw Owen Boerema, All-American closer Tyson Neighbors and versatile All-Big-12 righty Jackson Wentworth.
Boerema broke the program record for most starts in a single season with 19 and finished third all-time with 110 strikeouts. Neighbors finished third all-time in K-State history with 20 career saves, while his nine this season tied sixth in the single-season records. Wentworth had a standout redshirt sophomore campaign where he struck out 115 hitters, which is the second-most in program history and ranked fourth in the Big 12 last season.
“We lost a lot on the mound,” Hughes said. “…The key this offseason was building pitching depth. Our staff was outstanding last season, and while we lost some great arms, I believe the depth of this year’s staff is our biggest strength.”
Leading the way for the new faces on the pitching staff is Michael Quevedo, a senior transfer from Nicholls State, who ranked 72nd overall in the D1Baseball Top 85 Impact Transfers List.
“Quevedo has bulldog written all over him as he moves over to Manhattan for his final season,” D1Baseball’s managing editor Kendall Rogers said. “He showed solid command of the zone with 21 walks, while also striking out 68 and limiting teams to a .257 OBA.”
A 5-foot-11 lefty, Quevedo arrives in Manhattan following a two-year stint at Nicholls State. He went 9-3 for the Colonels with a 5.13 ERA and 92 strikeouts over 112 1/3 innings, helping clinch a Southland Conference Championship and No. 3 seed in the Corvallis Regional last year.
“He’s pitched in a regional, he’s been a Friday night guy,” Hughes said. “He’s a proven competitor. He’s made big pitches. He’s been in big situations.”
A big piece returning to the Wildcats’ pitching arsenal is right-hander Ty Ruhl, who battled injuries last season before returning in the postseason to toss four shutout innings against SEMO in the Fayetteville Regional Championship game.
“It means a lot just to go out there one last time, go out there, play with the boys and win every day with the team, and just compete and stay injury-free,” Ruhl said on his return.
One of the keys for the Wildcats’ offensive puzzle will be sophomore Nick English, who was All-Big 12 Honorable Mention as a freshman. As a rookie, he carded 57 starts at third base while batting .249/.340/.369 with 17 doubles, three home runs and 22 RBI.
“The biggest lesson was just playing on those big stages, learning how those older guys handled their leadership, and I think that can be carried into this year,” English said. “Showing younger guys and our transfers just how we play and how we play as a family, because that’s how we operate here at Kansas State.”
The 2025 slate features six programs ranked in the preseason Top 25 national poll by D1Baseball, which includes No. 3 LSU, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 17 Oklahoma State, No. 23 TCU and No. 24 Nebraska.
K-State will face eight teams that reached last season’s regional round of the NCAA Tournament while playing a total of 10 opponents that finished with an RPI of 45 or higher.
“You’ve heard me talk about the RPI many times—you have to play good teams, and you have to play on the road,” Hughes said on the tough schedule. “…Travel makes your team resilient. Playing in uncomfortable environments toughens your players. I don’t think we would have approached the Fayetteville Regional the same way if we hadn’t scheduled aggressively last year.”
K-State will officially begin its 2025 campaign on Friday, Feb. 14 at the Baseball at the Beach tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina.
