Through the past couple seasons, Tointon Family Stadium has transformed from solely a home field to a stronghold for Kansas State baseball. The Wildcats, who recorded one of the best starts in program history, have leaned on consistent pitching, timely hitting and a home crowd that’s shown up in force, even as the sun sets behind Tointon’s lavish limestone entrance.
There’s an energy around the program that feels earned. After years of building under head coach Pete Hughes, the home-stadium success isn’t just a product of talent — it’s the result of a culture that’s taken root. Students fill the first baseline. Local families cluster behind home plate. And in the press box, there’s a quiet confidence that this team might be one of the program’s best.
“I can’t say enough about the support that this program — and every program at Kansas State gets,” Hughes said after the Wildcats’ home series-clinching win over UCF on April 11. “That’s why it’s a special place. The support we get from this community — it’s beyond description. And I told our kids today, ‘Don’t ever take that for granted, what we play in front of every day, because it’s unique.’”
The Wildcats boast a 13-1 home record in 2025, following last year’s 20-7 mark that helped lead to the team’s first Super Regional berth since 2013. K-State started this year 11-0 at Tointon, which marked the first 11-0 home start since 2014.
In 2024, K-State finished with a perfect 8-0 record in series openers at home, coming under Tointon’s late-night lights. After a 3-0 start to Friday home openers this spring, K-State suffered its first loss against UCF. However, the boys in purple refused to quit and took the series with wins on Saturday and Sunday.
“Our kids are a reason why those people are showing up to watch them play, because they play the game the right way, with respect,” Hughes said. “They play hard, and our community appreciates that. And our kids, believe me, it’s reciprocated.”
Part of the reason K-State found great success at home is the long ball, which has paid dividends all season. With 63 home runs entering the Wildcats’ weekend series at Kansas, K-State ranked second in the Big 12 and 14th nationally.
After the UCF series, the Wildcats launched five home runs in a run-rule victory over Missouri State. In total, 13 different players have hit at least one home run this season, with ten recording multiple home runs, led by 12 from shortstop Max Martin and 10 by left fielder Keegan O’Connor — both of whom are first-year transfers to the Little Apple.
“Everybody in this program has built that [team culture],” Hughes said. “That wasn’t here when we showed up. It’s here now and our kids take ownership in that people are coming here and supporting them and bringing their families and making it part of their weekends. And it’s appreciated, that’s for sure.”
Since 2019, K-State’s offense has turned in four of the top five seasons in terms of total home runs in program history, including a single-season record 89 in 2021, which K-State has a chance to blast by this spring.
Hughes is quick to credit the Wildcats’ culture as one of the reasons for the program’s recent climb to a yearly postseason contender, especially in a time of discontinuity across many college athletic programs.
“They’re not shopping themselves around for NIL, they don’t do that stuff,” Hughes said. “We just want to win baseball games and soak up every minute of playing in a college community that’s very unique. That’s how our kids go about their business. We talk about it all the time.”
Standing at 24-16, the Wildcats look to finish the season strong and make consecutive NCAA Tournament trips for the first time since 2010-11.
