James Guyette, RHP, San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres selected Kansas State junior right-handed pitcher James Guyette in the fifth round of the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft on Monday, marking the 157th overall pick of the day.

Guyette spent all three years of his collegiate career with the Wildcats, developing into a frontline starter for head coach Pete Hughes. The Newbury Park, Calif., native anchored the K-State rotation this spring, finishing with a 6-4 record and a 5.56 ERA across 16 appearances and 15 starts.

Guyette put together a historic campaign on the mound by striking out 105 batters over 79 1/3 innings. The performance set K-State’s junior class single-season strikeout record, breaking the previous mark established by A.J. Morris in 2009. Guyette’s 105 strikeouts also rank as the fourth-most in a single season in school history, making him just the fifth Wildcat ever to cross the 100-strikeout mark. 

The defining moment of Guyette’s season came on May 10 during Senior Day, when he threw his first career nine-inning complete game against Cincinnati. He allowed just two runs on three hits and struck out a career-high 13 batters, marking the most strikeouts by a Wildcat pitcher in a single game under Hughes. It was also the program’s first nine-inning complete game since 2024.

Guyette fueled his draft stock with a dynamic repertoire that features a fastball sitting at 91-94 mph that can top out at 96 mph. Professional scouts particularly coveted his 81-89 mph slider and sweeper, pitches rated as some of the best swing-and-miss breaking balls in the draft class. 

With his selection, Guyette became the latest in a growing line of Wildcat pitchers under Hughes to transition into the professional ranks.

Tazwell Butler, RHP, Houston Astros

On Monday, the Houston Astros selected redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Tazwell Butler in the 10th round with the 301st overall pick of the 2026 MLB Draft.

The 6-foot, 210 lb hurler from Sandy Springs, Ga., proved to be a versatile right-handed pitcher for the Wildcats over the last two seasons. During the 2026 campaign, Butler made 21 appearances, including four starts, and recorded three saves. He struck out 58 batters over 55 innings of work while holding opposing hitters to a .239 batting average.

Before his time in Manhattan, Butler played at St. Pius X High School before putting together a successful junior college record at Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tenn.

Over his two seasons with the Senators from 2023 to 2024, Butler went an undefeated 10-0 with a 3.20 ERA and two saves. He racked up 105 strikeouts across 78.2 innings, earning him 2024 All-TCCAA Second Team accolades and finishing his junior college career without a single loss.

Butler also spent the summer of 2025 showcasing his talent in the Cape Cod Baseball League with the Harwich Mariners, where he averaged 15.2 strikeouts per nine innings across five relief appearances.

At K-State, Butler accumulated 82 strikeouts across 81.2 career innings. His most historic moment with the program came during the 2025 season, when he pitched five scoreless frames out of the bullpen with five strikeouts against Cincinnati on May 17. That performance secured the victory that sealed the Wildcats’ record-breaking 17th Big 12 Conference win.

With his selection, Butler adds to the growing pipeline of K-State talent heading into MLB.

Bear Madliak, C, Athletics

The big leagues called Bear Madliak’s name on the final day of the draft, sending the K-State redshirt senior catcher to the Athletics organization in the 18th round and cementing a four-man draft class for the Wildcats.

Madliak, the 531st pick of the draft, joins teammates Dee Kennedy, James Guyette and Tazwell Baker in a highly decorated K-State class. For Madliak, the selection caps off a resilient journey through the collegiate ranks, moving through three programs before handling the Wildcats’ pitching staff from behind the plate for the past two seasons.

Madliak, from Carrollton, Ga., began his college career at the University of Georgia, where he sat out the 2022 season as a redshirt. Seeking consistent playing time, he transferred to Jacksonville State University for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He made an immediate splash with the Gamecocks, earning ASUN All-Freshman Team and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American honors in 2023 after batting .330 with 66 hits and six home runs. Madliak followed that up by leading Jacksonville State with a .328 batting average in 2024.

After transferring to K-State for the 2025 season, Madliak immediately made an impact behind the plate. During his debut year in Manhattan, he started 50 games at catcher, batting .242 with eight home runs and 29 RBIs. A defining moment of his season occurred on March 15, 2025, when he launched a walk-off solo home run against Utah to secure a third straight Big 12 opening-weekend victory for K-State.

Defensively, Madliak became a threat to baserunners, finishing second in the Big 12 by throwing out 13 potential base stealers in 2025.

He elevated his game during his final year at Tointon Family Stadium in 2026, boosting his batting average to .310 with a career-high nine home runs and 45 RBIs. The College Baseball Foundation highlighted Madliak in late March when he was named the Buster Posey National Catcher of the Week after hitting .533 with three home runs and eight RBIs during a crucial stretch against Utah.

His consistent production down the stretch earned him a spot as one of 16 national semifinalists for the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award, becoming just the second player in K-State history to earn the honor. League coaches also recognized him as an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection for the 2026 postseason.

Along with his offensive prowess, Madliak also displayed endurance behind the plate, setting a season-high with 23 putouts in a single game against Oklahoma State on April 12.

Over his four-year playing career, Madliak appeared in 206 games, maintaining a .305 lifetime batting average, a .393 on-base percentage and a .493 slugging percentage. He finishes his collegiate career with 225 hits, 48 doubles, three triples, 28 home runs and 130 RBIs.