Kansas State baseball coach Pete Hughes determined to keep raising his program's standard
On one hand, Kansas State's baseball team reached a critical goal in 2025, not just by qualifying for a second straight NCAA Tournament, but also by showing that last year was no fluke.
On the other, the fact that the Wildcats bowed out of the Austin Regional with a 1-2 record left much to be desired.
"I'm going to say, 'Great job fellas,' but there's a lot of room for improvement," seventh-year coach Pete Hughes said after the Wildcats' season-ending 15-8 loss to Texas, leaving them with a final 32-26 record. "This is not satisfying, just coming to a regional and winning one game.
"When we got to a regional, we expect to win that tournament. We're going to get better to do it."
That said, getting back to the postseason was no small accomplishment after Hughes flipped nearly the entire roster from a 2024 team that lost significant star power both on offense and on the mound.
"This was a rewarding season, obviously. We want to keep playing baseball," Hughes said. "To be able to be here as a regional team and reload, not rebuild, with everything that we lost from last year and maintain the high level of success, that's a mark of a national program.
"So, I'm really proud of these guys. We had a ton of new guys from all over the place adapt to our culture, which is the strongest thing in our program, and it leads you to play in June. We did it again with different people, and that says a lot about our program and our brand."
While last year's team swept through the Fayetteville Regional as a No. 3 seed before falling to Virginia in the Charlottesville Super Regional, this year's Wildcat team did not exhibit the firepower and certainly not the pitching depth to make a similar run.
The Wildcats were blown out, 10-2, by Texas-San Antonio in the opening round, and after getting past overmatched Houston Christian, 7-4, in the first elimination game, they were manhandled by host and top seed Texas.
But senior pitcher Jacob Frost, the Wildcats' No. 1 weekend starter and one of the few returning players from 2024, sees better days ahead for the program.
"I think there was a lot of praise about last year's team, and we had some guys that were highly touted guys going into the draft that following summer," Frost said. "And I think (2025) was a good proving point that Kansas State baseball is here to stay in regionals.
"I think we're a powerhouse of the Big 12 coming up. I think we're a good proving point why we're here."
Next year's potential roster did take a hit this week when second baseman and leading hitter Seth Dardar (.326 average) announced that he is transferring to LSU in his home state of Louisiana. But barring further defections, Hughes has a solid foundation in place.
"We'll have Shintaro (Inoue at shortstop) and (third baseman) Dee Kennedy. Those guys are going to get better with this year of experience under their belt," Hughes said. "AJ Evasco, he broke the single season record for freshman with home runs and RBIs, and that's a heck of a freshman year."
Evasco, who batted .311 with 11 home runs and 52 RBIs, was named to the Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Freshman All-America team Monday, June 9. The Wildcats also return pitcher James Guyette and starting catcher Bear Madliak.
"That's a lot of talented kids with a special year of experience that they can file away and get better and stay hungry, because we're certainly not satisfied with just being a regional team," Hughes said.
The Wildcats have been to just two super regionals in program history and never to Omaha for the College World Series. But Hughes expressed confidence that it is just a matter of time.
"We're going to be able to make adjustments," he said. "We're going to play better defense. We're going to be deeper on the mound.
"But the players that played for us this year are going to get better, because that's what our program does. We'll keep raising the standard every year until we're an Omaha team."
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State baseball looking for more after disappointing 2025 finish
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