LAWRENCE, Kan. – Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald, who doubled the team’s conference win total and improved the overall win total by five games in his first season, announced the 2024 Kansas baseball schedule on Thursday. The 2024 schedule includes 30 Big 12 Conference games, including matchups with league newcomers BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and UCF, an appearance at the Karbach Round Rock Classic and 26 games at Hoglund Ballpark, up from 18 last season.
“Our schedule is loaded with outstanding teams and will challenge our competitiveness from beginning to end,” Fitzgerald said. “We have a great non-conference slate, and as always, a really tough Big 12 lineup with some new opponents. We had a productive fall, and now we can really begin to hone in on the 2024 season, which is exciting for everyone in the program.”
In 2023, KU qualified for the Big 12 Championship for the first time since 2021 and won its first game in the tournament since 2019 by defeating nationally-ranked Texas. A go-ahead grand slam by Janson Reeder in the seventh inning was one of a program-record-tying 75 home runs in 2023. Reeder, who was an All-Big 12 First Team selection last season, will be a key returner in 2024 along with Big 12 Freshman of the Year Kodey Shojinaga, who set a Kansas freshman record with a .378 batting average.
The Jayhawks will open the season at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi, Texas, for the third straight year with a three-game series against the University of Illinois at Chicago and a midweek game against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. On the same road trip, Kansas will travel north to Round Rock, Texas, to participate in the Karbach Round Rock Classic against Texas State, Washington State and Kentucky.
KU will host 26 games at Hoglund Ballpark, beginning with the home opener on March 1 against Texas Southern. The Jayhawks will begin Big 12 play a week later by hosting 2023 College World Series qualifier TCU for a three-game series that starts on March 8.
Kansas will also play two neutral site games in Kansas City. For the second straight season, the Jayhawks will battle Missouri at Kauffman Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Royals. Also, Kansas will continue its outstanding partnership with the Kansas City Monarchs when it hosts Omaha at Legends Field on May 7.
“We are thankful and excited to have the opportunity to play in Kansas City, Kansas, in 2024, and play a game at Legends Field for the third-straight year as a program,” Fitzgerald said. “Both the Brandmeyer family and Jay Hinrichs – the leaders of the Kansas City Monarchs – continue to do so much in support of our Jayhawk family, and we are incredibly grateful.”
Returning to the schedule this year will be the third annual Buck O’Neil Classic. The game will be played on April 9 against Nebraska. In 2024, the Buck O’Neil Classic will move to Lawrence and be played at Hoglund Ballpark.
The top 10 teams in the regular season standings advance to the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship, which will be held at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Kansas will be entering its 134th season of baseball when the team opens the season in mid-February.
SCHEDULE NOTES
• 53 games on the 2024 schedule
• 26 games at Hoglund Ballpark
• Feb. 16 season opener vs. Illinois-Chicago
• March 1 home opener vs. Texas Southern
• March 8 conference opener vs. TCU
• Two games in Kansas City – March 19 vs. Missouri at Kauffman Stadium and May 7 vs. Omaha at Legends Field
• April 9 vs. Nebraska will be the Buck O’Neil Classic
• Season-long eight-game homestand from March 1-12
• The 26 home games are the most in Lawrence since the 2018 season
• 30 conference games
• Five Big 12 opponents at home: TCU, UCF, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Houston
• Five Big 12 opponents on the road: Cincinnati, BYU, Baylor, Kansas State, Texas
• Play games in six states
• All dates and times are subject to change
• Broadcast and promotional schedules will be released prior to the start of the season
TICKETING
Information about season and single game ticket options will be released at a later date.
| DATE(S) | DAY(S) | OPPONENT | LOCATION (VENUE) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 16-18 | Fri.-Sun. | vs. Illinois-Chicago | Corpus Christi, Texas (Whataburger Field) |
| Feb. 20 | Tuesday | vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi | Corpus Christi, Texas (Whataburger Field) |
| Feb. 23 | Friday | vs. Texas State | Round Rock, Texas (Dell Diamond) |
| Feb. 24 | Saturday | vs. Washington State | Round Rock, Texas (Dell Diamond) |
| Feb. 25 | Sunday | vs. Kentucky | Round Rock, Texas (Dell Diamond) |
| March 1 | Friday | TEXAS SOUTHERN | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| March 2 | Saturday (DH) | TEXAS SOUTHERN | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| March 3 | Sunday | TEXAS SOUTHERN | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| March 8-10 | Fri.-Sun. | TCU | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| March 12 | Tuesday | MISSOURI | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| March 15-17 | Fri.-Sun. | at Cincinnati | Cincinnati, Ohio (UC Baseball Stadium) |
| March 19 | Tuesday | vs. Missouri | Kansas City, Mo. (Kauffman Stadium) |
| March 22-24 | Fri.-Sun. | UCF | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| March 26 | Tuesday | SAINT LOUIS | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| March 28-30 | Thu.-Sat. | at BYU | Provo, Utah (Miller Park) |
| April 3 | Wednesday | at Wichita State | Wichita, Kan. (Eck Stadium) |
| April 5-7 | Fri.-Sun. | WEST VIRGINIA | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| April 9 | Tuesday | NEBRASKA | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| April 12-14 | Fri.-Sun. | PACIFIC | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| April 16 | Tuesday | at Omaha | Omaha, Neb. (Tal Anderson Field) |
| April 19-21 | Fri.-Sun. | at Baylor | Waco, Texas (Baylor Ballpark) |
| April 23 | Tuesday | at Nebraska | Lincoln, Neb. (Hawks Field at Haymarket Park) |
| April 26-28 | Fri.-Sun. | TEXAS TECH | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| May 1 | Wednesday | WICHITA STATE | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| May 3-5 | Fri.-Sun. | at Kansas State | Manhattan, Kan. (Tointon Family Stadium) |
| May 7 | Tuesday | vs. Omaha | Kansas City, Kan. (Legends Field) |
| May 10-12 | Fri.-Sun. | HOUSTON | Lawrence, Kan. (Hoglund Ballpark) |
| May 16-18 | Thu.-Sat. | at Texas | Austin, Texas (UFCU Disch-Falk Field) |
| Postseason | |||
| May 21-25 | Tue.-Sat. | Big 12 Championship | Arlington, Texas (Globe Life Field) |
| May 31-June 3 | Fri.-Mon. | NCAA Regionals | Campus Sites |
| June 7-10 | Fri.-Mon. | NCAA Super Regionals | Campus Sites |
| June 14-24 | Fri.-Mon. | NCAA College World Series | Omaha, Neb. (Charles Schwab Field Omaha) |
