Completed Event: Baseball versus St. Thomas on March 8, 2026 , Loss , 2, to, 13 , (8 inn.)
Final
Baseball
2
vs St. Thomas
(8 inn.)
13
Kansas to Host Fifth Annual Buck O’Neil Classic Tuesday
3/16/2026 11:10:00 AM | Baseball
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The fifth annual Buck O'Neil Classic will take place at Hoglund Ballpark this week. The game, created to honor Buck O'Neil and the Negro Leagues, will be on Tuesday, March 17 against Missouri at 6 p.m. CT.
Kansas will be wearing its special uniforms designed after the Kansas City Monarchs. Fans can purchase tickets for the Buck O'Neil Classic by clicking here.
Buck O'Neil was a first baseman and played a majority of his career for the Kansas City Monarchs. He became a player-manager for the Monarchs too. Upon the conclusion of his time in the Negro Leagues in 1955, O'Neil was hired by the Chicago Cubs as a scout. In 1962, the Cubs promoted O'Neil to their major league coaching staff, making him the first African American coach in Major League Baseball history.
O'Neil, who died in 2006, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2022 for his contributions to the game as a player, scout and manager.
O'Neil helped establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM). After starting the NLBM in a tiny, one-room office in 1990, the NLBM moved into a 10,000-square-foot home in Kansas City in 1997. O'Neil's idea was to build it into a museum, rather than a Hall of Fame, that would pay tribute to the Negro Leagues and their legendary players. O'Neil served as the chairman of the museum and helped the NLBM gain National Designation in 2006 after testifying before Congress on the museum's importance.
Another tie to the Negro Leagues is that the first night game the Kansas City Monarchs ever played came in Lawrence in early March 1930.
Kansas is 4-0 in the annual Buck O'Neil Classic. The first two years were played against Texas Southern, while the 2024 season was versus No. 20 Nebraska and 2025 was against Missouri. In last season's game, Kansas defeated Missouri 9-3 in front of 2,545 fans. Brady Counsell, now a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, set a new career high with five RBIs, including a three-run homer in the game.
Tuesday night's contest against Missouri will be the first of two midweek clashes between the schools this season.
ABOUT THE NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is the world's only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African American baseball and its impact on the social advancement of America. The privately funded, 501 c3, not-for-profit organization was established in 1990 and is in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri's Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District. The NLBM operates two blocks from the Paseo YMCA where Andrew "Rube" Foster established the Negro National League in 1920. To learn more about the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, please visit nlbm.com.
Kansas will be wearing its special uniforms designed after the Kansas City Monarchs. Fans can purchase tickets for the Buck O'Neil Classic by clicking here.
Buck O'Neil was a first baseman and played a majority of his career for the Kansas City Monarchs. He became a player-manager for the Monarchs too. Upon the conclusion of his time in the Negro Leagues in 1955, O'Neil was hired by the Chicago Cubs as a scout. In 1962, the Cubs promoted O'Neil to their major league coaching staff, making him the first African American coach in Major League Baseball history.
O'Neil, who died in 2006, was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2022 for his contributions to the game as a player, scout and manager.
O'Neil helped establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM). After starting the NLBM in a tiny, one-room office in 1990, the NLBM moved into a 10,000-square-foot home in Kansas City in 1997. O'Neil's idea was to build it into a museum, rather than a Hall of Fame, that would pay tribute to the Negro Leagues and their legendary players. O'Neil served as the chairman of the museum and helped the NLBM gain National Designation in 2006 after testifying before Congress on the museum's importance.
Another tie to the Negro Leagues is that the first night game the Kansas City Monarchs ever played came in Lawrence in early March 1930.
Kansas is 4-0 in the annual Buck O'Neil Classic. The first two years were played against Texas Southern, while the 2024 season was versus No. 20 Nebraska and 2025 was against Missouri. In last season's game, Kansas defeated Missouri 9-3 in front of 2,545 fans. Brady Counsell, now a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, set a new career high with five RBIs, including a three-run homer in the game.
Tuesday night's contest against Missouri will be the first of two midweek clashes between the schools this season.
ABOUT THE NEGRO LEAGUES BASEBALL MUSEUM
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is the world's only museum dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history of African American baseball and its impact on the social advancement of America. The privately funded, 501 c3, not-for-profit organization was established in 1990 and is in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri's Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District. The NLBM operates two blocks from the Paseo YMCA where Andrew "Rube" Foster established the Negro National League in 1920. To learn more about the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, please visit nlbm.com.
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ BaseballBaseball Highlights at Texas Tech
Sunday, March 15
Baseball Highlights vs St. Thomas
Friday, March 06
Kansas Baseball Press Conference
Wednesday, March 04
Dan Fitzgerald Preseason Press Conference
Thursday, February 05