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Ballinger, Nayral Picked on Final Day of 2026 MLB Draft
7/12/2026 6:09:00 PM | Baseball
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Two more Jayhawks were selected on the second and final day of the 2026 MLB Draft, with Brady Ballinger and Mathis Nayral each hearing their name called on Sunday.
Ballinger was drafted in the seventh round (216th overall) by the Detroit Tigers and Nayral was selected in the 13th round (402nd overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays. Ballinger is the ninth highest drafted position player in program history.
Ballinger and Nayral's selections bring the total to four Kansas players chosen this year after Tyson LeBlanc and Dominic Voegele were drafted on Saturday.
LeBlanc, Voegele and Ballinger were all selected in the first 10 rounds of the draft. It's the first time in school history that three Jayhawks have been selected in the top 10 rounds of a draft.
"We're proud of all four guys who were drafted," head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. "We have a number of returners who we anticipated getting drafted. It just shows that this is truly the deepest that college baseball has ever been and spots in professional baseball are becoming more and more rare. For Tyson, Dom, Brady and Mathis to get these opportunities, it's a real tip of the cap to their ability and their projection as professionals. We're really looking forward to watching them in the next stage of their career."
In four seasons under Fitzgerald, and his coaching staff of Brandon Scott, Tyler Hancock, Jon Coyne and Ryan Holland, Kansas has produced 23 professional baseball players. Thirteen of those 23 players have been selected in the MLB Draft, with six in 2024, three in 2025 and four in 2026.
INF/OF Brady Ballinger (Jr.)
Round 7, No. 216 Overall, Detroit Tigers
Ballinger, an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recipient, spent the last two years at Kansas. He highlighted the returning position players in 2026 and transitioned from first base to left field.
The Las Vegas, Nevada, native played in 60 games this past season. Ballinger tied for first in the Big 12 in sacrifice flies (9) and tied for fifth in walks (45). His 45 walks were second on the team and he finished the year with a .993 fielding percentage. He had a team-high 25-game reached base safely streak from March 27-May 8, 2026 and a 21-game on-base streak to open the season.
"Brady had a great two-year run for us," Fitzgerald said. "He was a key piece of both our NCAA Tournament teams. Brady has a great hit tool and has also shown defensive versatility. Really excited to watch him in his professional career."
In 2025, Ballinger earned All-American status from D1Baseball, NCBWA, ABCA/Rawlings and Perfect Game. Ballinger was also an All-Big 12 First Team selection, a Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist, on the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team, the Baseball America Big 12 Midseason Player of the Year and participated in training camp for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team.
He started 58 games at first base in 2025 and led the team in batting average (.353), walks (56), slugging percentage (.670), on-base percentage (.495), OPS (1.165), runs scored (71), hits (79), doubles (21), total bases (150), multi-hit games (24) and multi-walk games (16).
Ballinger's 71 runs were second most in a season in school history, his 56 walks tied for second in program history, his 16 home runs were tied for the fifth most in a season, his 150 total bases were the sixth most ever in a season by a Jayhawk, his .495 on-base percentage was tied for the seventh best and his 21 doubles were tied for the ninth most in a season.
Round 13, No. 402 Overall, Toronto Blue Jays
Nayral, the third French player to ever be selected in the MLB Draft, played only one season at Kansas in 2026. The tall righty was a weekend starter all year.
This past season, Nayral went 4-3 with a 4.96 ERA in 69.0 innings pitched. He recorded 71 strikeouts compared to 28 walks in his 18 appearances. His 17 starts were tied for the fifth most in Kansas single-season history and tied for 11th most nationally.
"Mathis had a great year for us and has a really bright future ahead of him," Fitzgerald said. "Toronto did a really nice job of scouting him. Really proud of Mathis and I'm looking forward to following his future."
Nayral earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on March 30 after a spectacular start at Cincinnati the weekend prior. The Montpellier, France, native recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts in a phenomenal seven innings of one-run ball. He allowed only three hits and one walk the entire day. Nayral retired the final 14 batters he faced from the second out in the third inning through the end of the seventh inning.
He also started the Big 12 Tournament Championship game versus West Virginia and gave the Jayhawks 4.1 scoreless innings to help KU claim its second conference tournament title in program history.
Early in the season, Nayral was placed on the College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List.
Ballinger was drafted in the seventh round (216th overall) by the Detroit Tigers and Nayral was selected in the 13th round (402nd overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays. Ballinger is the ninth highest drafted position player in program history.
Ballinger and Nayral's selections bring the total to four Kansas players chosen this year after Tyson LeBlanc and Dominic Voegele were drafted on Saturday.
LeBlanc, Voegele and Ballinger were all selected in the first 10 rounds of the draft. It's the first time in school history that three Jayhawks have been selected in the top 10 rounds of a draft.
"We're proud of all four guys who were drafted," head coach Dan Fitzgerald said. "We have a number of returners who we anticipated getting drafted. It just shows that this is truly the deepest that college baseball has ever been and spots in professional baseball are becoming more and more rare. For Tyson, Dom, Brady and Mathis to get these opportunities, it's a real tip of the cap to their ability and their projection as professionals. We're really looking forward to watching them in the next stage of their career."
In four seasons under Fitzgerald, and his coaching staff of Brandon Scott, Tyler Hancock, Jon Coyne and Ryan Holland, Kansas has produced 23 professional baseball players. Thirteen of those 23 players have been selected in the MLB Draft, with six in 2024, three in 2025 and four in 2026.
INF/OF Brady Ballinger (Jr.)
Round 7, No. 216 Overall, Detroit Tigers
Ballinger, an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention recipient, spent the last two years at Kansas. He highlighted the returning position players in 2026 and transitioned from first base to left field.
The Las Vegas, Nevada, native played in 60 games this past season. Ballinger tied for first in the Big 12 in sacrifice flies (9) and tied for fifth in walks (45). His 45 walks were second on the team and he finished the year with a .993 fielding percentage. He had a team-high 25-game reached base safely streak from March 27-May 8, 2026 and a 21-game on-base streak to open the season.
"Brady had a great two-year run for us," Fitzgerald said. "He was a key piece of both our NCAA Tournament teams. Brady has a great hit tool and has also shown defensive versatility. Really excited to watch him in his professional career."
In 2025, Ballinger earned All-American status from D1Baseball, NCBWA, ABCA/Rawlings and Perfect Game. Ballinger was also an All-Big 12 First Team selection, a Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist, on the Big 12 Championship All-Tournament Team, the Baseball America Big 12 Midseason Player of the Year and participated in training camp for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team.
He started 58 games at first base in 2025 and led the team in batting average (.353), walks (56), slugging percentage (.670), on-base percentage (.495), OPS (1.165), runs scored (71), hits (79), doubles (21), total bases (150), multi-hit games (24) and multi-walk games (16).
Ballinger's 71 runs were second most in a season in school history, his 56 walks tied for second in program history, his 16 home runs were tied for the fifth most in a season, his 150 total bases were the sixth most ever in a season by a Jayhawk, his .495 on-base percentage was tied for the seventh best and his 21 doubles were tied for the ninth most in a season.
RHP Mathis Nayral (Jr.)Lawrence ? Detroit
— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) July 12, 2026
Brady Ballinger has been selected in the 7th round by the @tigers! #RockChalk x @brady_ballinger pic.twitter.com/EuDGfU1Wy2
Round 13, No. 402 Overall, Toronto Blue Jays
Nayral, the third French player to ever be selected in the MLB Draft, played only one season at Kansas in 2026. The tall righty was a weekend starter all year.
This past season, Nayral went 4-3 with a 4.96 ERA in 69.0 innings pitched. He recorded 71 strikeouts compared to 28 walks in his 18 appearances. His 17 starts were tied for the fifth most in Kansas single-season history and tied for 11th most nationally.
"Mathis had a great year for us and has a really bright future ahead of him," Fitzgerald said. "Toronto did a really nice job of scouting him. Really proud of Mathis and I'm looking forward to following his future."
Nayral earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Week on March 30 after a spectacular start at Cincinnati the weekend prior. The Montpellier, France, native recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts in a phenomenal seven innings of one-run ball. He allowed only three hits and one walk the entire day. Nayral retired the final 14 batters he faced from the second out in the third inning through the end of the seventh inning.
He also started the Big 12 Tournament Championship game versus West Virginia and gave the Jayhawks 4.1 scoreless innings to help KU claim its second conference tournament title in program history.
Early in the season, Nayral was placed on the College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List.
Kansas won three championships in 2026, including the Big 12 regular season title, the Big 12 Tournament title and the Lawrence Regional title. The Jayhawks finished the year with a 45-18 overall record to tie the most wins ever in a season. Kansas was the only Division I team in the country to finish the 2026 season with at least 45 overall wins, 20 conference wins and 20 road wins.Lawrence ? Toronto
— Kansas Baseball (@KUBaseball) July 12, 2026
Mathis Nayral has been selected in the 13th round by the @BlueJays!#RockChalk x @MathisNayr31958 pic.twitter.com/yaQdoM8i9M
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