Dan Fitzgerald - Head Baseball Coach - Baseball Coaches

Dan Fitzgerald

Title:
Head Baseball Coach
Phone:
864-7907

Dan Fitzgerald was named the Head Baseball Coach on June 15, 2022. Fitzgerald recently completed his third season as head coach in 2025. Following the 2025 season, the Big 12 Coach of the Year signed a six-year contract extension.

Kansas had one of its best seasons in school history in 2025, including a program record 42 regular season wins. Fitzgerald led Kansas to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014, while overseeing a truly historic season in Lawrence. The Jayhawks set program records in Big 12 wins (20), conference wins (20), conference series wins (seven), conference series sweeps (five), road wins (20), come-from-behind wins (26) and home runs (104).

Entering the NCAA Tournament, Kansas was the only team in the country with at least 43 overall wins, 20 conference wins and 20 true road wins. The Jayhawks also had more overall wins (43) and conference wins (20) than any team in the Big 12 at the beginning of the tournament.

Not only did Fitzgerald become the first Big 12 Coach of the Year in program history, but he also developed Brady Ballinger and Jackson Hauge into All-Americans in 2025. The last Kansas All-American, before Ballinger and Hauge, was in 2009 and the Jayhawks did not have two All-Americans in a season since 1996.

KU finished the 2025 season at the top of the Big 12 with 367 walks (fourth nationally), 104 home runs (tied for 15th nationally) and seven shutouts (tied for fourth nationally).

Kansas made significant strides forward in 2024 as the team finished with an overall record of 31-23 and a 15-15 mark in conference play. The 31 wins were the most for Kansas since 2019 and the 15 victories in conference games were tied for the most in program history. The Jayhawks advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship for the first time since 2013 when the Jayhawks played in the title game.

Fitzgerald and his coaching staff helped eight Jayhawks receive postseason Big 12 honors in 2024, highlighted by true freshman Dominic Voegele being named Big 12 Freshman of the Year. After never having a Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Kansas has been home to the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in back-to-back seasons (Kodey Shojinaga, 2023). Voegele went on to be named a Freshman All-American by four different publications.

Kansas had six players selected in the 2024 MLB Draft, the most by Kansas in the top 20 rounds of an MLB Draft in program history. Hunter Cranton tied for the second highest draft pick in program history, while Shojinaga marked the fifth highest position player ever drafted out of Kansas. Additionally, two players signed professional contracts to make it a total of eight Jayhawks from the 2024 roster going on to play professional baseball.

In his first year directing the program, Kansas doubled its conference win total and improved its overall win total by five games. The Jayhawks qualified for the Big 12 Championship for the first time since 2021 and won their first game in the tournament since 2019, knocking off No. 1 Texas.

Offensively, Kansas tied the program record with 75 home runs in 2023, with four players hitting at least 10 home runs for the first time since 2003. The Jayhawks also posted their highest batting average and most hits since 2014, while they also tallied their most doubles, runs and RBIs since 2010.
On the mound, Kansas lowered its ERA by 1.75 runs per game from 2022 to 2023. Defensively, Kansas tied for first in the Big 12 with 46 double plays turned during the regular season. That also ranked 25th in the nation.

Under Fitzgerald and his staff, Collin Baumgartner and Cole Elvis both went on to sign professional contracts following the 2023 season. Baumgartner and Elvis each transferred to Kansas to utilize their final year of eligibility.

Fitzgerald and his staff have had success on the recruiting trail since coming to Lawrence. In November 2022, less than five months after Fitzgerald and his staff were hired, they assembled the No. 1 JUCO recruiting class. The No. 1 ranking by Perfect Game was the Jayhawks’ first-ever top ranked recruiting class. The staff followed that up by earning the No. 1 JUCO recruiting class for a second consecutive year in November 2023 and a third straight year in November 2024. An aggressive approach to the transfer portal also earned Kansas the No. 9-ranked transfer class and the best in the Big 12 by D1Baseball in January 2024.

Fitzgerald arrived at Kansas following one year at LSU in 2022, where he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, helping lead the Tigers to a 40-win season and an NCAA Regional final appearance. His time in Baton Rouge was preceded by a successful nine-year tenure at Dallas Baptist as both an assistant coach, associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.

At DBU, Fitzgerald had a major hand in bringing unprecedented success to the Patriots program. In his nine seasons with the program, Dallas Baptist played in seven NCAA Regionals, won three regular-season conference championships and won three conference tournaments.

Fitzgerald came to Lawrence with a sterling reputation in player development and recruiting, along with deep Midwestern ties, having served as a head coach at Des Moines Area Community College for five seasons and spending five seasons as an assistant in the region.

During his nine seasons at Dallas Baptist (2012-21), Fitzgerald played a major role in the Patriots developing and recruiting some of the top talent in the country. He helped recruit and develop 57 Major League Baseball Draft picks, 20 of those being Top-10 picks, nine All-Americans, eight freshman All-Americans, 80 all-conference selections and two conference players of the year.

Dallas Baptist tallied 270 victories from 2015-21, which was the fifth-most by a Division I baseball program during that span. The Patriots, known best for their explosive offense, ranked in the top 25 nationally in home runs in each season during Fitzgerald’s time at Dallas Baptist. The team held a top 25 ranking in a total of 51 offensive categories across his nine seasons.

With the Patriots proving to be one of the top programs nationally, Fitzgerald was promoted from assistant coach to associate head coach in June 2016. Dallas Baptist posted a 341-168 (.670) record during his tenure with six seasons of at least 40 wins. Fitzgerald helped land some of the top prep players nationally, by being able to recruit throughout the country, thanks to his trusted relationships and proven track record, which he now brings to Kansas.

Fitzgerald has earned respect among his peers. In a survey of 90 head coaches conducted by Baseball America in 2020, Fitzgerald was rated No. 7 on a list of assistant coaches from across the nation that will one day make the best head coach. Baseball America also rated Fitzgerald as the No. 7 assistant coach in the nation in 2018, while D1Baseball ranked him as the 17th-best recruiter in the country in 2016.

Prior to his time at LSU and Dallas Baptist, Fitzgerald was the head coach at Des Moines Area Community College (2008-12). In his five years at DMACC, Fitzgerald was awarded Coach of the Year honors by 13 different publications. His team’s won five consecutive conference championships and advanced to the Junior College World Series on four separate occasions.

Fitzgerald also had 36 players sign with Division I programs, nine student-athletes be named Junior College All-Americans, including the 2009 National Player of the Year. His program finished with at least 40 wins in every season and compiled a 249-73 (.773) record over the five-year stretch.

Fitzgerald’s coaching career began in 2000 at Iowa as a volunteer assistant coach. He then interned with the Minnesota Twins scouting department (2002) before returning to coaching as an assistant at North Iowa Area Community College (2003-04), Flagler College (2005-06) and Des Moines Area Community College (2007-08).

In addition to coaching at schools, Fitzgerald has spent time as a head coach in top summer leagues around the country. That includes a stint in 2004 as the Field Manager for Athletes in Action in Alaska, the sport ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.

A native of Edina, Minnesota, Fitzgerald attended and played baseball at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls before graduating with a degree in English from the University of Minnesota in 2000. Most recently, he earned a Masters of Education in Kinesiology from Dallas Baptist in 2016. Fitzgerald and his wife, Kelly, have three sons – Will, Max and Ben.

The Fitzgerald File
Alma Mater: Minnesota, 2000, B.A. in English; Dallas Baptist, 2016, Masters of Education in Kinesiology
Wife: Kelly
Children: Will, Max, and Ben

Coaching Experience
Years	School/Organization	Role
2022-present	Kansas	Head Coach
2021-22	LSU	Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
2016-21	Dallas Baptist	Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
2012-16	Dallas Baptist	Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
2008-12	Des Moines Area Community College	Head Coach
2007-08	Des Moines Area Community College	Assistant Coach
2004-06	Flagler College	Assistant Coach
2003-04	North Iowa Area Community College	Assistant Coach
2002	Minnesota Twins	Scouting Intern
2000-01	Iowa	Volunteer Assistant Coach

YearPostseason Experience
2022	Hattiesburg Regional
2021	Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champions Columbia Super Regional
2019	Lubbock Regional
2018	Fayetteville Regional
2017	Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champions Fort Worth Regional
2016	Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champions Lubbock Regional
2015	Dallas Regional
2014	Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champions Fort Worth Regional
2012	World Series Qualifier Region Champions District Champions
2011	World Series Qualifier Region Champions District Champions
2009	World Series Qualifier Region Champions District Champions
2008	World Series Qualifier Region Champions District Champions

The Jayhawker Podcast | Dan Fitzgerald: Authentic Culture is Felt

Dan Fitzgerald has never tried to be something other than himself at each stop in his college baseball career. A solid coach at Dallas Baptist, earning the fifth most wins in the country since 2015. A great recruiter at LSU, resulting in the number one class in 2022. But most important to him, he’s always been an outstanding teammate. It’s always been ab