PROVO, Utah — After defeating Utah Valley 10-5 in a midweek non-conference game on Tuesday at Miller Park, BYU welcomes No. 14 ranked Kansas to Provo, May 14-16, for the final regular-season Big 12 series of the year.
BROADCAST PLANS. All three contests will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The games will also be available on the BYU Radio app, BYUradio.org, SiriusXM 143 and 107.9 FM in Utah County with Greg Wrubell providing play-by-play. The games on Thursday and Friday are scheduled for 6 p.m. MDT, with game three slated for Saturday at 1 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY. Thursday marks the 19th all-time meeting between BYU and Kansas. The Jayhawks lead the series 11-7 after taking two of three from the Cougars last season in Lawrence, Kansas (7-6, 1-10, 5-7). BYU and KU have met six times previously in Provo with the Jayhawks holding a 4-2 record at Miller Park. KU also won the first all-time meeting between the two universities on March 22, 1968, at the Riverside Baseball Invitational.
MATCHUP PREVIEW. BYU is 26-25 on the year and 13-14 in Big 12 play. Meanwhile KU enters the weekend series at 37-15 and 20-7. The Jayhawks are in first place in the Big 12 with a one-game lead over West Virginia (19-8) with three games remaining. BYU sits in eighth place with a one-game lead over Baylor (12-15) and a two-game advantage over Utah (11-16).
KNOW THE FOE. Kansas is 6-4 over its last 10 games but dropped four-straight last week, including a midweek game at Crighton (8-9 in 13 innings) and three-straight home loses to WVU (1-4, 2-5, 2-13). As a team, Kansas is hitting .289 with 86 home runs and a slugging percentage of .508. The Jayhawks are led offensively by Tyson LeBlanc who is hitting team high .330 with 69 hits, 17 home runs and 51 RBI.
BAT CATS. As a team, BYU enters the UVU game hitting .283 with 72 home runs and a slugging percentage of .477. Sophomore first baseman Ezra McNaughton is hitting .348 and leads the Cougar offense in just about every statistical category. McNaughton is ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 in hits (73), home runs (15), RBI (51) and total bases (132).
PITCHING MATCHUP. BYU will start lefthanded senior Wayland Crane on the mound in game one Thursday. Crane has started 13 games and is 2-4 on the year with a 5.40 ERA. He has thrown 53 1/3 innings and recorded 44 strikeouts.
Senior righthander Garrison Sumner who has appeared in 12 games with eight starts will start game two on Friday. He is 4-3 on the year with a team leading 60 1/3 innings pitched and 75 strikeouts. BYU’s game-three starter will be determined later in the week.
KU will start right-handed pitcher Dominic Voegele in game one. The junior has appeared in 13 games and is 5-3 on the year with a 6.35 ERA. He has thrown 73 2/3 innings and recorded 94 strikeouts. Voegele has double-digit strikeouts in four of his last six starts, including two 15-strikeout performances.
Game two starter for the Jayhawks will be Mason Cook who has appeared in 14 games with nine starts. The junior righty is 4-1 on the year with a 4.56 ERA. He has pitched 49 1/3 innings and recorded 51 strikeouts.
UP NEXT. Following the BYU-KU series, BYU will travel to Surprise, Arizona on Monday for the 2026 Big 12 Baseball Tournament presented by Allstate. The tournament will feature 12 teams in a single-elimination format over five-days from May 19-23 at Surprise Stadium, the spring training home of the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers.