The Kansas Jayhawks are on the brink of finishing off one of the best regular seasons in program history. Last year the Jayhawks finished second place in the Big 12, the team’s highest finish in the conference since the evolution of the Big 12. Before that, you’d have to look all the way back to the 1993 season to find their previous 2nd place finish in the Big Eight. The Jayhawks did finish first place in the Big Seven back in 1949 and twice when they were in the Missouri Valley Conference in 1922 and 1923.
In 2026, after dropping their opening conference series to Texas Tech, the Jayhawks won seven consecutive series including four sweeps in that span. They have won eight straight games in Big 12 conference play. Now Kansas is just one series win away from clinching their first Big 12 baseball championship.
In the latest polls, the Jayhawks jumped up to No. 7 which is their highest ranking in program history. This comes ahead of their biggest series of the season against the No. 2 team in the Big 12, West Virginia, who is ranked No. 15 nationally. The hype could not be bigger for the upcoming weekend series between the Jayhawks and Mountaineers.
Kansas has a conference record of 20-4 while West Virginia has a conference record of 16-8. If the Jayhawks win this series against the Mountaineers, they will clinch their first Big 12 title in program history. It won’t be an easy task for Kansas, but the Jayhawks are undefeated at home against Big 12 opponents heading into the series.
Kansas fans will want to check in and see if the Jayhawks can get an early lead during the series this weekend.. KU is an astounding 30-0 when leading after the 6th inning. The Jayhawks are 14-1 in games decided by 2 runs or fewer. They have 24 come from behind victories as well. This Kansas team is just built differently in 2026.
This is a team that believes in itself. The Jayhawks never feel like they are out of a game. When Kansas gets ahead, this team knows they will walk away with a win. It’s as simple as that. Yes, this is the biggest series of the season, but the team will say the series before that was the biggest of the season. The series before that was the biggest one as well. The stakes just keep getting higher with each passing week and so far, the moment has not been too big for this squad.
The pressure will continue to ramp up with this weekend series but what’s on the other side is what could really be remarkable. Not only will the Jayhawks have the opportunity to clinch their first ever Big 12 title this weekend, but Kansas could also put themselves in position to host their first ever Regional in Lawrence as well. If they go out and sweep West Virginia and close the season strong against BYU, they will host a Regional and if they can get through their home regional, they would likely host a Super Regional at that point as well. Truly unprecedented times in Lawrence, Kansas right now in that Jayhawk baseball program.
All games between Kansas and West Virginia are weather permitting, but the series is scheduled to begin Friday evening, May 8th, at 6:00 pm at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kansas. Game 2 is scheduled for 2:00 pm Saturday, May 9th, with the series finale scheduled for 11:00 am on Sunday, May 10th. All games will air on ESPN+. If you’re in the area and want to see one of the best series of the season in person, there are still a limited number of $12 general admission tickets to each of the games in this series at kuathletics.com.
