The Daily Mauling 5.20.26

A least tern munches on an afternoon fish snack while on Red River Beach in South Harwich. Photo taken May 13, 2026 | Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Kansas Jayhawks Links Kansas Baseball head coach Dan Fitzgerald is once again named Big 12 Coach of the Year : Fitzgerald is the first back-to-back Big 12 Coach of the Year since Augie Garrido did so at Texas in 2010 and 2011. Fitzgerald and the Jayhawks won the Big 12 title outright after a 39-16 regular season and a 22-8 mark in conference play.

The Jayhawks also had 7 players earn conference honors this year: Tyson LeBlanc and Boede Rahe were voted to the All-Big 12 First Team, Cade Baldridge , Josh Dykhoff and Dominic Voegele were selected to the All-Big 12 Second Team and Brady Ballinger and Mason Cook earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. Jeff Passan at ESPN writes about the approach Fitzgerald has taken in turning the Jayhawks into a top of the conference program : The unlikeliest powerhouse in college baseball features a lineup with eight junior college transfers and a ninth from Division II Minnesota Crookston. When Dan Fitzgerald arrived at the University of Kansas three years ago to take over a program defined by its perpetual mediocrity, he did not intend to build around the overlooked and underappreciated.

It just came naturally. Through the Phog says Cam Pickett is the Jayhawk with the best chance to earn All Big 12 honors in the fall: You see, everyone knows that without longtime quarterback Jalon Daniels under center, either Cole Ballard, Chase Jenkins, or Isaiah Marshall will be employed as QB1. The problem is, none of them have valuable experience in the Big 12, which means they will all need their outlet.

Pickett can serve as exactly that. Yardbarker writes about Bill Self’s discussion/interwiew with CJ Moore and how he’s approaching the potential end of his career : Self knows he won’t be able to coach forever, but retirement may not be as imminent as many had previously thought it would be for him. Lance Leipold lands a commitment for the 2027 class in safety Braiden Graves : The 6-foot, 190-pound prospect from Cypress, Texas, is ranked as the No.