Dan Fitzgerald talks Big 12 Tourney, possible regional host and Ballinger's injury

Head coach Dan Fitzgerald discussed the advantages of Kansas earning a double bye in the conference tournament, the ongoing construction changes beyond left field at Hoglund Ballpark and the status of veteran leader Brady Ballinger heading into postseason play.

Kansas baseball enters this week’s Big 12 Tournament coming off a series win over BYU and the No. 1 seed. There is also a close watch what could happen when the regional seeds are announced this weekend.

Kansas will keep their rotation in place with a Thursday game

Kansas wrapped up the regular season by winning the outright Big 12 championship, giving them the No. 1 overall seed with a double bye. Fitzgerald said one of the biggest benefits has been maintaining the same weekly routine the team has followed throughout the season.

Some teams play on Tuesday and Wednesday and that can disrupt pitching patterns.

“Yeah, it’s big,” Fitzgerald said. “And I think that’s one of the carrots out in front of you all season is that if you can finish near the top, you get to stay on track.”

[Fitzgerald named Big 12 Coach of the Year, player’s rewarded]

Kansas closed the regular season at BYU during a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series, which allowed the Jayhawks to keep their pitching rotation consistent heading into the postseason. Fitzgerald said while schedule adjustments are sometimes discussed heavily in college baseball, the continuity this week has helped the team.

“The BYU weekend is always a tricky one because it’s a Thursday, Friday, Saturday,” Fitzgerald said. “And then to have it the final week where everyone’s Thursday, Friday, Saturday doesn’t change anything schedule-wise.”

The Jayhawks will be able to keep everything in line with how they handled things during the season. But Fitzgerald believes sometimes the rest between games can be overblown.

“Big leaguers go on five days rest all the time,” Fitzgerald said. “So it’s really not as big a deal as sometimes we make it out to be. But I think the way it fell for us where we were able to stay on track this week has been really big.”

Focus will shift soon to possibility of hosting a regional

Left field construction adds excitement as regional hosting possibilities grow

As Kansas prepares for postseason baseball, changes are also happening around Hoglund Ballpark. Construction work beyond left field has become noticeable in recent days, leading to speculation the stadium could be preparing for a potential NCAA Regional hosting opportunity.

Fitzgerald admitted he has not been heavily involved in the project details, but he likes what he has seen so far.

“It looks pretty sweet,” Fitzgerald said. “Honestly, I don’t know much about what’s going on. I know that we’re constantly changing things around here, and so I was informed that was happening.”

Fitzgerald believes the visual changes to the ballpark will only continue enhancing the atmosphere around Kansas baseball.

“It’s certainly something that is awesome, and I think it’s going to open up more eyeballs on our stadium,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s a really cool view when you drive up from Naismith to be able to see into the ballpark.”

Kansas is expected to be in the conversation to host an NCAA Regional when selections are announced over the weekend. Fitzgerald said hosting postseason baseball in Lawrence would be a major advantage for both the team and fans.

“There’s no place like this place,” Fitzgerald said. “Playing here is an incredible home field advantage. Our student section is the greatest student section in college baseball and our fans have been incredible.”

Kansas has already started preparing for that possibility by expanding seating options around the stadium.

“We’ve opened up plenty more seating and there will be some cool options over on the third base side as well,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s going to be awesome. And we need to take care of business to make sure it happens.”

Ballinger will miss the Big 12 Tournament

One of Kansas’ biggest questions entering the Big 12 Tournament involves the health of veteran outfielder Brady Ballinger, who has been a key piece near the top of the batting order the last two seasons.

Fitzgerald confirmed Ballinger suffered a hamate bone injury and is expected to miss the conference tournament.

“Brady injured his hamate bone and we anticipate him back for the regional,” Fitzgerald said.

Without Ballinger available this week, Kansas will likely mix and match players in left field depending on matchups and game situations. Fitzgerald talked about getting through the late innings during the BYU series finale and said several players could see opportunities during the conference tournament.

“Well, we had a couple things going there,” Fitzgerald said. “Max had started. We brought Augie in to catch at the end. So Max was burned and we hadn’t traveled Lozier and Savion was the right guy for the spot there. I think Savion can play out there, Solis can play out there, Dariel might play out there. We’ve got multiple options.”