LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas baseball junior Brady Ballinger was named a D1Baseball Preseason First Team All-American, the publication announced on Tuesday. Ballinger is only the second Jayhawk ever to earn a preseason first team All-American honor.
Ballinger made the jump in the offseason from a D1Basbeall Third Team All-American at the end of 2025 to a Preseason First Team All-American in 2026. He already received a Preseason Second Team All-American honor from Perfect Game earlier this month.
In 2025, Ballinger started 58 games at first base and led the team in batting average (.353), walks (56), slugging percentage (.670), on-base percentage (.495), OPS (1.165), runs scored (71), hits (79), doubles (21), total bases (150), multi-hit games (24) and multi-walk games (16).
Ballinger’s 56 walks were the most in the Big 12 and 14th best in the nation, while his 71 runs were tied for the most in the conference and set a new school record by a sophomore.
The Las Vegas, Nevada, native joins Tony Thompson as the only Preseason First Team All-Americans in school history. Thompson earned the honor in 2010 from Ping! Baseball. Ballinger is the sixth Kansas player in program history to earn a spot on a preseason All-America team.
Dominic Voegele (2025), Reese Dutton (2024), Jonah Ulane (2022), Thompson (2010) and Ryan Baty (2004) are the other Jayhawks that were named preseason All-Americans.
Ballinger is only the third Jayhawk in program history to receive a preseason All-America selection from two different publications, joining Voegele and Thompson.
Kansas will be looking to expand on its record-breaking 2025 when it begins the 2026 season on February 13 in Edinburg, Texas, against UTRGV.
Courtesy of KU Athletics