Kansas Baseball Notches Record 40th Win With Shutout of No. 14 West Virginia

The Kansas Jayhawks set a new school record by picking up their 40th regular-season win on Thursday night, improving their overall record to 40–14 for the 2025 season. The 3–0 shutout victory on the road over No. 14 West Virginia, the top team in the Big 12 Conference, also marked a program-best 18th conference win, the most in school history.

Once again, pitching delivered for the Jayhawks. Starting pitcher Dominic Voegele tossed seven shutout innings, striking out six and walking none in a dominant performance. Alex Breckheimer came in to close the final two frames, recording a career-high four strikeouts and earning his seventh save of the season. The shutout was Kansas’ sixth of the year, the most in the Big 12.

Offensively, Kansas did what it’s done all season—strike early. Derek Cerda led off the game with a double and came around to score on a Brady Counsell RBI single to give KU a 1–0 lead. From there, it was a pitcher’s duel until the eighth inning, when Michael Brooks jumped on the first pitch he saw and launched a solo home run to left, his ninth of the year, extending the lead to 2–0.

In the ninth, Ian Francis led off with a full-count blast over the fence, his sixth home run of the season, putting the game on ice at 3–0. Home runs have been a key ingredient in the Jayhawks’ success this season—Kansas has now hit a school-record 95 homers, including at least one in 12 straight games.

That said, the disappointing series against Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago may have cost Kansas a shot at the Big 12 regular season title, but the Jayhawks aren’t going down quietly. They’ve still got two games left in Morgantown, and a sweep of the Mountaineers could vault them to the top of the standings.

If the Jayhawks can sweep the Mountaineers, Kansas would finish Big 12 Conference play with a record of 20-10 while West Virginia would finish with a record of 19-9. West Virginia has clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 tournament, which is expected to be played Wednesday May 21, through Saturday, May 24th. TCU and Arizona State currently have the same record as Kansas at 18-10, so the final weekend of Big 12 play is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in recent years, with so much hanging in the balance ahead of the action.

TCU and Arizona State are also in the hunt with identical 18–10 conference records, setting up one of the most dramatic finishes in recent Big 12 history. With so much still on the line, Kansas is pushing toward what could be the best season in program history.

First pitch for Game 2 is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CT Friday, weather permitting, and the series finale is set for Saturday at 12:00 p.m. CT. Both games will stream live on ESPN+.