LAWRENCE — Kansas baseball is about to embark on its second season of the Dan Fitzgerald era.

The Jayhawks took a step forward in 2023, Fitzgerald’s first as head coach. Although they finished 25-32 overall (8-16 in Big 12), they still won more games overall and in Big 12 play than they did in 2022. They even upset Texas during the Big 12 Conference tournament, a victory Fitzgerald still thinks about.

But Kansas is searching for more in 2024. That goes for the regular season and postseason. And the former begins Friday with the start of a three-game series against Illinois-Chicago in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Here are three reasons Kansas can enjoy success this season:

Kansas has recruited the junior college ranks hard

Fitzgerald’s preview of the upcoming season included time highlighting the program’s 2024 recruiting class. It included what The JBB rated the No. 1 junior college recruiting class. And this came after Kansas’ 2023 recruiting class included what Perfect Game rated as the No. 1 junior college recruiting class for that cycle.

A rebuild necessitates a talent infusion, and junior college prospects can help. Regardless of the inroads the coaching staff continues to make with future high school classes, Fitzgerald — a former junior college head coach — envisions remaining tied to the junior college ranks. Just take a look at their Friday starter — senior right-handed pitcher Reese Dutton, who transferred in from USC Upstate but also played at Heartland Community College.

“Before it was, ‘Oh, they’re in junior college because of bad grades and they’re looking to recover,’” said Dutton, the latest in an emerging pipeline from Heartland to Kansas. “But now it’s a platform to get first-hand experience and get on the field right away as a fresh out of high school baseball player, and I think the hard work and the dedication and commitment it takes to be a junior college baseball player is what separates those from the next level.”

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Kansas has Kodey Shojinaga

Kodey Shojinaga, a sophomore infielder/catcher, is one of two preseason All-Big 12 players on the team with senior outfielder Janson Reeder. But more than that, Shojinaga is also the conference’s co-freshman of the year from 2023. He’s poised for more success and is draft-eligible.

Fitzgerald has often praised Shojinaga’s work ethic, maturity and humility, and noted Shojinaga has the one tool that’s the toughest to teach — Shojinaga can hit. Shojinaga explained there was a time right after the summer last year when being draft-eligible was a big thing on his mind, but he’s been able to put that off to the side. He added if Kansas succeeds as a team, everything will take care of itself.

“Like I said before I was never really the biggest recruit, and it kind of meant a lot to me and I got caught up in the moment a little bit,” Shojinaga said. “Now, it’s — I understand that it can mean a lot now, but it doesn’t control what happens in the end. So, you have to perform in order to achieve that goal.”

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There’s more depth than a year ago

Dutton wasn’t technically a part of Kansas’ highly-rated junior college recruiting classes, but he was a part of what D1Baseball rated as the No. 9 transfer class coming into this season. He’s on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason All-America Second Team. And he’s just one of a number of examples of how the Jayhawks have improved depth.

Fitzgerald sees the options they have for starting pitchers as taking the Jayhawks through a weekend series and not just starting the first game off well. That’s in addition to a bullpen that has a NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List member in junior right-hander Ethan Lanthier, a part of that highly-touted transfer class, too. And Fitzgerald sees a batting order that has more depth as well, with newcomers who could be All-Big 12 honorees at season’s end like junior catcher Ben Hartl and senior outfielder John Nett.

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It’s a collection of talent overall on a roster Fitzgerald described as being low-maintenance and serious about their work. There’s a business-like quality to their efforts, he explained, that shows they’re doing what’s necessary to win. From Fitzgerald’s perspective, while he views his 2023 squad in high regard, this 2024 one no longer has anyone who might have been on the fence about buying into the Fitzgerald-led program.

“Kansas baseball is like family to me, and it’s a place that — it’s on the come-up, I think,” Shojinaga said. “It’s in the heart of America and it’s a lot that people don’t know about and I think we’re going to make it known.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Why Kansas baseball can enjoy success in Dan Fitzgerald's second year