LAWRENCE — Kansas baseball made some strides in Dan Fitzgerald’s first season as head coach, back in 2023, and in 2024 appears poised to continue its upward trajectory.

The Jayhawks’ transfer class, which will be a part of the team this upcoming season, ranked No. 9 in the nation according to D1Baseball. The 13 players who make it up skew toward pitchers, especially right-handed ones, but address a number of areas. Competition for playing time should only help Fitzgerald’s squad, and these talents are in line to help make that happen.

Here are five things to think about with this transfer class:

Who’s in Kansas’ transfer class?

The right-handed pitchers are Grant Adler (Wichita State), Tegan Cain (Barton Community College), JD Callahan (UC Santa Barbara), Reese Dutton (USC Upstate), Ethan Lanthier (St. Cloud State) and Patrick Steitz (Central Arizona College). The left-handed pitchers are Brigden Parker (Cowley County Community College) and Evan Shaw (Cochise College).

The outfielders are Lenny Ashby (New Mexico), Cooper Combs (Johnson County Community College) and John Nett (St. Cloud State).

The infielders are shortstop Chase Diggins (Odessa College) and catcher Ben Hartl (Heartland Community College).

Who are some players to keep an eye on from this class?

On the mound, watch out for Lanthier, Dutton, Adler, Steitz and Shaw.

According to D1Baseball, Adler appears to be a lock for the starting rotation and “stands out for his advanced command of a high-80s fastball and his ability to keep hitters off balance with his quality 82-83 mph slider, changeup and curveball mix.”

In the outfield, watch out for Ashby. According to D1Baseball, “he should step right into the heart of the order and make a run at all-Big 12 honors as a junior.”

In the infield, watch out for Hartl. According to D1Baseball, he “is battling for the everyday job behind the plate, and the coaches rave about his knack for getting on base.”

Where does Kansas’ transfer class rank in the Big 12 Conference?

Kansas will enter the 2024 season with the No. 1 transfer class in the new-look Big 12 Conference. Only TCU joined KU in the top 10, and the Horned Frogs are No. 10 in that regard. Oklahoma is No. 16 and Houston is No. 22.

What did Kansas accomplish last season, ahead of this transfer class’ arrival?

Embarking on a new path as a program in 2023 under Fitzgerald, Kansas improved on its overall and conference win totals from the year prior and finished 25-32 overall and 8-16 against the Big 12. During league play, the Jayhawks captured series victories against Baylor and West Virginia, and won five out of the eight opening games in each series. In the Big 12 tournament, Kansas upset Texas before suffering a couple of losses and being eliminated.

What are a few notable series for Kansas in 2024?

Kansas opens its season with a neutral-site series in mid-February in Corpus Christi, Texas, against Illinois-Chicago. The Jayhawks open their home slate with a four-game series in March against Texas Southern. Big 12 play starts for Kansas in March at home with a three-game series against TCU.

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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: Kansas baseball transfer class ranked No. 9 by D1Baseball