LAWRENCE — Kansas baseball received some good news Monday, when the Big 12 Conference released its awards for the regular season.

Freshman pitcher Dominic Voegele led the way as the Big 12’s freshman of the year. It’s the second-straight year the Jayhawks have had a player earn such recognition. He’s also on the All-Big 12 second team and All-Big 12 freshman team.

Senior catcher Jake English kept the honors going with a place on the All-Big 12 first team. Sophomore infielder/catcher Kodey Shojinaga and senior pitcher Reese Dutton joined Voegele on the All-Big 12 second team. Four other players — redshirt junior infielder Michael Brooks, redshirt senior pitcher Hunter Cranton, junior catcher/first baseman Ben Hartl and senior outfielder John Nett — are All-Big 12 honorable mentions.

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But Kansas’ season isn’t over by any stretch, and it continues Tuesday with the start of the Big 12 tournament. The Jayhawks (29-21, 15-15 in Big 12) are the No. 7 seed, with their first game against the No. 6-seed Kansas State Wildcats. Before first pitch, here are a few things to think about as KU attempts to make a run.

Kansas will attempt to bounce back from being swept

Last week, before Kansas went on the road and played Texas in the Jayhawks’ final regular season series of the year, players spoke with confidence about where things stood. At the time, Kansas was 29-18 overall and 15-12 in the Big 12. English and Dutton both talked about how they could control their own destiny.

Then the Jayhawks suffered a three-game sweep at the hands of the Longhorns, with two games decided by walk-offs when Kansas entered the ninth innings with leads. So, if the Jayhawks are going to reach the NCAA tournament, there is a lot of work to do during the Big 12 tournament. Starting off with a win against Kansas State is critical.

There are reasons to believe Kansas can make a run

English also said last week when they play to the level they’re capable of, they can beat anyone. Voegele volunteered something similar, while noting they have to play their game. And over the course of the season, there were times when Kansas illustrated how capable it can be.

Head coach Dan Fitzgerald, in the second year of his rebuild, pointed to a series win at home against TCU against a previously unbeaten Horned Frogs team. He pointed to sweeping Texas Tech at home and BYU on the road. In the non-conference portion of the schedule, the Jayhawks beat Nebraska, one of the Big Ten Conference’s best, at home and on the road.

Kansas will bring a blue-collar mentality to the Big 12 tournament

When Fitzgerald spoke last week, he had two reactions to the position Kansas was in. On the one hand, he said he would have given a kidney if someone had told him 23 months ago they’d be 15-12 in the Big 12 and knocking on the door of the NCAA tournament. On the other hand, he said humbly he isn’t surprised because of the trust he had in the administration, the foundation already in place and the coaching staff he assembled.

Again, the sweep Texas pulled off dropped the Jayhawks to 15-15 in the Big 12, but that doesn’t mean the mentality Kansas used to reach the position it was in is going anywhere. Fitzgerald said he has a coaching staff without diva qualities. He said he has a roster of players who are blue-collar and thankful for what they have, in a program he is aiming to grow holistically.

Fitzgerald said the blue-collar mentality is something he and his fellow coaches have instilled since they took over. It’s how he and his assistants have approached their careers, and it’s the type of players they gravitate toward. He understands there will be mental and physical mistakes in games, but he won’t budge on what he expects from his players when it comes to effort, toughness, grit and competitiveness.

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's Dominic Voegele named Big 12 freshman of the year