Happy New Year
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From AD Jeff Long:
WILLIAMS FUND SHOP CONTACTDear Jayhawk-
Happy New Year! Looking back on 2019, we have made progress in our program, however we are never satisfied and look forward to improving and growing our program in ways that will make our fans and supporters even more proud of the University of Kansas Jayhawks! We will continue to strive to improve the student-athlete experience as well as that of our fans at each of our athletic venues. We know that 2020 is going to be another memorable year with many exciting moments for our student-athletes and the entire Jayhawk nation.
As we begin the new year, we are very happy to announce another way to engage our fans and share our storied history across the multiple sports here at KU. The Jayhawker podcast, hosted by Brian Hanni, will provide access to past and present Jayhawks in ways like never before! The Jayhawker will launch on January 9, featuring a former student-athlete you will not want to miss. Subscribe here: Apple or Spotify and follow on Twitter and Instagram.
As we turn the page to 2020, both our men’s and women’s basketball teams are off to tremendous starts as they head into Big 12 conference play this Saturday. The men’s basketball team will host West Virginia at 3 p.m., at Allen Fieldhouse and the 12-0 women’s basketball team will travel to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. Coach Self and Coach Schneider have their teams prepared to compete and I look forward to seeing you support our teams as they begin this crucial stretch of the season.
The Kansas men’s and women’s track and field teams continue their indoor season on January 18, when they travel to Wichita, for the KU-KSU-WSU Triangular. The meet will be the sixth installment of the series, where Kansas owns the team series record with three victories. The Jayhawks began their indoor season back on December 6, where they had a number of strong performances. The Jayhawks will return home to Anschutz Pavilion on January 23-24, 2020 when they host the Jayhawk Classic.
The swim & dive team will be back in the water on January 11 in Tempe, Arizona and look to finish strong in the Big 12 Championships in February and NCAA Championships in March.
Our spring sports are quickly approaching and there are a lot of great opportunities to support our student-athletes as they compete.
Baseball The Jayhawks baseball team concluded the fall slate of games by beating both Tulsa and Nebraska in exhibition play. KU returns two of its starting three pitchers from last year’s team as well as saves leader Jonah Ulane. Senior shortstop Benjamin Sems also returns with a team-high .305 average and 39 RBI from last season. The 2020 schedule features 24 home games so there are plenty of opportunities to see Coach Price and our Jayhawks in action at Hoglund Ballpark. Men’s Golf Our men’s golf team placed in the top 10 as a team in four of its stroke play tournaments during its fall season, and top five in two tournaments. The team placed second at the Big 12 Match Play Tournament for the second year in a row and will tee it up again in San Juan, Puerto Rico in the TPC Dorado Beach Collegiate February 23-25 Women’s Golf Junior Sera Tadokoro won the Cardinal Cup in October and helped the squad to three top-10 finishes in its five fall tournaments. The spring season will begin in just over a month at the Moon Golf Invitational in Melbourne, Florida from February 17-18, and wrap up at the Big 12 Championships in Dallas, Texas from April 24-26. Rowing Led by head coach Carrie Cook-Callen, rowing is celebrating its 25th year as a program at KU. Kansas will start the season at the Ryder-Den Besten Cup on Sunday, March 22, 2020, at Cooper River Park, New Jersey. The Jayhawks will face-off against Kansas State in the annual Dillions Sunflower Showdown on Saturday, May 2, 2020, at Wyandotte County Lake in Kansas City, Kansas. Softball Now in her second season, head coach Jennifer McFalls is looking to build on their 7-1 record in fall exhibition contests. The team features seven seniors and will compete in the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Arizona to open up the season, February 7-9. They will be playing 23 games at Arrocha Ballpark inside Rock Chalk Park. Tennis As the defending Big 12 Conference champions, three KU tennis players were ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) 2019 Oracle ITA Final Fall Rankings. KU tennis has two singles and one doubles pair in the top-100 between the two lists. Sonia Smagina was individually ranked as No. 63 while Malkia Ngounoue was listed as No. 93. Smagina paired with freshman Roxana Manu and came in at No. 42 in doubles. The first match of the 2020 season is January 10-12 in Orlando, Florida. at the Orlando Invitational. With your support we look forward to helping our nearly 500 student-athletes create new memories in 2020. Have a Happy New Year and Rock Chalk!
Jeff Long Director of Athletics
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