The Kansas Jayhawk baseball program is one defined by transfers.
And thanks to the elite tutelage from Kansas coach Dan Fitzgerald, the Jayhawks are nine innings away from their first conference tournament title since 2006, and Fitzgerald has rightly been praised all season for his ability to compile one of the nation’s most well-rounded squads comprising of players from several different stops.
One player who has stood out above the rest this season has been junior infielder Tyson LeBlanc.
LeBlanc’s story to the top of Kansas
LeBlanc plyed his trade at LSU Eunice, an NJCAA school for two seasons, reaching the All-America Third Team last season, along with being a cog in LSU Eunice’s NJCAA Division II National Championship. By the time LeBlanc left, he had 132 RBI, setting a school record, 15 home runs and 132 runs in 119 career games, on a stellar .367 batting average.
LeBlanc took no time to get used to the Big 12. So far, through Kansas’ 41-16 record, LeBlanc has notched 21 home runs, 59 RBI and 77 hits on a 33.3 batting average.
Across the Big 12, LeBlanc ranks No. 9 in runs scored (58), No. 10 in RBI, No. 10 in slugging (.680), No. 3 in at-bats (231) and No. 5 in home runs.
LeBlanc has put himself into Kansas history
If you had to choose one night for arguably the best performance of your time at KU, Friday night’s semifinal matchup against the No. 5 Oklahoma State Cowboys is the perfect time to do so.
While things eventually turned into a massive 9-2 win, the Jayhawks were only up 3-2 heading into a crucial bottom of the 8th.
An Augusto Mungarrieta double and Savion Flowers single helped push the lead up to three, but LeBlanc then stepped up and blew the game wide open with a massive 358-foot grand slam that pushed the Jayhawks' lead to seven, eventually clinching the win.
LeBlanc’s homer marked his 21st on the season, tying Tony Thompson’s 2009 mark.
"It's a cool accomplishment. I wasn't even thinking about it in the moment. I kind of blacked out rounding the bases. It's huge. My teammates around me are very proud too, so that's the best part is them supporting me,” quoted LeBlanc postgame.
LeBlanc’s single-game five RBI continued the history, becoming the most by a Jayhawk in the Big 12 Tournament.
LeBlanc is coming in clutch at the right time
Over Kansas’ last seven games, LeBlanc has notched five homers, including home runs in three straight games, dating back to Kansas’ final regular season matchup loss against the BYU Cougars.
Saturday night will see the Jayhawks take on the No. 2 West Virginia Mountaineers in this year’s title game, which will need LeBlanc and Co. at their absolute best, as when Kansas met WVU earlier this season, the Jayhawks were outpaced on a 22-5 margin, getting swept.
First pitch against the Mountaineers is set for 6:30 p.m. CT with streaming available on ESPN2.
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