TUCSON, Ariz. - For the first time throughout history, the University of Arizona baseball team and Kansas State will play a three-game series, as the Wildcats are set to host Kansas State at Hi Corbett Field this weekend.

Arizona has played its best baseball of the season as of late, and they are 4-1 over their past five games, including a run-rule victory over New Mexico State, followed by a road series victory over TCU, and a thrilling 5-3 victory at Arizona State on Monday.

Friday and Saturday night's contests are scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. (MST), while the series final on Sunday will begin at 12:00 p.m. (MST). All three games will be available for viewing on ESPN+.

LEADING OFF: 

• The Arizona Wildcats return to Tucson after a four-game road swing to host Kansas State for a three-game Big 12 series beginning on Friday night.

• Friday night's matchup will mark the third all-time meeting between Arizona and Kansas State, with Arizona winning each of the first two matchups.

• Arizona is coming off its best five game stretch of the season, as they run-ruled New Mexico State last weekend, before winning two of three games at TCU, and then defeated Arizona State in Phoenix on Monday night.

• Tony Lira has been exceptional over the past five games, going 9-for-20 at the plate (.450) and he continues to pace Arizona offensively this season, leading the team in batting average (.362), hits (54), runs (24), doubles (9), slugging percentage (.523), and on-base percentage (.441).

• Beau Sylvester has recorded a hit in each of the last seven games he has played and he has ascended to third on the team in batting average this season (.304) and he ranks second in Big 12 play (.378).

• Mathis Meurant enters the weekend on a five-game hitting streak and he went a combined 4-for-10 with two doubles and two RBI at TCU last weekend.

• Starting pitchers Owen Kramkowski and Luc Fladda are coming off tremendous performances last weekend at TCU, as Kramkowski allowed two runs and struck out nine across 6.2 innings, while Fladda allowed two runs in seven innings of work.

• Relief pitcher Garrett Hicks has not surrendered a run while allowing just five hits over his last six outings (11.1 innings).

SOME WEEKEND THEMES: The Arizona Wildcats and Kansas State Wildcats meet for the first three-game series between the two programs throughout history…Arizona and Kansas State have faced off two times previously, with the last meeting taking place on opening day of the 2022 season, with Arizona earning an 8-6 victory over Kansas State at the State Farm College Baseball Showdown in Arlington, Texas…Arizona has played its best baseball as of late, winning four of their past five games, and the Wildcats earned their first Big 12 series win last weekend, taking two of three games from TCU in Fort Worth…Arizona has allowed just 16 runs over the past five games and have had a multitude of pitchers with impressive performances…Starting pitchers Owen Kramkowski and Luc Fladda were tremendous last weekend, as each pitcher had one of their best outings of the season…Kramkowski pitched on Friday at TCU and tossed 6.2 innings, allowing three runs while striking out nine and issuing no walks, as Arizona earned a hard-fought 4-3 victory…Fladda pitched in the series finale and threw 7.0 innings, allowing just two runs on five hits, while striking out five with zero walks, helping the Wildcats secure a 3-2 victory…Relief pitcher Garrett Hicks has been sensational for Arizona, and he has pitched a combined 11.1 innings over his last six outings and has not allowed a run, while surrendering just five hits and striking out 12…Just as he has done all season, Tony Lira has powered the Arizona offense over the past five games, as he is 9-for-20 (.450) with two walks over the stretch…Lira continues to lead Arizona in a variety of statistical categories, including batting average (.362), slugging percentage (.523), on-base percentage (.441), hits (54), runs (24), doubles (9), and he is tied for second in home runs (5) and extra-base hits (14)...Lira has recorded a hit in 21 of the past 25 games, and he has at least one hit in 26 of 35 contests this season, including collecting multiple hits in 20 games…Beau Sylvester enters the series on a seven-game hitting streak and he recorded his first home run of the season on Monday night at Arizona State…Sylvester has significantly elevated his play against Big 12 competition, and in conference play he leads the team in batting average (.378), doubles (5), on-base percentage (.451), and he is tied for second in runs (10)...Mathis Meurant has played the best baseball of his career as of late and he enters the weekend on a five-game hitting streak…Last weekend at TCU, Meurant went 4-for-10 with two doubles and two RBI, in addition to making numerous sensational plays at short stop…Andrew Cain is coming off potentially his best performance of the season on Monday at Arizona State, as he went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, two RBI, and two runs scored, and he ranks third on the team in on-base percentage (.377) and fourth in OPS (.821)...After going through a bit of a slump, Nate Novitske has recorded two hits in each of Arizona's last two games, and he ranks second on the team in batting average (.327) and hits (48) this season…Arizona will face a high-powered offensive team in Kansas State this weekend…Kansas State is led by eighth-year head coach Pete Hughes who owns an overall record of 223-182 at the helm of the program…Kansas State enters the weekend with a record of 23-14, including a mark of 7-8 in conference play…Kansas State has been highly impressive at the plate, and they currently rank fourth in the country in runs scored (354) and 11th in the nation in batting average (.321).

LIRA LEADING THE WAY: Just as he has done all season long, redshirt-freshman Tony Lira continues to lead the way for Arizona offensively. Lira leads the Wildcats in a multitude of offensive categories, including OPS (.964), batting average (.362), hits (54), runs (24), on-base percentage (.441), slugging percentage (.523), doubles (9), while ranking  tied for second in home runs (5) and extra-base hits (14). Lira has recorded a hit in 21 of the past 25 games, and he has collected at least one hit in 27 of 36 contests this season. He has put together 20 multi-hit performances, and he is batting an exceptional .500 with runners in scoring position this season (14-28). In addition to his stellar play at the plate, Lira has also been a vital piece defensively for Arizona, starting all 36 games at first base for the Wildcats

BULLPEN HOLDING IT NOW: Arizona's bullpen has been strong as of late, as numerous relief pitchers have delivered signature performances. Corey Kling had arguably his best performance of the year on Monday at ASU, tossing a season-high 3.0 innings, allowing no runs and no hits while striking out three. Kling has allowed just one run and one hit over his last three outings (7.2 IP). Garrett Hicks has been sensational for the Wildcats, and he has pitched 11.1 innings over his last six outings and allowed just five hits and no runs, while collecting three saves and a win. True freshman Benton Hickman has recently come into form and has delivered multiple stellar performances. Over his past four outings, Hickman has pitched a combined 6.2 innings and allowed no runs and just three hits, while striking out eight. He is limiting opposing hitters to an abysmal .175 batting average this season. Collin McKinney was shifted to the bullpen after beginning the season as a starter and has thrived in the role. He surrendered two runs on Monday at ASU; but, in his past three outings before that, he had tossed 5.1 scoreless innings of three-hit ball, while recording two wins on the mound. Maclain Roberts has been outstanding all season for Arizona, and over his past five outings, he has tossed 4.0 scoreless innings, while allowing just three hits and striking out six.

MEURANT AND SYLVESTER STEPPING UP: Seniors Beau Sylvester and Mathis Meurant have significantly elevated their play as of late, and they are each playing arguably the best baseball of their careers. Meurant is on a five-game hit streak and had a tremendous weekend at TCU in which he went 4-for-10 with two doubles and two RBI, while making a multitude of exceptional defensive plays at shortstop to help lead Arizona to a series victory over TCU. Sylvester is on a seven-game hitting streak, and he has been superb since the start of Big 12 play, as he is 17-45 at the plate in 12 conference games. He had his best series of the year against ASU two weeks ago, going 7-for-11 while reaching base 9-13 times. Overall this season, he ranks third on the team in batting average (.304), and fourth in on-base percentage (.373). He is tied for second on the team in doubles (8) and hit his first home run of the season on Monday at ASU.

FABULOUS FRESHMEN: Arizona has had five separate freshmen start 15 or more games this season, and they have continued to make a noteworthy impact. Redshirt freshmen Tony Lira and Nate Novitske and true freshmen Caleb Danzeisen have led Arizona offensively all season, and Lira and Novitske rank first and second on the team in batting average, while Danzeisen is second in on-base percentage (.415). Redshirt freshman Jackson Forbes has started 22 games and he is third on the team in OPS (.823) and tied for third in RBI (21). True freshman Cash Brennan, the younger brother of UCLA outfielder Payton Brennan, has started 15 contests and has made numerous highlight plays at short stop. He is hitting .231 and coming off has four mult-hit games this season. 

STARTING ROTATION ON LOCK: Arizona brought back a large portion of its pitching from the 2025 season, as six of 11 pitchers who threw at least 18 innings last season returned for the 2026 campaign, highlighted by returning starters Owen Kramkowski and Smith Bailey. Kramkowski has been the Friday night starter so far, while Bailey has served as the Saturday starter. Both pitchers were ranked in D1 Baseball's Preseason Top-200 Starting Pitcher rankings. Bailey led the way coming in at #16, while Kramkowski landed at #39. Kramkowski is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign in which he earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors after starting 18 games and posting a record of 9-6 throughout the season. He compiled an ERA of 5.48 across a team-high 92.0 innings of work and recorded 90 strikeouts to just 18 walks. The Sahuarita, Arizona native garnered All-Big 12 Preseason honors and was tabbed a Preseason Third Team All-American by Perfect Game. Kramkowski did not have a great start to the season; however, he had a tremendous performance against Fresno State 93/6), in which he struck out a career-high 12 batters in six innings to help lead Arizona to a shutout victory over Fresno State (3/6). Kramkowski was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week following the superb performance. He had another outstanding performance last Friday at TCU, tossing a season-high 6.2 innings and striking out nine. Kramkowski leads the team and ranks ninth in the Big 12 in strikeouts (50), and he has pitched at least 5.0 innings in each of his last six starts. He also ranks second in the conference in strikeout to walk ratio (5.56). Bailey is in his sophomore season after an exceptional freshman campaign in which he was named a First Team Freshman All-American by D1Baseball, a Second Team Freshman All-American by Baseball America and Perfect Game and was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. During the 2025 season, Bailey started 18 games on the mound, compiling a record of 3-3. He recorded an ERA of 3.94 across 89.0 innings of work and struck out 80 batters. This season, he is 3-2 with a 4.74 ERA and an opposing batting average of .262 in nine starts. Earlier this season against Fresno State (3/7), he threw a career best 7.0 innings and allowed just four hits and no runs, while striking out a career-high nine batters to help propel Arizona to a victory. Senior transfer Luc Fladda emerged as the Sunday starter for the Wildcats and has been exceptional this season. The Tulane transfer started 30 games across two seasons for the Green Wave the past two years, before joining Arizona ahead of the 2026 campaign for his final collegiate season. Fladda has tossed 47.0 innings this year and has issued just four walks while recording 34 strikeouts, and he leads the Big 12 in strikeout/walk ratio (8.50). Fladda has an ERA of 5.17 and he is holding opposing hitters to a .279 average at the plate. Fladda had one of the best performances of his career against UC Irvine (3/1), as he pitched 7.0 innings and allowed no runs on four hits and no walks, while matching a career-high with nine strikeouts, and he has pitched 7.0 innings or more in four of eight starts. He is coming off an outing against TCU in which he tossed 7.0 innings of two-run ball.