Tommies head to Kansas to face Jayhawks

ST. PAUL, MINN.- St. Thomas baseball heads to Kansas to take on the University of Kansas Jayhawks for a four-game series.

Game One: March 5th: 3 p.m.

Game Two: March 6th: 3 p.m.

Game Three: March 7th: 2 p.m.

Game Four: March 8th: 12 p.m.

Live streams for games one, two, and four will be available on ESPN+, live stats will be available via the link on our schedule for all games.

Be sure to follow along for live stats through links found at tommiesports.com/sports/baseball/schedule – and on Twitter @TommieBase and Instagram at @TommieBaseball.

History between the two squads

The Tommies are looking for their first win over the Jayhawks as the two teams met for the first time last season.

Kansas took both games in the match last year, winning game one 7-6, and game two 16-5.

Last time out

The Tommies are coming off a tough weekend after they dropped four to a very good University of New Mexico squad.

Tanner Recchio led the Tommie offense with six hits on the weekend. Freshman Owen Marsolek had another successful outing on the bump in game three, throwing 7.1 innings and striking out seven while allowing just three earned runs.

Summit League Preseason Poll

The St. Thomas baseball team was selected to finish second (tied with Omaha) in the 2026 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released on Wednesday.

Oral Roberts was picked to finish first with 24 points and four first place votes, Omaha was also picked to finish second with 19 points and 2 first place votes. The reigning regular season champions St. Thomas was also picked to finish second with 19 points.

Senior duo of Joe Roder and Max Skilbeck were selected as the St. Thomas players to watch.

Roder, a senior infielder from New Prague, Minn. made 49 appearances and 48 starts, recorded a .303 batting average with a team high of 16 doubles and 53 RBI, along with five home run. Roder was named an All-Summit League honorable mention in 2025 after leading all Summit League players with 11 doubles and 35 RBI in league play.

Skilbeck, a right-handed pitcher out of Minneapolis, Minn. Appeared in 17 games out of the bullpen, fanning 36 in 25.1 innings of work. Skilbeck tallied a team high five saves in Summit League action.

2026 Roster

The Tommies welcomed 17 newcomers to the 2026 roster and return 24 letterwinners from last season.

Leader of the pack

Head Coach Chris Olean enters his 17th season at the helm of the Tommie baseball program in 2026. Olean has totaled a 414-256-1 overall record (338-148-1 in NCAA Division III) since being named head coach prior to the 2010 season.

Olean is a three-time NCAA DIII Region Coach of the Year and closed out its DIII era by winning championships in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) and region en route to a national runner-up finish and 37-10 record.

During the last 12 DIII seasons, the Purple won eight MIAC Championships, capped by third-place national finishes in both 2012 and 2014, in addition to the runner-up finish in 2021.

Olean mentored seven DIII All-American pitchers. He was voted MIAC and Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, and 2021. In addition, Olean works with the Tommie pitching staff, which was a perennial top-10 group in DIII baseball.

Follow Along
Any and all information pertaining to the St. Thomas baseball team can be found at tommiesports.com and on Twitter @TommieBase and Instagram at @TommieBaseball.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Owen Marsolek

Tanner Recchio

Joe Roder

Max Skilbeck

University of St. Thomas Athletics