LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas Baseball Assistant Coach/Hitting Coach Tyler Hancock has been elevated to a full-time assistant coach. Hancock will assume additional responsibilities in the role, including travel for recruiting.
“Tyler’s impact on our program is immeasurable,” Head Coach Dan Fitzgerald said. “He is an outstanding hitting coach, detailed baseball tactician, and a great leader. Tyler has been and will continue to be a huge piece of our recruiting efforts. If you asked any player in our program about Tyler, they’d all say the same things – humble, detailed, selfless, driven, consistent, etc. Tyler is elite and we are thankful he is a Jayhawk.”
Hancock recently completed his first season as the hitting coach at Kansas. The Jayhawks’ offense had a huge year offensively, which included tying the program record for home runs. Kansas had four players with at least 10 home runs for the first time since 2003. There were 21 games that Kansas had multiple home runs, which also tied a program record from 2004.
Kansas posted a batting average of .277 with 544 hits in 2023, which were both the most since 2014. The 116 doubles, 361 runs and 340 RBIs were all the most since 2010, while the 201 extra-base hits marked the most since 2009 (205).
True freshman Kodey Shojinaga was a product of working with Hancock in 2023 as he set a Kansas freshman record with a .378 batting average. Shojinaga was named a Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-American, the Big 12 Co-Freshman of the Year, an All-Big 12 Second Team infielder and a unanimous selection to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team.
Junior designated hitter Janson Reeder also reaped the benefits of learning under Hancock. The junior designated hitter was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-Central Region Second Team and was an All-Big 12 First Team selection.
Kansas completed its first season under Fitzgerald and finished the 2023 campaign with a record of 25-32 and an 8-16 mark in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks doubled their conference win total from a season ago and improved their overall win total by five games.