LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas Baseball's Tyson LeBlanc became the highest drafted position player in school history after being chosen 61st overall and Dominic Voegele was selected in the third round on Day 1 of the 2026 MLB Draft.LeBlanc was picked in the second round by the Detroit Tigers and Voegele went 82nd overall to the Baltimore Orioles.
In addition to being the highest drafted position player, LeBlanc is the second highest draft pick in Kansas history, trailing only LHP Curtis Shaw who was selected No. 42 overall in the 1990 MLB Draft. Matt Gundelfinger was previously the highest drafted position player at Kansas with the 97th overall pick by the California Angels in 1980. LeBlanc joins Shaw as the only Kansas players to ever be chosen in the second round.
Voegele's selection in the third round at 86th overall marked the third highest draft pick in program history. He is the highest draft right-handed pitcher to ever come out of Kansas.
In four seasons under head coach Dan Fitzgerald, and his coaching staff of Brandon Scott, Tyler Hancock, Jon Coyne and Ryan Holland, Kansas has produced 21 professional baseball players. Eleven of those 21 players have been selected in the MLB Draft, with six in 2024, three in 2025 and now two so far in 2026.LeBlanc and Voegele are the fourth and fifth Kansas players in the last three drafts to be a Top 10 round pick. Brady Counsell was picked in the 10th round in 2025, while Hunter Cranton (third round) and Kodey Shojinaga (sixth round) were chosen in the 2024 MLB Draft. The last time Kansas had at least one player selected in the top 10 rounds of three consecutive MLB Drafts was 2017-19.
Kansas won three championships in 2026, including the Big 12 regular season title, the Big 12 Tournament title and the Lawrence Regional title. The Jayhawks finished the year with a 45-18 overall record to tie the most wins ever in a season. Kansas was the only Division I team in the country to finish the 2026 season with at least 45 overall wins, 20 conference wins and 20 road wins.INF Tyson LeBlanc (Jr.)Round 2, No. 61 Overall, Detroit Tigers
LeBlanc, a First Team All-American, broke the single-season home run record in his one year in Lawrence with 25 homers. He was the sixth First Team All-American in Kansas history and the first in 20 years."
"Tyson is a special player but an ever better human being," Fitzgerald said. "Detroit got a guy who's going to be a leader in their organization for a long time. Tyson is the most complete competitor I've ever coached and left an incredible imprint on KU Baseball."
LeBlanc started every game at shortstop in 2026 and finished the year with a .341 batting average, a .706 slugging percentage, 87 hits, 12 doubles, 69 RBIs, 64 runs, 38 walks and 11 stolen bases this season. LeBlanc had 180 total bases which was the second most in a season in KU history.
A native of Maurice, Louisiana, LeBlanc finished the 2026 season tied for eighth nationally with 25 home runs, was ninth in the nation with 180 total bases, tied for 24th in the country with 69 RBIs and tied for 25th nationally with 87 hits.LeBlanc led the team in home runs (25), RBIs (69), batting average (.341), hits (87), total bases (180), runs (64), slugging percentage (.706), on-base percentage (.425) and stolen bases (11).
An All-Big 12 First Team selection, LeBlanc was also named the NCBWA District 6 Co-Player of the Year, a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist and the NCBWA National Hitter of the Month for May. He won the Most Outstanding Player for the Lawrence Regional and Big 12 Tournament as well.
RHP Dominic Voegele (Jr.)Round 3, No. 82 Overall, Baltimore Orioles
Voegele, a three-year weekend starter, became the 11th pitcher in KU history to finish his career with at least 20 wins. He also concluded his time at Kansas with 289 career strikeouts, the second most program history. His 48 career starts were tied for the second most games started in school history. The 289 career strikeouts and 48 career starts were both the most ever by a Kansas pitcher in three seasons.
"Dom carried us on the mound for three years," Fitzgerald said. "He never missed a start and never missed an opportunity to make the people around him better. Dom is incredibly gifted and is just getting started. I can't wait to watch his career. He's an all-time great Jayhawk."In 2026, Voegele was an All-Big 12 Second Team recipient and broke the single-season strikeout record with 120 punchouts. He was the only Division I pitcher to have multiple games with at least 15 strikeouts in 2026. Voegele was one of four Division I pitchers nationally to throw a nine-inning complete game with at least 15 strikeouts.
Over his final nine starts this past season, Voegele pitched to a 3.86 ERA with 81 strikeouts compared to only 15 walks. Seven of those nine outings were quality starts. He led the team with 97.0 innings pitched and 120 strikeouts.
Despite being drafted out of high school, Voegele elected to play at KU instead of signing a pro contract. Voegele quickly ascended in 2024 to ultimately become the most decorated freshman in program history. His awards included First Team Freshman All-American, Big 12 Freshman of the Year, All-Big 12 Second Team and Big 12 All-Freshman Team. He also earned a spot on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in 2024.
The 2026 MLB Draft will continue Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. CT with rounds 5-20. Fans can watch and follow along with the final day of the draft on MLB.com.