Barton Baseball tabbed atop the KJCCC West Preseason Order of Finish for third straight year #GoBarton

For the third consecutive season, the Barton Community College baseball team heads into upcoming season tabbed to finish atop the Jayhawk West Conference as voted by its league member coaches.

The Jayhawk Conference released its annual preseason coaches' poll last Thursday as the Cougars and Cloud County sharing top point totals of 71 and three first place votes each while the defending Jayhawk West champion Blue Dragons of Hutchinson came in third with 66 points despite four first place votes.

Butler was picked 19 points behind Hutchinson in fourth with Dodge City rounding out the top five. Seward County, Colby. Garden City and Pratt rounded out the poll.

Complete 2025 KJCCC West Predicted Order of Finish

Picked to win the conference for a second straight season last year, the Cougars wound up placing tied for fourth in the Jayhawk West at 19-13. Forced to go out on the road for the first round of the Region 6 Tournament, Barton caught fire at the ideal time pulling off a 2-0 opening round sweep of Fort Scott before finishing inside the top 3 of the Region 6/Plains District Tournament to conclude the 2024 season with a 41-21 record.

Skipper Brent Biggs returns to the Cougar dugout for his 11th season with a 367-179 record over 10 seasons.

Barton returns six position players and 11 pitchers from last season.

Offensively, redshirt-sophomore Ayden Hadley and infielder Cesar Gomez return as the top hitters for 2025.

Serving as the first baseman last season, Hadley returns following a strong Region 6 Tournament as the redshirt sophomore finished hitting .321 with 52 total hits, 13 double, two home runs and 39 RBIs.

Gomez manned third base for much of the year, while spending some time at second base. The Liberal, Kansas native returns after hitting .333 with 50 hits, 43 RBIs and four stolen bases.

Other notable returning position players include outfielder Wyatt Yetter, and catcher Barrett Donaldson.

Left-handed starting pitcher Ethan Minaker returns as the lone post-season selection from last year's squad as the Winnipeg, Manitoba native earned an All-KJCCC West honorable mention. Minaker made 12 starts, going 5-3 with a 4.28 ERA and earned the Week 14 KJCCC Pitcher of the Week distinction following a six-inning shutout performance scattering four hits with six strikeouts against Garden City.

Jackson MacWilliams and Anthony Treto highlight the returners out of the Barton bullpen.

McWilliams led the Cougars in relief appearances a year ago, appearing 20 times out of the bullpen to post a 2-1 record with two saves and 19 strikeouts in 25-innings.

Treto looks to solidify his spot in the starting rotation, making two starts in 13 outings a season ago, the Brighten, Colorado native fashioned a 4-2 record with one save and 30 punchouts in 29.2-innings.

The Cougars will open the 2025 season on February 7th in the first of a three-game series at Rose State College before returning home for the home opener at Lawson-Biggs Field held February 15th-16th against Western Nebraska. Barton will begin Jayhawk Conference play on March 6th hosting the Saints of Seward County.