From blue-chip to breakout: Jayson Jones leads Wichita State baseball to Hawaii
It didn’t take long for Jayson Jones to announce himself at Wichita State.
Four games into his Shocker career, the transfer third baseman has already put himself in rare air inside Eck Stadium. Jones homered in all four games of Wichita State’s opening-weekend sweep over Northern Colorado, becoming the first Shocker to go deep in four straight games since future MLB All-Star Alec Bohm did it in 2018.
Only one player in program history has ever done more: Jeff Ryan had a five-game homer streak in 1998.
Jones’ first weekend in black and yellow was the kind of box-score bing you had to double-check: 7-for-15 with four home runs, 12 RBI and nine runs scored as the Shockers pounded Northern Colorado 43-8 in a four-game sweep. He was named the American Conference Player of the Week and landed on the Baseball America Team of the Week.
“It’s a special bat,” WSU coach Brian Green said. “I’ve had a few first-rounders and Golden Spikes winners and I’m not going to put that on him, but I will say the ball comes off his bat about as hard as anybody that I’ve coached.”
For a program coming off a painful 20-36 season in 2025, the fewest wins in the modern era of Shocker baseball, the surge matters beyond the highlight clips. A four-game sweep over an overmatched opponent is one thing. A middle-of-the-order thumper who changes the team’s power outlook is another.
And the early signs suggest this isn’t a fluky hot streak. If anything, Green believes Jones’ opening weekend could’ve been even louder with two or three more home runs if the wind was blowing out.
Talent has never been the question with Jones, not with his pedigree or his resume. He arrived at WSU after time at Arkansas and Oklahoma State.
“It’s pretty clear that he’s a great talent,” Green said. “There’s a reason why he was getting at bats at Oklahoma State and Arkansas. He’s just never put it all together.”
Jones’ baseball passport includes two seasons in the SEC and a year in the Big 12. He played 43 games over two seasons at Arkansas, making 32 starts, then last season at Oklahoma State, he appeared in 50 games and logged 29 RBI. The recruiting history is even more impressive, as he was rated the No. 1 player in the state of Texas and the No. 5 player nationally in the 2022 class by Perfect Game.
WSU didn’t just add a veteran bat. It added a former blue-chip talent who was in search of new scenery and a fresh start. He has one in Wichita.
“I think Jayson is just really comfortable here,” Green said. “We’ve done nothing but simplify it for him. He had a little bit too much movement. A guy who is that big and strong, he didn’t need that movement. So we’ve just made it simple and right now he’s in a really good rhythm and has a really good approach.”
Jones is one of three notable transfers playing their final season of college baseball in Wichita, joining outfielder Max Kaufer (South Carolina) and Alex Ulloa (Florida International). All three were top-300 national recruits out of high school and Wichita State’s hope is that the collective talent finally looks like production on the field.
Opening weekend, at minimum, offered a glimpse of what that can look like when it clicks.
“We really mesh offensively, I think we just see the game the same way,” Green said. “Jayson has been a really positive spokesman for me in the clubhouse. Whenever you have someone with the talent like him who is hitting like that and he’s going around communicating to the guys that what coach Green is telling you is good stuff, then that’s a huge help.”
Now comes the first real travel test — and a chance to see whether Wichita State’s first-week fireworks travel well.
After a 4-0 start, the program’s best since the 2018 team opened 8-0, the Shockers head to Honolulu for a four-game series at Hawaii beginning Thursday. The first two games start late for WSU fans: 10:35 p.m. Central time Thursday and Friday, while Saturday’s game is set for 7:05 p.m. Central time and Sunday’s finale at 6:05 p.m. Central time.
WSU will roll out a different pitching rotation for the series. Matthew Cuccias, coming off a successful long relief outing (three innings), will make his first start of the season in Thursday’s opener. Brady Hamilton (1-0, 2.25 ERA) gets the ball Friday, Johnny Nuanez (1-0, 0.00 ERA) goes Saturday, and left-hander Reese Kortum (0-0, 0.00 ERA) starts Sunday.
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 11:07 AM.
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