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KU Baseball Coach Dan Fitzgerald is EXCITED For Big 12 Conference Play | Pay Heed 3/12

·34 min·2 clips

Fitzgerald says Kansas has not “played offense the way that we need to play offense.”

1. KC Sports Network’s Pay Heed episode centers on KU baseball coach Dan Fitzgerald and the start of Big 12 play against Texas Tech. 2. Hosts Nick Springer and Kevin Flaherty interview Fitzgerald because he is guiding Kansas baseball through its fourth season under his watch. 3. The episode asks what Kansas has become after three years of growth and how the Jayhawks handle new expectations in conference play. 4. Fitzgerald says Kansas has brought him more support than he expected from Travis Goff, Sean Muster, Chancellor Gerrard, other coaches, academics, and mental health staff. 5. He describes year one as a culture-setting grind, year two as a step forward, and last season as a huge jump. 6. Fitzgerald says the program has learned how the Big 12 plays and how the schedule lays out. 7. He says outside expectations grew because the fan base grew, including a sold-out student section in the first home game. 8. Fitzgerald says the pressure is welcome if the team acknowledges it and then focuses on playing baseball. 9. He says the team’s job is to throw its 150 pitches and the opponent’s job is to throw its 150 pitches, with the scoreboard coming last. 10. Fitzgerald says culture is not permanent because it has to be maintained every day, which he compares to a farmer working a cornfield. 11. He says Kansas has not hit offense the way it needs to hit offense, even though the hitters are doing the hard part with strike-zone discipline. 12. Fitzgerald says the group has gotten on base and shown good swing decisions, but it needs more driven contact and more freedom to cut it loose. 13. He points to Daryl Lasoria as an example of loud contact that has not turned into enough hits yet. 14. On pitching, Fitzgerald says Dom Bailey needs to cut it loose and trust his arsenal instead of trying to over-manipulate every pitch. 15. He says Jordan Bach has carried the offense, leads the Big 12 in walks, and gives Kansas steady on-base production. 16. Fitzgerald says Mattis Nairal was not a surprise competitively, and he notes Nairal’s thick French accent and his path from Montpelier, France, through Cochise Junior College in Douglas, Arizona. 17. Fitzgerald’s tone is direct, reflective, and detailed, with frequent baseball analogies about farming, shooting threes, and “street fight” competitiveness. 18. The interview format stays conversational, with Springer and Flaherty pressing on roster identity, player development, and conference readiness. 19. Listeners who follow KU baseball, Big 12 baseball, or roster development will get the most from it. 20. Listeners wanting game recaps without coaching philosophy may skip it.

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