​MANHATTAN — Dee Kennedy, who exploded as Kansas State baseball’s star shortstop during a breakout season, heard his name called in the 2026 MLB Draft. The St. Louis Cardinals selected Kennedy with the No. 114 overall pick in the fourth round, marking the sixth straight year that a Wildcats player has been chosen in the draft. Kennedy’s selection comes with an estimated signing bonus of about $684,300, though the final amount could fluctuate depending on the Cardinals’ available bonus pool funds.
A Fort Worth, Texas native, Kennedy stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 180 pounds. He spent two seasons with the Wildcats after beginning his college career at Texas. His strong performance in 2026 earned him recognition as a D1Baseball All-American on the Third Team and a First Team All-Big 12 selection. Kennedy delivered one of the most prolific offensive campaigns in K-State history, posting a .357 batting average, a .461 on-base percentage, and a .733 slugging percentage. He belted a school-record 20 home runs, drove in 69 runs, and scored 70 runs, becoming just the fifth player in Big 12 history to record a 20-home-run and 20-stolen-base season.
Rank: 71st
Age: 21
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Kennedy’s rise has been described as perhaps the most improved performance in NCAA Division I this season. He hit just .209 as a freshman at Texas in 2024 and led the Big 12 in strikeouts (79) in 2025 during his time at Kansas State. A LASIK procedure before the 2026 season contributed to a dramatic transformation, improving vision and enabling more frequent and higher-quality contact at the plate. That improvement helped him earn Cape Cod League All-Star honors last summer and surpass the Wildcats’ single-season home run record of 20 this spring.
With sharper vision, Kennedy has become more selective and patient at the plate, chasing fewer pitches and maintaining better control over the strike zone. While he still sometimes hunts for curves outside the zone, he previously struggled against curves and sliders but now handles them more effectively. He has developed the ability to drive balls in the air with greater frequency, hitting them with increased power and producing what appears to be plus raw power with a simple, almost wrist-driven swing.
Kennedy’s athleticism complements his enhanced offensive profile. He possesses solid speed coming out of the box and displays notable quickness once underway. He began as a second baseman as a freshman and moved to third base as a sophomore before transitioning to shortstop, where his lateral range and infield actions have improved. Kennedy also shows solid arm strength at short.
This coverage is by Wyatt D. Wheeler, who reports on Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and the Topeka Capital-Journal. Follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_ or reach him at 417-371-6987 or wwheeler@usatodayco.com. This material originally appeared in the Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State baseball’s Dee Kennedy selected by the Cardinals in the 2026 MLB Draft, with a view toward better search engine optimization.