Cole Elvis was poised to start a pro career, but instead has helped KU baseball thrive

LAWRENCE — Two.

That’s the level of confidence Kansas baseball coach Dan Fitzgerald had, on a scale of 1-to-10.

Two.

This was last year, after Fitzgerald had earned a commitment from California transfer Cole Elvis. Despite how excited Fitzgerald may have been to receive that commitment, as he built what would be his first roster leading the Jayhawks, he was confident Elvis would soon be selected in the 2022 MLB draft. And Fitzgerald was even more confident an organization would sign Elvis as a free agent if the draft came and went without Elvis’ name being called.

But neither possibility occurred. Elvis’ professional career would get put off for another year, as he instead returned to the college ranks for a fifth season. And a couple months into the 2023 season, Elvis has been everything Fitzgerald and company could have hoped for on a team that’s won nine of its past 10 games.

“I’ve always been a believer that everything happens for a reason,” Elvis said Wednesday after an 11-7 win against Texas Southern. “I’d hoped that I was going to get drafted. But, if I didn’t, I knew that … Kansas was where I was supposed to be. And I’m here now. And I love it.”

The connection between Elvis and Kansas stems from a series Elvis played in, for California in 2021, against California Baptist. That year, there was an assistant coach on California Baptist’s staff named Tyler Hancock. In 2022, after Elvis elected to transfer from California, Hancock was in the early parts of his tenure as an assistant coach on Fitzgerald’s first coaching staff at Kansas.

As Fitzgerald tells it, the Jayhawks staff was constantly watching the transfer portal as they attempted to put a team together. Because of that series between California and California Baptist, it didn’t take long for Fitzgerald and Hancock to go for Elvis. They needed a catcher.

As Elvis tells it, when Hancock first brought up the series between California and California Baptist on that first phone call they had he could remember it vividly. California Baptist’s offensive capability, in a series California nearly lost, was still on his mind. Elvis was interested in playing for someone who helped make that happen, and thought Fitzgerald could help him advance as a hitter as well.

Fast forward to postgame Wednesday, and Elvis is the only player to have started each of Kansas’ first 32 games — with his appearances coming at either catcher or first base. He’s one of the Jayhawks’ leading hitters. He’s a leader among his teammates, so much so that Fitzgerald has referred to him as the best leader Fitzgerald has ever coached, and through it all hasn’t let not getting drafted last year cause any issues.

“My whole career, I’ve talked to players about the balance between massive confidence and humility and what that looks like,” Fitzgerald said. “And I think when you meet someone that’s genuinely like that, it’s — they’re just incredibly engaging and likable. And Cole, from day one, he just had a very magnetic confidence and humility.”

With the run Kansas is on now, the Jayhawks have pulled out of an early-season hole. They’re 17-15 overall and 5-4 against the Big 12 Conference. This weekend, Friday through Sunday at home, they have a three-game series against Kansas State that they’ll try to turn into their third-straight series win in Big 12 play.

It’s a rivalry, so anything can happen. Although Kansas State has struggled in recent weeks this season, last season the Wildcats won their series against the Jayhawks. Regardless of what transpires, though, what Elvis has experienced holistically at Kansas has already exceeded his expectations.

“I was more so focused on the help that I’d receive from the coaching staff and being developed and all that kinds of stuff, but I really had no expectations for the city of Lawrence, for the state of Kansas, for the university, anything like that, the fan base, the resources and all that stuff,” Elvis said. “And so, like, my mind was blown when I got here.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Cole Elvis was ready to become a pro, but instead is with KU baseball