Kansas baseball coach Dan Fitzgerald values the roles 2 transfers from LSU have played

LAWRENCE — Collier Cranford always dreamed of playing college baseball at LSU, and it’s not hard to understand why.

Cranford played high school ball at Zachary High School in Zachary, Louisiana, not far from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He developed into one of the best prospects in the state, not to mention the nation. The path was set.

But even though Cranford would decide to transfer away after three seasons, explaining earlier this week his time there didn’t work out the way he’d envisioned, where he’d take his talents to next wasn’t that difficult of a decision. Dan Fitzgerald, an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Tigers in 2022, became the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks. Cranford, along with a LSU teammate of his in Luke Leto, followed Fitzgerald to Lawrence, Kansas.

And while there’s what Cranford and Leto provide as athletes, their importance went beyond that in recent months as Kansas prepared for its first season with Fitzgerald at the helm. They were able to make that transition easier for their new teammates and their new head coach. The Jayhawks are in a better position to open their 2023 season Friday against Valparaiso because of them.

RELATED:Philadelphia Phillies manager, former Kansas great Rob Thomson has high hopes for Jayhawks

RELATED:Dan Fitzgerald waited for a chance like this. Now, he's Kansas baseball’s new head coach

“I can speak for myself, it helped me tremendously,” said Fitzgerald, who’d trust Cranford and Leto with his own children. “When I was addressing the team, I could look at them and kind of gauge their reaction and their response and kind of know whether or not the point was hitting home. And knowing those guys — I have a great relationship with both those guys. And being able to — just a comfort level of being able to read them.”

Fitzgerald has been a head coach before, so addressing a team with that title isn’t new to him. He enjoyed a lot of success during his tenure at the junior college level as he led Des Moines Area Community College, before he made the jump as an assistant to the Division I level at Dallas Baptist and then LSU. But this past offseason was his first as a Division I head coach at a major conference program.

Fitzgerald could look to see how Cranford, a redshirt junior infielder, and Leto, a sophomore infielder/outfielder, were responding if he was pushing the team really hard. If they were bouncing back all right, that told Fitzgerald he wasn’t overdoing it. If they were tired, that told Fitzgerald everyone is probably tired and he might need to pull back a bit.

And that’s all on top of what Cranford’s and Leto’s new teammates were able to learn from them, too. Because as graduate pitcher Collin Baumgartner and junior pitcher Sam Ireland each pointed out, those former LSU Tigers carry themselves like athletes who spent time at a program with the type of pedigree LSU has. As Fitzgerald added, the expectation for the Tigers isn’t to just make it to the College World Series, it’s to win a national title.

“I think the way they prepare day in and day out, I think the way they handle themselves, is to a very high standard,” Ireland said. “So, I think that kind of rubs off on the rest of the team — especially some of the younger guys. Seeing that work ethic, it’s a really good thing.”

Kansas is still more than a month away from its first matchup with a Big 12 Conference opponent. So, if there’s something to be gained before then from non-conference game experiences because of the familiarity Cranford, Leto and Fitzgerald all have with each other, those opportunities will be there. The month of February will see the Jayhawks play a three-game series against Valparaiso and a four-game series against Oakland — both in neutral settings.

No, Fitzgerald hasn’t only been relying on Cranford and Leto to lead Kansas. In addition to Baumgartner and Ireland, Fitzgerald praised senior catcher Cole Elvis’ leadership capabilities and highlighted how many like-minded individuals are on the Jayhawks’ roster. But as Fitzgerald attempts to build Kansas into the program he’s said it can be, every little bit helps.

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: Kansas baseball's Dan Fitzgerald values roles 2 LSU transfers have had