After a competitive first season under Head Coach, JM Kelly the Dodge City baseball team looks to challenge for a top tier spot in the Jayhawk Conference in coach Kelly's second season. 
 
The Conquistadors are coming off a 32-25 record from the 2025 season which saw them go 15-17 in KJCCC action finishing sixth in the conference and falling in the first round of the Region 6 playoffs. The winning record marked the fourth straight year for the program to have a winning record. 
 
Conqs enter the 2026 season picked to finish tied for fourth in the KJCCC West preseason predicted order of finish. Cloud County was selected to first in the preseason poll, while Hutchinson and Barton were picked second and third. The Conqs are tied with Butler at fourth in the preseason poll, and the remainder of the poll has Colby, Seward County, Garden City, and Pratt in sixth through ninth. 
 
The Conqs also come in at #35 in the JBB NJCAA Division I national preseason rankings coming in at the fifth highest Region 6 team ranked in that poll. 
 
Only six players return who played during the 2025 season for the Conqs, as the 2026 roster will be a revamped crew with over 40 players on the roster. Helping lead the charge with some leadership and his play will be Cameron Stukenborg, who returns for his second season with the Cons after earning honorable mention All-KJCCC honors last year. Stukenborg is a two-player for the Conqs that will see action in the infield, on the mound, and at the plate. As a freshman he played in 42 games hitting .379 with 36 hits, 28 RBI, nine walks, six doubles, seven home runs, and three runs scored, and on the mound, he threw 57.2 innings in 14 appearances with nine starts recording five wins and 35 strikeouts. 
 
At catcher, Ben Longoria returns after suiting up in 47 games last season, hitting .347 with 52 hits, 48 runs scored, 41 RBI, 29 walks, and ten doubles. While Bynum Martinez is also back with significant experience playing in 30 games in the outfield and hitting .342 with 26 hits, 24 RBI, 12 walks, 8 doubles, 26 runs scored, and three home runs. Lex Lummus is back after playing in six games last season and will look factor into the mix more for the Conqs. 
 
On the mound, along with Stukenborg both Connor Lovin and Cameron Stewart are back after 30+ innings each last season. Stewart tossed 31 innings in 18 appearances recording three wins with 28 strikeouts in a relief role, while Lovin threw 38 innings over 15 appearances including nine starts recording two wins and 36 strikeouts. 
 
Multiple transfers will look to impact the Conqs on the diamond, but a plethora of first-year guys will look to step up and take on big roles for the Conqs. A trio of transfers come in for the Conqs with NJCAA experience from last season. Ty Hamilton, who originally went to Utah out of high school played last season at Florida Southwestern seeing action in the outfield in 46 games as he hit .306 with 34 hits, 24 RBI, 19 walks, and 10 doubles. Hamilton has already committed to Kansas State for next season. Another sophomore transfer, Will Spang, has already committed to his next spot past Conqs as he will attend Lipscomb. Spang played last season at Cleveland CC, throwing 28.2 innings in 14 appearances with three starts, recording 34 strikeouts. Another guy that comes in after playing last season is Saul Coronado who transfers from Luna CC after playing in the infield in 44 games hitting .283 with 30 hits, 14 RBI, and 12 walks while also pitching 32 innings making 15 appearances with four saves and 26 strikeouts. 
 
Six incoming freshmen are featured in the Perfect Game USA JUCO recruits, top ranked recruits. The freshmen class looks to have a big impact for the Conqs will look to several to fill key roles throughout the season. 
 
The Conqs are scheduled to open the 2026 season over the start of February with a road trip to Texas. The schedule has changed for the road trip (stay tuned to Conqs social media & GoConqs.com for updates), but the trip is slated to feature matchups against #18 San Jacinto and #2 Blinn, among other games.