12 June 2023
LAWRENCE (KSNT) – Kansas outfielder Chase Jans was featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays on multiple occasions this spring.
Jans was diving all over left field for the Jayhawks as one of only a few returners from the 2022 team.
He sat down with K-Nation reporter Landon Reinhardt to break down the biggest moments in the outfield from the season.
The first play those two looked at was a double-play in the Sunflower Showdown against rival K-State. Jans dives for a ball in foul territory in left field before standing up and rifling a ball to third to tag out a runner trying to reach the base.
“Initial reaction is, ‘Please don’t hit the wall,'” Jans said. “‘Should I slide feet first or not?’ Then I catch it…I look up and he’s running… and I’m like, ‘Thank you.'”
The next play was another diving catch, this one against The Citadel. This play was unique because Jans was running backwards, towards the outfield wall, before diving for the catch.
“It’s a little bit harder, the ones where you’re diving in, you know if you miss it, you can just chest it up,” Jans said. “Those, if you miss those, they’re going to get a few bases.”
Jans’ show didn’t stop in the regular season. In the Big 12 tournament, Jans ended the third inning on a diving catch.
“There was a ball a couple batters before that that landed in the same area and I didn’t go for it, and I thought, ‘Oh I really think I could have had that,'” Jans said.
After hearing from centerfielder Mike Koszewski that he had his backup, Jans went for it and made the catch.
Jans says the Jayhawks don’t practice diving for balls, per se, but they make sure to get good breaks.
“We practice coming in on the ball, and there’s some in practice where, ‘I can catch that if I dive,'” Jans said.
The full interview and play breakdowns with Jans is at the top of the page.