I believe God put us here to serve. To always put our lives, energy, and faith into making the world a better place.  Growing up in Hays, my parents and teachers insisted we always do the right thing, even when no one was looking.  That meant mowing Mrs. Eichelberger’s grass when she couldn’t pay, visiting a shut-in as a cub scout, and taking care of drug-addicted patients with nowhere else to go.  

What makes Kansas special to me is the people.  I love the finger waves when you pass a truck, Mr. Bolen spending his summer tutoring me in algebra, and the thousands of prayer warriors who prayed when I got prostate cancer.  Thanks to you I beat cancer.  Kansas is the strong, modest center of the greatest country in the history of the world. 

It’s we Kansans together who accomplished more than anyone realized when I had the honor of serving as your Governor:  the dark tone changed immediately; there were more Kansans working than ever before; the culture of life was on the rise; we were the first state to fully privatize Medicaid giving our patients better outcomes and saving $1B a year; the first governor in fifty years to fully fund K-12 education; eliminated thousands of duplicative state government positions saving billions without controversy; leaving an $800 million surplus and putting humble Kansas back on track.  We did that together.

For me, there are many ways to serve, and I shall continue to do so with every fiber of my being.  Kansas has been my family’s home for five generations and hopefully fifty more.

I want to thank the tens of thousands who share our vision of a bold, new Kansas; the thousands who contributed and volunteered; and our fantastic staff who took us to every corner of the state.  Most especially thank you to my bride, Ruth, and our amazing daughters.   Together this team is unstoppable.   

It’s because of you that we won every straw poll, out-fundraised every candidate, built the biggest grassroots campaign and led every poll by double digits.  Thank you for believing in us and that dream we call Kansas.

This campaign was never about me.  Like you, I believe that Kansas can be the beating heart of America once again. 

My service will continue, but I shall not be a candidate for governor in 2026.  I am with you—Kansas—every step of the way.  Ad Astra Per Aspera”

The Royals plan to stick with Erceg as their ninth-inning reliever. However, manager Matt Quatraro has noticed that the “swing-and-miss” has been absent from Erceg’s arsenal.

“He’s got good stuff, and we’ve seen him at his best with us,” Quatraro said. “And he’s a competitor, and that one (Saturday’s loss) really hurts.

“When you give him the ball, you like your chances. And the last game was a little odd. There were things that happened, you know, in the game against the (New York) Yankees. And this one, he was unable to put the guys away.”

In the last four years, the University of Arkansas has gotten the better of the Kansas Jayhawks in postseason play.

In 2022, the Razorbacks defeated KU football 55-53 in a triple-overtime thriller in Memphis during the Liberty Bowl. A year later, No. 8 seed Arkansas upset No. 1 seed KU (and reigning college basketball champions) in the NCAA Tournament by a single point (72-71) to end Kansas basketball’s chances of a repeat. In 2025, Arkansas pulled off another upset in the Big Dance when the No. 10 seed Razorbacks defeated No. 7 KU 79-72 to advance to the Sweet 16.

Needless to say, there were plenty of Jayhawk fans hoping for revenge this weekend when Arkansas was announced as the No. 2 seed in the Lawrence Regional – and KU baseball delivered in a big way with a sweep over the Razorbacks to reach the program’s first-ever Super Regionals appearance.

KU came from behind in both games to earn a 5-3 victory on Saturday and a 13-10 win on Sunday night at Hoglund Ballpark.

On Saturday, Arkansas took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second before a Tyson LeBlanc RBI tied things up in the bottom of the third. Each team scored two in the fifth and remained deadlocked until KU pulled away late with a Dairel Osoria run in the seventh and a solo home run by Augusto Mungarrieta in the eighth to seal the win.

After Arkansas beat Northeastern in a narrow 10-9 contest on Sunday afternoon, KU and Arkansas met again on Sunday evening in a highly anticipated matchup that saw a lot of offensive firepower on display.

The Razorbacks jumped out to a 5-0 lead through three innings before KU had a monster performance in the top of the fourth. Osoria led things off with a solo home run before Brady Ballinger hit an RBI single to score Jordan Bach and Max Soliz Jr. had an RBI single to score Dylan Schlotterback. Then LeBlanc showed his All-American talents once again in a big moment by hitting a three-run home run to deep center field to put the Jayhawks ahead 6-5.

From there, KU would never relinquish the lead after scoring two runs in the fifth inning and three in the sixth. The Jayhawks tacked on two more in the top of the eighth to give the team its 13th score of the game.

The Jayhawks are now 45-16 on the season – tied for the most wins in a season in program history with the 1993 team that reached the College World Series.

KU will now move on to the Super Regionals which start Friday, June 5. If Oklahoma beats Georgia Tech tomorrow, KU will get the chance to host as they did this week. If Georgia Tech wins, the Jayhawks will head to Atlanta with a spot in the College World Series on the line.