A pair of Kansas Wesleyan baseball players have signed professional baseball contracts and will join their new team on Friday evening.
Kendall Foster and KT Gearlds have inked deals with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association. The American Association is highly regarded as the top independent baseball league in the country and is an official partner league of Major League Baseball.
“They deserve this opportunity with what they have done here as players,” Kansas Wesleyan coach Bill Neale said. “Our entire coaching staff can’t be more thrilled for Kendall and KT and this opportunity for them.”
Foster and Gearlds will join the Canaries and be available for tonight’s games against Fargo-Moorhead in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Sioux Falls and Fargo-Moorhead are in a better for first place in the West Division of the American Association. Sioux Falls currently trails Fargo-Moorhead by a half-game in the standings.
Foster had an outstanding 2024 campaign for the Coyotes, leading the team in homeruns with 24, equaling his total from the 2023 season. In 50 games he had 71 hits, which also included 20 doubles and five triples. He scored 75 runs on the season and had a .874 slugging percentage and a .467 on base percentage.
Gearlds was a huge part of the Kansas Wesleyan bullpen as a set-up man for the Coyotes. In 23 appearances, Gearlds pitched 32 innings with a 1.41 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He posted a 2-0 record with one save. He allowed only 19 hits and five runs, while striking out 42 against 15 walks. Opposing hitters had just a .112 batting average against Gearlds this season. Gearlds save came in the championship game of the NAIA Opening Round Shreveport Bracket as the Coyotes picked up a 2-1 win over LSU-Shreveport to advance to the NAIA World Series.
The duo is the latest in a list of Coyotes to have professional opportunities in baseball. KWU’s most recent baseball alum with professional experience was Casey Barnes who played for the Coyotes from 2007 to 2010, and then played from 2011 to 2016 professionally for several teams. One of KWU’s most notable professional alums is Stephen Cilladi who was drafted in the 33rd round of the 2009 MLB draft and played two seasons for the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes before becoming a bullpen catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, a role he remains in currently.
Kansas Wesleyan had a record season in 2024, posting a school record 48-12 record overall, setting a new school record for wins in a season and posted a KCAC record for wins in conference play with a 32-4 record. The Coyotes won the KCAC Regular Season championship and were runners-up in the KCAC tournament. KWU won the Shreveport Bracket of the NAIA Baseball National Championship Opening Round and made the program’s first-ever NAIA World Series appearance this season.
