The Panthers baseball team has a whole new coaching staff led by Jeff Frazee.

“I’m excited about being able to coach these Derby boys,” Frazee said. “I’m very passionate about Derby High School and Kansas, and green is magic and all that. And being able to coach in my hometown and the students I have in my class.”

Also new to the staff are pitching coach Matt Jordan, assistant coach Adam McNew and junior varsity coach Braden Morrison.

Jordan comes from a background of baseball and teaching. He has coached club ball for years and currently teaches in Winfield. Morrison is a first year teacher and coach, but has a high knowledge of the game. 

“I haven’t been more impressed with a 22 year-old in my life,” Frazee said. “His maturity is unmatched for someone his age, his knowledge of the game is great and he is an incredible math teacher.” 

A big question is how this season will be different from 2025, when the Panthers finished 7-20.

“This season just started, and it’s already been much different,” senior Hudson Halstead said. “We did a bunch of off season lifting starting in the fall, and everything has been very organized.”

The goal this season is to turn it around and get back to the Class 6A tournament. 

Frazee, who teaches math at DHS, coached baseball at Kapaun Mount Carmel the past two years. 

“Well, it will be different since this is my first year coaching and most of the coaching staff is different, so the boys are just going to have to get used to us,” Frazee said. “But it’s still baseball, so it’s not that different.”

In 2001 Frazee’s dad was the assistant coach on the state winning team. 

“Definitely no added pressure,” Frazee said. “It is exciting that he was a coach on the state-winning team, so I guess there is a little bit more pressure trying to win state just like he did when he was coaching.”