Former Kansas pitcher J’Briell Easley has signed a deal to join the Texas Rangers, KU announced Thursday evening.
Easley, who was not drafted, had remaining collegiate eligibility after playing his redshirt junior season with KU in 2024, but will instead choose to take the professional route. He joins catcher and first baseman Ben Hartl, a 14th-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft in Tuesday, as a second Jayhawk acquired by the reigning World Series champions.
Easley, who is originally from Shawnee, Oklahoma, played two years in Arkansas City at Cowley College before arriving in Lawrence in January 2023, just in time for head coach Dan Fitzgerald’s first season at the helm.
However, Easley missed the following season due to injury. In fact, he only appeared once in a KU uniform prior to April 2024, and played just 10 times for the Jayhawks overall with six starts.
His stock was highest at the end of the season, because he started against Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament and gave the Jayhawks a chance to beat the regular-season champion Sooners thanks to a 4 2/3-inning, 11-strikeout showing. Easley was ultimately charged with three earned runs but displayed his potential in his final game as a Jayhawk.
Prior to the draft, he had actually announced on June 28 that he would enter the transfer portal, as a fairly late addition. However, the professional signing renders that moot.
Easley’s signing follows KU’s six selections in the MLB Draft over the course of Monday and Tuesday: Hunter Cranton by the Seattle Mariners, Kodey Shojinaga by the Philadelphia Phillies, Ethan Lanthier by the New York Mets, Tegan Cain by the Phillies, Hartl by the Rangers and Evan Shaw by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
AP Photo/Colin E Braley
