After three challenging seasons since joining the Ban Johnson Collegiate League, the KC Knights have turned a corner in 2023, emerging as a playoff contender in the BJCL’s American Division.
And the Knights are reveling in their newfound success.
“It’s a lot more fun to win,” Knights infielder Jackson Truman (Lee’s Summit West/Emporia State) said. “A lot of guys are getting here early, getting ready to hit and getting ready for the game.”
The Knights went 18-13 in 2019 playing in the Mid-Plains League, but they struggled with the transition to the BJCL.
Radosevic’s squad finished last in the league, going 4-20 in its debut season in 2020.
The Knights improved to 5-18 in 2021, but still finished second to last in the BJCL standings.
After a 7-20 campaign last summer, the Knights again occupied the league cellar, but this summer has been a different story.
The Knights are 8-7 — already the most wins for the program in a BJCL season — and tied for third in the American Division standings, one game behind the NKC Apartments Giants for a possible playoff spot.
After a 27-game regular season, the top two teams in each division advance to the postseason.
“It’s always fun no matter what, but just the fact that the kids are into it and they’re seeing the importance of every game, you like to see that,” Knights manager Martin Radosevic Sr. said. “The stakes are a little bit higher, so you’ve got to be a little more prepared, you’ve got to be on the ball, and you’ve got to focus.”
It’s not that the Knights didn’t do those things during their first three seasons in the BJCL, but the team has added more depth throughout the roster.
“We have a lot more better players, so it’s nice to have a full team instead of just a handful of guys,” said OF Joey Calamaio (Shawnee Mission South/MidAmerica Nazarene), who is in his third season with the Knights. “It makes it more fun.”
It also makes it more competitive, on the field and in the dugout.
“We have a lot of kids who have come here to compete, so they’re competing not only within the team but against their opponents, too,” Radosevic said. “These guys come from championship clubs.”
Most of the Knights’ new players arrived via word of mouth from current or former players, including Truman.
“These guys I used to play with from 9 to 12U (years old) are now coming up from high school ball,” Truman said. “And they’re asking me where I play. It’s fun to play with them again.”
The Knights added a couple newcomers from the back-to-back Missouri Class 6 state champion Liberty North squad — including LHP Andrew Agnew (Liberty North/Missouri S&T), who leads the team’s starters with a 1.40 ERA.
The Knights’ roster also is loaded with seven players from MidAmerica Nazarene, which has made the NAIA playoffs three straight seasons and reached the NAIA World Series the last two years.
“When you have that kind of quality, they can come in here and not be fazed by anything,” Radosevic said. “They don’t care who they’re facing. You’re gonna get good results.”
The Knights’ team ERA hovered between 6.55 and 8.33 during their first three seasons in the BJCL, but it is currently 4.64, more than halfway through the regular season, buoyed by Agnew and LHP Liam Bryan (Blue Springs South/UCM), who has a 1.91 ERA and sits atop the rotation.
“In the past we haven’t had another pitcher who can come in,” Truman said. “So, if our starter isn’t really doing good, it’s kind of hard to keep faith that you’re going to be able to come back.”
Now, the Knights have faith before every game that they have a chance.
The offense has improved as well, slashing .266/.409/.370 collectively — all high-water marks since joining the league. Truman, who is slashing .481/.548/.556, and Calamaio, who’s sitting at .444/.500/.722, lead the charge at the plate.
“I think some of it is consistency with Martin being a great coach,” said RHP/OF Garrett Kalm (Heritage Christian Academy/Avila), who is in his second season with the Knights. “You kind of have to trust the process when you build a team like that. They were new to the Ban Johnson League right after COVID, but Martin has been a great guy and great leader putting a team together.”
Radosevic has created a welcoming environment that allows his players to feel comfortable and the fruit of that labor is showing on the field.
“There’s a lot of energy, but there’s also a lot of looseness,” Kalm said. “Usually in the past, we’re uptight trying to win games and this year we just expect to win games. I think it’s a good combination when you play loose but you expect to win and you have confidence in yourself.”
Calamaio gave a travel team in Wichita a shot last summer, but he ultimately decided to return to the Knights.
“It just wasn’t a good fit for me, so I decided to come home and just have fun,” Calamaio said.
He didn’t consider playing anywhere other than the BJCL this summer and didn’t consider playing for any team besides the Knights.
“That’s the only team I’ve played for in Ban Johnson,” Calamaio said. “I never thought about changing. I was going to ride it out with the Knights.”
So far, it’s been a great ride and the Knights hope to stay in the playoff race down to the wire.
“Obviously we haven’t been there, but I feel like we’ll be fine,” Calamaio said. “Same baseball no matter where it is. Our college team wins a lot. Now, our summer team wins a lot, too. It’s been a lot of fun.”
