Bishop Ward hopes to add to school’s rich baseball tradition with another state title run

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) - Since opening its doors in 1908, Bishop Ward High School has built a reputation.

“It’s known for baseball, right?” said head baseball coach Zach Harris. “So when I got hired, it was one of the main things. ‘Get it back to where it was.’”

Well, “where it was,” was the mountaintop of Kansas high school baseball. The Cyclones won 10 state championships over 20 years, including six in a row during the 2000s.

And this year’s Cyclones team is following in those championship footsteps. In 2024, Bishop Ward won its conference championship for a third year in a row, compiling a 20-0 record while outscoring opponents 228-38.

But their best player, shortstop Chris Mancinas, says there’s no real secret to the team’s success.

“Honestly, I don’t think so,” Mancinas said of whether there was a secret. “Just showing up, doing the small things right -- going out there with a chip on your shoulder.”

Star second baseman Manny Dunn points to how close the team is.

“Our chemistry, we’ve all been knowing each other since we were little,” Dunn said. “Learning how we all play and our abilities.”

Some of the richer schools in the area might look down on Bishop Ward, but Harris says his team carries itself with a ton of self-respect.

“Even if we were 10-10, just the pride of being on the baseball team at Ward is something you can see they’re extra happy to be a part of.”

The baseball team’s success at Bishop Ward is just part of the story at the school, which recently announced a $7.5 million campaign to better the entire school.”

Now, the Cyclones are looking for their 14th state baseball title -- and first since 2014.

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