KCSN Weekly: Draft week arrives, Royals' skid continues, and Tigers steal a Jayhawk
A weekly look at everything happening across Kansas City sports.
Happy Friday, KCSN subscribers.
The Royals are grinding through the early part of the season, trying to find offense, the Chiefs are finally on the doorstep of the NFL Draft, and the college scene is still churning behind the scenes.
Next week is a big one, but here’s where things stand.
Royals Report: Quiet bats
It was another tough week for the Kansas City Royals, who won two games for the second straight week and now sit at 7–12 on the season.
They split a series with the Chicago White Sox, highlighted by back-to-back 2–0 wins at Kauffman Stadium on Friday and Saturday. But a 6–5 loss on Sunday kicked off a four-game losing streak that carried into a sweep at the hands of the Detroit Tigers, despite Kansas City allowing just four runs across the first two games of that series.
That’s been the story.
The pitching has been more than good enough.
Seth Lugo allowed one earned run with seven strikeouts over 6.2 innings. Michael Wacha punched out seven across eight scoreless innings. Cole Ragans added six scoreless frames of his own. On the flip side, Noah Cameron and Kris Bubic were hit harder in their outings.
Offensively, there just hasn’t been enough.
The one standout was Jac Caglianone, who hit .357 with a double, a triple, and just two strikeouts all week. Beyond that, the bats have been quiet, and it’s costing them games they probably should be winning.
Chiefs Check-In: Veach speaks
The Kansas City Chiefs enter full spotlight mode with the 2026 NFL Draft kicking off Thursday night, holding picks No. 9 and No. 29 in the first round.
General manager Brett Veach spoke to the media one final time ahead of the draft, and a few themes stood out.
First, the Chiefs have seemingly so many holes they could fill; it offers flexibility on night one.
“I think it does open up that No. 9 pick to go in any one direction,” General Manager Brett Veach said. “Certainly, we’ll see how the first five or six picks go. I think whether it’s the defensive back field, the offensive line, edge rusher, receiver, again, we need help in all of those areas.”
That tracks with what we’ve seen all offseason. It is peak rumor-mill season, and the Chiefs are still being mocked for running backs and offensive tackles despite glaring needs at defensive end, cornerback, and wide receiver. This feels as wide open as any draft in recent memory.
Second, this draft might be unpredictable.
“A lot of these guys that are mocked high may go a little low, and a lot of these guys that are getting mocked lower may go a little higher because they’re so close this year, and it’s not this huge gap and big fall off,” Veach said.
In other words, player grades and team fits are both varied and extremely close together, more so than in past drafts. Veach also predicted more night-one trades than usual, and this is probably why.
There may not be a huge fall off in terms of overall depth, according to Veach, but that may not be the case at offensive tackle. Whether you agree that Kansas City has a need at right tackle or not, you may see one early, or not at all.
“I think there are numbers there, but when you get to pick 35, those numbers quickly diminish, and then there’s a big fall off,” Veach said. “... For example, DE (defensive end), I think, is solid through two, two and a half, maybe even three, where offensive line, there is some talent there, but I do think it dries up quickly, and by 35, it could be slim pickings.”
Many in Chiefs circles believe defensive end is the team’s biggest need. It is good news that there is depth throughout, but if Veach is telling the truth here, a round-one edge rusher could be supplanted by a round-one offensive tackle. Again, that is only if the round-one offensive tackle smoke is real. Sure, they could do both in round one, but the needs at cornerback and wide receiver are real, too. Who knows what Veach is targeting at this point?
And lastly, the philosophy hasn’t changed, even after a 6–11 season.
“When you have Pat (Mahomes), there’s that mindset that you always have a chance to go out there and compete for a championship and compete for a division title,” Veach said. “The tricky part is trying to maintain that standard, but also keep an eye on the future and knowing that Pat’s still going to be here for a long time.”
Kansas City has nine picks to work with, and based on Veach’s tone, everything from trading up to trading back and drafting any and every position feels very much in play.
KCSNU
Tigers steal Tiller from Jayhawks + Wildcats snag four transfers
Less than two week’s in, there are a ton of portal updates for Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri.
For Kansas, the biggest addition this week came in the form of Keanu Dawes, a 6-foot-9 forward from Utah who averaged 12.8 points and 8.8 rebounds last season. He’s the type of frontcourt piece Kansas needed, and the Jayhawks may not be done yet, with ESPN’s nationally top-ranked 2026 prospect Tyran Stokes reportedly still in play.
At Missouri, the storyline is tied directly to Kansas.
Bryson Tiller, a former Kansas player, committed to Missouri after entering the portal. Tiller averaged 7.9 points and 6.1 rebounds last season and should have a real role right away. The Tigers also added Jaylen Carey (Tennessee) and Jamier Jones (Providence), continuing to reshape their roster.
For Kansas State, things were quieter before they quickly announced four signings.
Head coach Casey Alexander has added several pieces through the portal, including Isaiah Abraham (Georgetown), Matt Gilhool (LSU), JT Rock (New Mexico), and Jaden Schutt (Virginia Tech). Each brings eligibility and upside to the Wildcats roster.
What to Watch This Week
Chiefs
Round 1 begins Thursday night, April 23.
Kansas City holds picks No. 9 and No. 29.
Royals
Three-game set at the New York Yankees (10–9). Michael Wacha and his 0.43 ERA get the ball tonight as Kansas City looks to reset.
Return home for three against the Baltimore Orioles (9–10).
The Royals are still searching for consistency, but the bigger picture this week belongs to the Chiefs. By this time next week, we’ll presumably know two new names added to the roster and have a much clearer idea of where this team is headed.
We’ll break it all down next week.