Reese Dutton, who transferred to Kansas and served as the Jayhawks’ Friday night starter during the 2024 season, has signed a professional contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, KU announced on Friday.
The Phillies, who are managed by former KU baseball Rob Thomson, have now added a third former Jayhawk rookie to their organization after they picked infielder Kodey Shojinaga in the sixth round of the MLB Draft and pitcher Tegan Cain in the 13th.
Dutton, a native of Kenosha, Wisconsin, is one of a few past and present Jayhawks with ties to Heartland Community College, the school in Normal, Illinois, where he pitched from 2020 to 2022. Dutton then spent one season at USC Upstate, where he was an all-conference first-team player, before making the move to KU for his final year of eligibility.
During his year at KU, he started 15 times and pitched 85 2/3 innings, concluding his year with a 3.78 ERA after some bumpier outings later in the year. He excelled in the month of March in particular, allowing just seven earned runs in his 35 innings, including an eight-inning, 12-strikeout, one-walk showing at BYU to conclude the month. In that period, he became the first KU pitcher in 30 years to tally six straight wins.
He was twice named the Big 12’s co-newcomer of the week and once its pitcher of the week, and eventually became an all-league second-team performer, forming a powerful duo with Saturday starter and freshman of the year selection Dominic Voegele.
By signing an undrafted free agent deal, he follows teammate J’Briell Easley, as well as last year’s primary KU starter Collin Baumgartner, who has already reached the AA level of the Colorado Rockies organization with the Hartford Yard Goats.
Carter Gaskins/Special to the Journal-World
