<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/5/1746538618889.jpeg" alt="Photo Courtesy Kansas State Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo Courtesy Kansas State Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure><div>Kansas State Athletics
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MANHATTAN, Kan. &ndash;&nbsp;After his record-tying performance helped the Wildcats to a series win at BYU, K-State's&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/keegan-o-connor/12317" rel="smarttag" rev="12317">Keegan O'Connor</a></dfn>&nbsp;has been named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. It is the first honor for O'Connor and gives K-State five Big 12 Weekly honors this season, the second most in the conference (Kansas, Arizona State &ndash; 7). It is the 25th&nbsp;weekly award K-State has garnered under seventh-year head coach&nbsp;<dfn><a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/pete-hughes/2603" rel="smarttag" rev="2603">Pete Hughes</a></dfn>. O'Connor tied the program's single-game home run record in an 18-4 victory over the Cougars on Friday, becoming just the fifth Wildcat in school history to hit three home runs in a game &mdash; and the first since 2006. A native of Andover, Massachusetts, O'Connor finished just a grand slam shy of the home run cycle and a double short of hitting for the cycle, finishing the game going 5-for-6 with six runs batted in and four runs scored. He also became the second Big 12 player this season to hit three homers in a single game. For the week, the graduate left fielder hit .476 (10-for-21) with a 1.048 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. Five of his 10 hits were for extra-bases, totaling an incredible 1.548 OPS and driving a team-high eight RBI. &nbsp; With a team-leading 15 homers on the year, O'Connor is now just one home run away from matching the program's single-season record. He ties first in the Big 12 with nine home runs in conference play, ranking second overall in the league. K-State (28-20, 14-10 Big 12) returns to Manhattan, where it owns the best home record in the league this season (16-2), for the final regular-season contests at Tointon Family Stadium against Big 12 leader and No. 12 West Virginia (39-7, 18-4 Big 12), starting Friday, May 9 at 6 p.m. Single-game tickets for games at Tointon Family Stadium can be purchased by visiting&nbsp;<a name="_Hlk192492882"></a>KStateSports.com, call 1-800-221-CATS (2287), or stopping by the K-State Athletics Ticket Office in Bramlage Coliseum.</div>

⚾ K-State's O'Connor named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week