Kansas City, KS – The Kansas City Monarchs 2026 campaign is only eight days away and they are
coming off a tremendous 59-41 season (31-19 at home) in 2025. The Monarchs earned the second best
record in the league and qualified for the playoffs for the fourth time in the past five seasons. Kansas City
eventually fell in the first round to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the final game of the series (6-0).

With last season in the rearview mirror, the future is bright for this organization as they’re set to begin their
23rd season at Legends field. Entering the 2026 campaign, Monarchs manager Joe Calfapietra returns
for his ninth year at the helm and 26th season managing professional baseball. The two-time American
Association manager of the year has pieced together a very talented roster with players spending time at
all levels of affiliated ball including 13 players that have hit Triple-A ball and four who have touched the big
leagues. Through the first four days of training camp, Joe Calfapietra said, “We are excited. We have
pitching depth that’s for sure and we knew that coming into camp. Until you put your eyes on it, you really
don’t know what you’re going to get. What we saw on paper is starting to pan out and that’s a good thing.
We knew we had an athletic bunch, position player wise and we have a little bit more power than I
originally anticipated so that’s a positive.”

Out of the 30 players on the roster, there are seven returning players and 23 newcomers. The most
notable returner is 2025 all star Josh Bissonnette, who played in 98 of the team’s 100 regular season
games at shortstop. He is looking to follow up on an outstanding season where he was nominated for
defensive player of the year with a .971 fielding percentage. Another returner in which he played a key
role behind the plate is catcher Ryan Leitch, who is coming back to Legends field for his second-straight
season. He caught in 60 games last year with a .235 batting average and prior to day three of training
camp he said, “I feel good, I put a lot of work in (this) offseason. I think it is probably one of the better
offseason’s of my career, so I am excited to put on a show hopefully and get the ball rolling.”

There are a plethora of new faces that will make their debut for Kansas City this season including
outfielder Trevor Boone, who played with the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, the Albuquerque
Isotopes in the 2025 season. Boone belted eight home runs and 26 RBIs in 38 appearances for the
Isotopes which earned him a spot on the Monarchs roster on March 2nd. The Tulsa, Oklahoma native
talked about his excitement level coming into this year and said, “I’m really pumped, just excited to be
here. We got a good group of guys (with) a lot of experience. I know a few of them through playing in
college and stuff. So seeing some familiar faces feels really good.”

The Monarchs are seeking their fifth title as an organization and third under the newly rebranded
“Monarchs” renamed in 2021. Manager Joe Calfapietra will have this group ready to go when they open
up the 2026 season on the road against the 2025 American Association champions, the Kane County
Cougars, on May 15th for a three-game series. Kansas City’s home opener is scheduled for May 19th
when they welcome the Chicago Dogs to Legends Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm.