By Ken Hansard
Kaleb Williams, junior outfielder and pitcher for the Goodland Cowboys, had a banner year in 2025. As a sophomore, Williams led the Cowboys with a .354 batting average, managing 23 hits and over 20 RBI’s. On the mound, Kaleb logged 42.1 innings. He struck out 30 opposing batters and gave up only 15 earned runs.
Those are the kinds of numbers that usually earn players notice from coaches around the league and state, but Williams’ name was absent from the lists of post-season honors, “That just adds more motivation for me. It indicates that I need to continue to improve and show people they were wrong to overlook me.”
To that end, Williams spent a lot of time and work in the off-season working on his game, “I focused on my velocity off the mound and just becoming a better hitter overall. I hit the gym hard, getting in swings and just making everything feel repetitive, so that muscle memory kicks in and in-game things come naturally. The game is 90 percent mental, so you have to try and make the game easier anyway you can.”
While Kaleb has worked to improve himself as an individual, his primary goals are focused squarely on the team, “We have a new head coach, and I’m excited to see the direction in which we are headed. Personally, I see myself as the leader on the team; I feel like I have proven to my peers that I can handle the task of leading others, keeping my teammates accountable, and showing the younger guys the ropes, so that when my time as a Cowboy is over, others can set the standard. It’s important to me that I leave my mark on Goodland baseball and not leave anything on the table that I’ll regret later.”
After finishing last year with a record of 9-12, Williams and his teammates are optimistic about the start of the new season, “I think we are in a great spot as a team. Everyone is truly buying into what we want to do. We’re going to come in everyday and work and get quality repetition, and I think that’s a great place to start.”
Outside of baseball, Kaleb stays active in his school’s culture. He played basketball this winter and is also involved in 4-H and DECA. Williams is also a standout in the classroom, where he boasts an impressive 3.9 GPA and is ranked in the top 10 in his class. He is additionally a member of the prestigious National Honors Society.
He would like to continue to play baseball after high school, and wants to major in Finance and Accounting, with an end goal of establishing a career as an accountant.
