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(June 2025) -- We have begun our coverage of the 2025 Kansas state tournament -- click for details. If you can provide results or pairings for Kansas tournaments that are not listed on this site, please contact the Unpage. (June 2025) -- We have deepened our historical coverage of Kansas state tournaments to now include the full history of Kansas state tournaments... Click on the left side of this page to explore past state tournaments and district champions.
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Our coverage of the Kansas state tournament launched on May 4, 1997. Click to contact the webmaster with any comments or questions about this page.
Kansas leagues first entered the international tournament in 1953, when leagues in Burlington, Cherokee, and Leoti competed alongside Bartlesville (Oklahoma) and Leadville (Colorado) in an area tournament that produced a qualifier for district tournament competition in Joplin, Missouri. Leoti became the first Kansas team to compete in the tournament, and also the first to win a game, when it defeated Leadville, 5-4, on July 20, 1953.
In subsequent years, Little League Baseball slowly expanded in both Eastern and Western Kansas. Hamilton County Little League (Syracuse) was paired with Leoti and Lamar (Colorado) in an area tournament in 1955, and Columbus Little League joined Cherokee and a trio of leagues from Joplin in a different early round tournament. That same year, Baxter Springs Little League began laying the groundwork for its league, and began regular season play in August. Baxter Springs would first compete in the international tournament in 1956.
Kansas leagues competed alongside those in neighboring states in district competition during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Typically, teams in Southwestern and Southeastern Kansas funneled into a district centered around Joplin. Leagues in Northern Kansas -- initially, Olathe Little League, and later Fort Leavenworth Little League and a pair of charters in Atchison -- were part of a district centered around St. Joseph, Missouri.
In 1962, Little League Baseball created two districts in Kansas, and arranged for the first Kansas state tournament. One district covered Western Kansas. The other encompassed Eastern Kansas, with one area centered in Southeastern Kansas and another grouping teams located in more Northern communities. In early years, all area champions from these two districts advanced to a state tournament; later, the two districts each produced a champion, and the two district winners met in a winner-take-all state championship game.
In general, Kansas has held a state tournament annually since this 1962 tournament, though the format looked different during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Kansas' champion was often decided as part of a multi-state sectional tournament. With the exception of one year, from 1962 through 1989, Kansas' state champion played in sectional or divisional tournaments rather than advancing directly to a region tournament. Since 1990, Kansas' champion has advanced directly to region tournament competition.
The number of chartered leagues in Kansas has ebbed and floed over the years, and since 2006, all Kansas leagues have competed in a single district tournament that serves as the state tournament. THe winner of this tournament advances to the Midwest Region tournament, which is held each August in Whitestown, Indiana. The Midwest Region champion advances to the Little League World Series.
No Kansas league has ever participated in the Little League World Series. Frontenac Youth Little League achieved Kansas' highest finish when it reached the Midwest Region championship game in 2016.
Click to view a timeline showing the evolution of the Kansas Little League tournament structure.
 Great Lakes Region |
Mountain Region |
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West Region |
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Washington |
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| Region 1 |
Region 4 |
Region 7 |
| Region 2 |
Region 5 |
Region 8 |
| Region 3 |
Region 6 |