McPHERSON, Kan. – McPherson High School held their Signing Day ceremony for baseball and softball players on Wednesday. Three Bullpup baseball players signed to play at the college level for the 2027-28 school year.
All three will be playing in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference as Carter Bengtson and Cru Buchman are both head to Barton Community College, while Adrian Unruh is going to Pratt Community College.
Bengtson has had success in multiple sports, but chose baseball for the next level. In 2026, he was a first team all-AVCTL Division III pick at shortstop after hitting .453 with 16 RBI, 13 doubles and four triples. He also had 46 runs scored, 39 stolen bases and 30 walks. He had a .952 fielding percentage with 76 putouts and just four errors, being a part of ten double plays.
Bengtson notes that he is expecting to play middle infield for Barton. “Whether that’s shortstop or second base, anywhere I can get on the field will be good and then hopefully transfer out of there in two years and see where I can go,” said Bengtson.
Buchman is expected to pitch at Barton. He went 6-0 in 2026, helping the Bullpups to a third place finish at the 4A State Tournament. He had 45 strikeouts and a 1.41 ERA in 49.2 innings on the mound and was a second team all-league pitcher. He was also a first team all-league DH, hitting .323 with 24 RBI and six doubles. He added 12 runs scored, 11 walks and ten stolen bases.
“The goal is just to get that first opportunity and take as much advantage of it as I could,” said Buchman of heading to Barton. “My goal is to throw as many strikes as possible.”
Unruh, who is currently rehabbing a knee injury, is headed to Pratt next year. He hit .215 with 14 RBI, four doubles, 23 runs scored and 14 walks in 2026. He was also solid on the mound, going 2-0 with a 1.62 ERA over 13 innings with 15 strikeouts.
Unruh said of his rehab: “It’s been tough already, but you just gotta build off of that and come back stronger, come back and have a good baseball season, we should have a great run in the spring.”
All three players are looking forward to the spring and the 2027 Bullpup baseball season before they head off to their college ventures.
