ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Liberal Bee Jays fans will see a new face leading the dugout this coming summer.
Last week, the Bee Jays organization announced Caeden Trenkle as head coach for the 2026 season. And as Trenkle tells it, he is no stranger to the game or the Southwest Kansas area.
“I played three years at Oklahoma State, where I was named a Freshman All-American and All-Conference selection. I also played for the Bee Jays in 2020, and we went 30-9 that year under Eric Olmstead,” Trenkle said. “I was born in Liberal and grew up in Hillsboro, Texas, and my mom was also born in Liberal. My grandparents live in Liberal still, so I’m familiar with the Bee Jays, and I think the leadership staff is at least somewhat familiar with me. I’m currently an assistant coach at Dodge City Community College and work with outfielders, hitters, and recruiting, and when the job opened up, Danny Luebbers, the general manager, reached out to me and put a feeler out to see if I was interested. The more I thought about it, the more I was thought ‘You know what? I want to be the head coach of Liberal Bee Jays,’ so that’s how everything came to be.”
Trenkle said he definitely expects to live up to the Bee Jays’ reputation.
“I was a little nervous at first, since this is the first time being a head coach, but after things have settled, that nervousness has turned more into excitement, so I’m excited,” Trenkle said. “The process has already begun as far as putting the roster together, getting the rest of the coaching staff put together and everything else. I’m ready to get going and looking forward to getting out to Liberal. With the tradition the Bee Jays have, the goal is to do well in league and get to the NBC World Series, which the Bee Jays haven’t won in several years. I feel like the ultimate goal is to put together a roster full of good players, good people and ultimately a team that can go out to Wichita and win the whole thing. I’ve got high expectations for us, and I’m looking to continue the Bee Jays tradition, and with the team of staff I’ll put together, I think we’ll have a good chance to do that. I’m also excited to see the guys develop not just as players but also as people, and I can’t wait for us to be that presence in the community.”
And while the announcement of Trenkle leading the Bee Jays is still rather new, Trenkle said he is ready to get to work.
“First and foremost, the most important would be putting together a team since we obviously can’t do anything without guys on the field. So I’m working on putting together a team, and then in that process, I’m also working on getting a couple of really good assistant coaches who align with my values and the goals I have for this team,” Trenkle said. “Right now, the priority is getting the right guys who fit Liberal and fit the product I’m trying to put out, and who have the same goal in mind in terms of winning and putting together a good season. In terms of recruiting, that will involve a lot of reaching out to coaches, whether they be Division I or high-level Division II. I know Liberal’s got a really good program in place with Coach Davidson at Seward County Community College, and I know he’s got some good guys over there. It’s about reaching out to people, figuring out who’s the right fit for me for the style of team I want to have, and then the right fit for the Bee Jays, and going from there.”
Trenkle said he is also excited to be back as part of the Liberal community.
“Whenever I played there, there were a lot of people who I didn’t know, but they knew me, and they would just come up to me and talk to me about how much they love my mom and love my family, so I think it’ll be great being able to connect with those people,” Trenkle said. “And also, we always have camps every summer, and the kids there look up to Bee Jay players like they’re Major League Baseball players. I think it’ll be great being able to work with those kids like that and set a good example of what they hope to become. Nobody wants to watch bad baseball, so if I’m able to put together a good team with good players, we’ll do a lot of winning. The Bee Jays organization also does a great job of trying to do everything with the community, so, if they’re there for us, we’re going to be there for them and do everything we can to make games fun. Everybody’s invited to every game, we want a full crowd every night. If we put a good, good product together on the field and maintain good relationships, people will want to come out and support us.”
Trenkle said he is also excited for the youth camps that will take place during the summer.
“The kids who come to camps look at look at us like we’re MLB players, so I think it’ll be great being able to connect with them and build good relationships with them and do anything we can to help them in terms of being role models on and off the field,” Trenkle said. “I’m just excited because I was once a kid and I remember growing up playing baseball, and anytime I was able to be around collegiate or professional baseball players, I would look to them like they were my idols. If we’re able to do that for them and set an example of who they want to be when they grow up, that’s the goal.”
Overall, Trenkle said, he is excited to get to work with the Bee Jays program.
“I’m young, but I’ve got quite a bit of high-level baseball experience, so I think what I can bring to the Bee Jays is a lot of good knowledge. Like I said, the main goal is to put together a team that’s worth watching that’s going to do a lot of winning,” Trenkle said. “I think what we’re going to do this summer is something the community of Liberal can be excited about and want to come out to play. I would just encourage everybody to come out support the Bee Jays like they always have. The expectation is high for me, and I would like that to be high from everybody else, so I’m excited and ready to get going.”
