WICHITA, Kan. - Travis Wyckoff grew up in southern Kansas, about an hour away from where Wichita State consistently made headlines on the baseball field.

Inspired by the Shockers' five College World Series appearances from 1982-92, Wyckoff traveled from Arkansas City to see Wichita State play in person, attended a camp and kept tabs on one of America's top college baseball programs while growing up.

He helped add to the Shockers' College World Series appearance total soon after, making headlines of his own.

"When you grew up in that period, if you could play baseball or if you liked to play baseball, you wanted to play at Wichita State," Wyckoff said. "And I was no different."

Wyckoff played for the Shockers from 1993-96. The Shockers advanced twice to the College World Series during that span, winning four Missouri Valley Conference regular-season titles and one conference tournament title. Collegiate Baseball named Wyckoff a first team all-American his senior season and he entered the Wichita State record books for both pitching and hitting during his career.

Wyckoff will become one of four former Shocker athletes inducted into the Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame in 2011. The induction ceremony is scheduled for halftime of Wichita State's 1:05 p.m. Jan. 29 men's basketball game against Bradley at Charles Koch Arena.

Shocker baseball coach Gene Stephenson called Wyckoff with the news last month.

"I was excited," Wyckoff said. "I'm actually surprised. I made the joke that my parents must have gotten on the veterans' committee or on the voting committee for me to get in or something."

Wyckoff already possesses numerous baseball honors, including being named to the MVC Baseball All-Centennial Team and the Wichita State Baseball 25th Anniversary All-Star Team as a utility player. He received first team All-Midwest Region recognition in 1996 as an outfielder, as well as being named first team All-MVC in 1995 as a pitcher and 1996 as an outfielder. He was named to the NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament team in 1996, named most valuable player by the Wichita Eagle in 1996 and named most improved player by Elrick and Associates in 1996.

"He's a winner," Stephenson said. "He's one of those guys...who made everybody around him better. His work ethic every day was fantastic. His consistency was great."

Wyckoff was a three-sport star at Arkansas City High School, quarterbacking the football team, playing point guard on the basketball team and playing baseball as a pitcher and outfielder.

His athletic success continued on the baseball field in college. 

"What he was for his size and speed was probably one of the best all-around athletes that Kansas may have ever produced," Stephenson said.

Wyckoff, who stood 6 feet, 175 pounds entering his senior year of college, led the Shockers with a .400 batting average in 1996. His 94 hits, 90 runs and 29 doubles also led Wichita State that season. Wyckoff still holds the school record for the most doubles in a game, hitting four against Friends in 1996. His 88 appearances rank eighth in the Shocker career record books. His 13 saves rank 12^th and his .800 winning percentage (20-5) ranks 18^th overall.

What Wyckoff remembers most about his time as a Shocker, however, are the people he met and the relationships built with his teammates.

On the baseball field, his senior season in 1996 brings back special memories.

"If you had to pick a year, one year that stood out, my senior year would be it," Wyckoff said.

The Shockers finished the 1996 season with four all-Americans: Wyckoff, Casey Blake, Braden Looper and Ben Thomas. They won the regional to advance to the College World Series for the second time in Wyckoff's career.

"During my freshman year we made it and didn't get back for a couple of years, so people were wondering what was wrong with Wichita State baseball," Wyckoff said. "So we got back to Omaha in '96 and just winning the regional at our place with a huge crowd - we beat Rice to win it - and that's a memory that sticks out."

He posted a 3.38 ERA and 5-0 record in 1996 as a senior and pitched all four years of his career.

Stephenson said Wyckoff was very consistent as a pitcher from his freshman through senior years.

Wyckoff started the College World Series championship game against Louisiana State as a freshman pitcher in 1993.

"He was well-advanced beyond his age," Stephenson said. "He didn't really have overpowering stuff...He was a crafty left-hander who really epitomized - I'd say as good as anybody who has ever played in this program here - I would call a true ballplayer. Our definition of a ballplayer here is a guy that's always in the right spot at the right time doing the right things. He understood the game well."

Wyckoff said he preferred pitching because that was "where my brain was, " but he also found success as a hitter at Wichita State.

He was a spot outfielder his first three seasons, but gained confidence as a hitter in the fall of 1995, Stephenson said. Wyckoff described an injury to teammate Casey Davis early in the 1996 season that he said opened the door for him to enter the lineup as a consistent hitter his senior season.

"Everything kind of lined up right for me," Wyckoff said. "There was a guy by the name of Randy Young who hit in front of me who could really, really run, then Casey Blake, future big leaguer, hit behind me. So, I saw a lot of fastballs. I saw a lot of good pitches to hit, then played left field and again had Braden Looper as our closer, so I had a role there at middle relief whenever needed. So the whole year sticks out as just a great time, then ending with a trip to Omaha."

The Florida Marlins drafted him in the 11^th round of the 1996 amateur entry draft and Wyckoff spent the next three seasons playing in the minor leagues.

An 11-year coaching career followed. Wyckoff made stops at the University of Iowa (four years) and Creighton (three years) as pitching coach. He spent one season as head coach at Des Moines Area Community College before joining a friend's coaching staff at Dallas Baptist for three seasons as pitching coach.

This marks Wyckoff's first season without baseball.

He felt the time was right to leave coaching and took a business opportunity to remain in the Dallas area and join Kingdom Capital Group, which specializes in insuring Christian schools, churches and organizations for their property, casualty and workers' compensation coverage.

Wyckoff is thankful for the additional time he now gets to spend with family: His wife Cherice and three children Trevor, 9, Cooper, 7, and Ellie, 3. He now has more time for reading and becoming more active in church.

He misses baseball, but not coaching.

"This year is the first year that baseball hasn't been the central theme to the rhythm of our lives as a family. I have no regrets," Wyckoff said. "I think I know it was the right move when I don't doubt it or second guess it."

Lisa Johnson, WSU Media Relations

- Wichita State -