Razorback Invitational | Feb. 18-19 | Fayetteville, Ark. | Bogle Park

Friday:
#25 Wichita State vs. Illinois | 10:30 AM
#25 Wichita State vs. Longwood | 12:45 PM

Saturday:
#25 Wichita State vs. Western Illinois | 10:00 AM
#25 Wichita State at #10 Arkansas | 12:15 PM

QUICK HITS
• No. 25 Wichita State heads to Fayetteville for the Razorback Invitational where they will face No. 10 Arkansas, Illinois, Longwood and Western Illinois.
• Wichita State is 20-25 in season openers and 8-3 under 11th year head coach Kristi Bredbenner.
• Wichita State has won eight of its last nine season openers.
• Wichita State is coming off a 4-1 showing at the Bearkat Classic, the lone defeat vs. South Dakota.
• Addison Barnard now has 25 career home runs, placing her in a tie for 9th on the Wichita State home run list.
• Barnard was named the American Player of the Week on Feb. 14.
• Sydney McKinney and sophomore Addison Barnard were named preseason All-Americans by Softball America, becoming the first Shocker duo to earn preseason All-American honors in school history.
• Wichita State was ranked No. 25 (NFCA, USA Softball, Softball America) in three of the four major polls entering the season.
• Wichita State was picked by the league's coaches to repeat as American Athletic Conference Champions in the preseason coaches poll.
• The Shockers garnered four first place votes and finished with 33 points in the preseason coaches poll. South Florida was picked second with 31 total points, followed by UCF (29), Houston (19), Tulsa (18), Memphis (9) and East Carolina (8).
• Wichita State has only 11 home games on the schedule for 2022, which is tied for the fewest in school history (1983).
• Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner is just 24 wins away from becoming Wichita State's all-time winningest coach. Jim Maynard sits in first with 313 career wins.
• Bredbenner is just 10 wins shy of 300 career victories at Wichita State.
• Sydney McKinney is just 18 hits away from cracking the top 10 list for hits at Wichita State. McKinney set the single season record a season ago with 87.
• Wichita State was 6-5-1 vs. ranked opponents in 2021.
• Wichita State only lost one series last season, the conference matchup vs. USF.
• Wichita State ranked in the top 30 nationally in home runs (2nd), home runs per game (3rd), slugging percentage (5th), walks (9th), scoring (9th), OBP (16th) and Avg. (30th) in 2021.
• Wichita State cleaned up in conference awards a season ago - Sydney McKinney (Player of the Year, 1st Team), Addison Barnard (Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie Team, 1st Team), Kaylee Huecker (Defensive Player of the Year), Coaching Staff of the Year, Madison Perrigan (1st Team), Neleigh Herring (1st Team), Bailey Lange (2nd Team), Ryleigh Buck (2nd Team) and Bailee Nickerson (2nd Team).

SCOUTING ARKANSAS
Arkansas is ranked in the top 15 in all four major polls, as high as No. 9. The Razorbacks won a share of the SEC regular season title a season ago and an appearance in an NCAA Super Regional. Danielle Gibson is hitting .533 with two doubles and three RBI. As a team, Arkansas is hitting .254 with one home run and seven doubles. A familiar face joins the Razorbacks in the circle in Tulsa transfer Chenise Delce. The pitching staff has a 5.01 ERA in 32.1 IP and opponents are hitting .267.

SERIES HISTORY
Wichita State and Arkansas have met 13 times prior to this weekend's meeting. The Razorbacks own a 9-4 record in the series, including winners of four straight. Wichita State is 1-4 vs. Arkansas in Fayetteville. The last four games in the series have all been in Fayetteville, including two games in the 2018 Fayetteville Regional.

LAST MEETING WITH THE RAZORBACKS
Wichita State dropped midweek doubleheader in Fayetteville on April 10, 2019. Arkansas picked up a sweep with a 9-1 win in six innings and then a tight 4-3 win in the nightcap. Arkansas was ranked No. 18 in the last matchup. In the first game Sydney McKinney homered for the Shockers' lone run of the game. In the second game, Wichita State took a 2-0 lead before Arkansas plated four runs in the bottom of the 3rd. Madison Perrigan hit a solo home run in the contest.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS
Illinois is coming off a 4-1 weekend, which included a ranked win at LSU. Kelly Ryono hits a team-best .615 followed by Bella Loya at .462. Illinois hits .275 as a team with one home run and 11 doubles through five games. Illinois is led by its pitching, as they carry an 0.80 ERA into the weekend. Opponents are hitting just .232 with 32 strikeouts. Lauren Wiles is 2-1 with a 0.82 ERA in 17.0 innings.

SERIES HISTORY
Wichita State is 0-2 all-time vs. the Fighting Illini, but the two teams haven't met since 2006. Both meetings took place on a neutral field.

LAST MEETING WITH THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Wichita State and Illinois last faced each other on Feb. 12, 2006 at the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas. Illinois won a high-scoring affair, 8-7.

SCOUTING LONGWOOD
Longwood enters the tournament at 1-4 so far in 2022. They are hitting .254 with four home runs, seven doubles and average just a little over three runs a game. Emily Vinson hits a team-best .500 with a home run, two doubles and six runs scored. In the circle, the pitching staff carries a 7.78 ERA and a .385 opposing batting average.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first-ever meeting between Wichita State and Longwood on the softball field.

SCOUTING WESTERN ILLINOIS
Western Illinois is 2-4 after the opening weekend. The Leathernecks struggled at the plate, hitting just .191 with only eight runs through six games. Kayla Zamora hits .333 with two doubles and two triples. Lilli Weir anchors the pitching staff with a team-best 0.91 ERA in 7.2 innings.

SERIES HISTORY
Wichita State and Western Illinois have a series history that dates all the way back to the first meeting on May 5, 1983. Western Illinois dominated in the early part of the series, but it's been all Wichita State of late. The Shockers lead the series 18-16 have won five of the last six meetings. Wichita State enters the matchup on a three-game win streak vs. the Leathernecks. Wichita State is 5-2 vs. Western Illinois on a neutral field.

LAST MEETING WITH THE LEATHERNECKS
Wichita State and Western Illinois last met on March 10 & 11, 2018 in Wichita. The Shockers won both games by one run in each game. Wichita State won the first game 8-7 behind a three-run home run from Laurie Derrico and a go-ahead Paige Luellen grand slam in the bottom of the sixth. The next day Wichita State had to come from behind yet again, and once again Luellen provided the fireworks with a walk-off three-run bomb.

BARNARD TABBED PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Addison Barnard took home the first American Player of the Week honor of the season on Feb. 14. The Beatrice, Neb., native hit .500 (8-for-16) over the weekend at the Bearkat Classic (Feb. 11-13). Barnard recorded 3 home runs, 7 RBI, 4 walks, 9 stolen bases and 11 runs.

POLL FOR THOUGHTS
Wichita State is ranked No. 25 in the preseason USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 and Softball America Top 25. The polls were announced on Jan. 25 and Feb. 1, making it the first time a Wichita State team has entered a season ranked in the national polls.

THE BOMBS ARE BACK
Wichita State graduated four seniors in the every day lineup in 2021, including 44 of the team's 103 home runs. It would be natural to question the offense in 2022 with as much production that Wichita State lost. At the opening tournament last weekend, Wichita State hit 11 home runs in the five games, which is six more than the Shockers hit on opening weekend a year ago. Addison Barnard leads with three, followed by Sydney McKinney, Neleigh Herring and Zoe Jones with two each. Lauren Mills and Bailey Urban both have one.

WANTED FOR THEFT
Sophomore Addison Barnard stole a career-high three bases in the opener vs. Dayton (Feb. 11), becoming the first Shocker to swipe three bags in a game since Mackenzie Wright on Feb. 27, 2016. She added two more in both games vs. Sam Houston and Houston Baptist. Barnard finished opening weekend with nine steals in 10 attempts. After the first weekend of play Barnard leads the nation in stolen bases.

DOWN GOES ANOTHER SCHOOL RECORD
Sophomore Addison Barnard is making it a habit of putting her name in the record books. Barnard broke the single game school record for runs, scoring five at Sam Houston on Sunday, Feb. 13. She scored 11 runs over the weekend after previously setting a career high with four against Dayton on Feb. 11.

HOME RUN LIST
Sophomore Addison Barnard needed only 54 career games to crack the top 10 home run list at Wichita State. Barnard now has 25 career home runs, placing her in a tie for ninth all time at Wichita State.

STREAK SNAPPED
Sophomore Sydney McKinney had her streak of 141 consecutive starts come to an end on the final day of the Bearkat Classic. McKinney was sidelined for the final game vs. Sam Houston.

A PAIR OF PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
Wichita State junior Sydney McKinney and sophomore Addison Barnard picked up All-American honors on Feb. 7. The duo were named Preseason Third Team All-Americans by Softball America after producing stellar, record-breaking seasons for Wichita State in 2021.

TOP 50 WATCH LIST
Junior Sydney McKinney was named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 Watch List on Jan. 26. McKinney is one of only two players from the American Athletic Conference on the prestigious list, joining South Florida's Georgina Corrick. McKinney is coming off an All-American campaign in 2021 where she ranked third nationally in hits.

PRESEASON TOP 100 LOVE
Junior Sydney McKinney and sophomore Addison Barnard were named to the Softball America Preseason Top 100 and the first-ever Extra Elite Top 100 College Player Rankings. McKinney checked in at No. 38 in the Softball America Top 100 and No. 40 in the Extra Elite Top 100 by Extra Inning Softball. Barnard was ranked No. 42 by Softball America and No. 64 by Extra Inning Softball.

MCKINNEY TABBED AAC PRESEASON POY
D1 Softball tabbed Sydney McKinney as the preseason American Athletic Conference Player of the Year on Feb. 1. The publication predicts McKinney will repeat as the conference's top player in 2022 after earning the honor in 2021.

TOUGH SLEDDING
Wichita State will see at least four nationally ranked teams in 2022, highlighted by the preseason No. 1 team in the nation Oklahoma. Wichita State travels to Norman to face the defending National Champions on March 29. The Shockers also face No. 7 Oklahoma State twice in Stillwater and once in Wichita and No. 10 Arkansas in Fayetteville. Wichita State will face Illinois at the Razorback Invitational, which is currently ranked No. 25 in the D1 Top 25.

ROAD WARRIORS
Wichita State has only 11 home games on the schedule for the 2022 season, which is tied for the fewest in school history. The 1983 team also played only 11 home games, but competed in just 29 games total. The Shockers' first 29 games this season are all away from the friendly confines of Wilkins Stadium. Wichita State's home opener isn't until March 23 vs. Kansas.

ELITE COMPANY
Junior Sydney McKinney has a career batting average of .399. That number places her among the elite in all of college softball. Her batting average places her 20th on the active list for career batting average in NCAA DI. She is only three percentage points from moving into the top 16 currently.

STAFF ADDITION
Wichita State announced on Jan. 28 the addition of volunteer assistant coach Mary Stephens. Stephens comes to Wichita State after spending a season at Sam Houston and two seasons at Texas Tech as a volunteer assistant. She also spent the 2017 season as a graduate manager for Texas Tech where she earned a master's degree in sport management. She completed her collegiate playing career at Missouri State where she started 207 games in her career for the Bears. She graduated in 2017 with a degree in Park, Sport and Rec Administration. Stephens was a career .281 hitter with 170 hits, 27 doubles and 19 home runs. She drove in 103 runs with a career slugging percentage of .424 and drew 64 walks to finish with an on-base percentage of .353.

BIG SHOES TO FILL
Wichita State graduated five starters from the 2021 team: SP Bailey Lange, C Madison Perrigan, 2B Kaylee Huecker, 3B Ryleigh Buck and CF Bailee Nickerson. Those five combined for 1,024 career starts during their time as Shockers. Career starts lost:  Buck (205), Huecker (162), Lange (233), Nickerson (180) and Perrigan (244).

A SEASON FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
Wichita State is coming off its best season in school history in 2021. The Shockers won 75.5 percent (41-13-1) of their games, which was the best in program history. The 41 wins were the second-most in program history and Wichita State reached the NCAA Regional Final for just the second time in school history.

BARNARD'S BOMBS
As a true freshman Addison Barnard broke the single season home run record on April 13, 2021 vs. Kansas City with her 17th of the season. She broke a tie with Cacy Williams who set the record in 2014. Barnard needed only 34 games to break the program record. She would finish the 2021 campaign with a school and American Athletic Conference record 22 home runs. She enters her sophomore season just three home runs away from cracking the Top 10 on the career charts at Wichita State. Barnard was one of just nine players in the country with 20 or more home runs in 2021.

AMERICAN HISTORY
Wichita State set a program record for conference wins as a member of the American in 2021. They finished 18-5-1 in league play, becoming the first team in American Athletic Conference history to win 18 conference games in a season. Prior to 2021, the Shockers hadn't won more than 12 American conference games. The Shockers went 12-9 (.571) to tie for third in the AAC standings in their debut season in 2018 and added a matching 12-9 record to take fourth in 2019.

HOMERS FOR HI-CHEWS
Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner started a new tradition in 2021 to reward players who hit home runs. Instead of a normal high-five for her players as they round the bases, Bredbenner began tossing a piece of Hi-Chew candy to her home run hitters. Sophomore Madyson Espinosa should be credited for introducing the chewy candy to Coach B at the first tournament of the season down in Conroe, Texas, and thus a new tradition was born. Be on the lookout for the tradition to continue again in 2022.

THE BRED-WINNER
Bredbenner is the second-longest tenured head coach in Wichita State softball history, which has resulted in more than 280 wins in 10 seasons. Bredbenner has the second-highest winning percentage in school history (.549) behind current Florida softball coach Tim Walton. She is just 24 wins away from becoming Wichita State's all-time wins leader.

UP NEXT
Wichita State gets its first taste against a future league member in Charlotte. The Shockers will face Charlotte, Northern Iowa and Minnesota at the Niner Invitational on Feb. 25-27.