The RoundHouse | 5/13/2022 2:04:00 PM

 
The school day is done, and Brock Rodden cannot wait to get his Wilson glove, get on the field with his father's high school team and field ground balls.
 
"As soon as seventh-period bell rang, I would take off as fast as I could with my best friend and my older brother," he said. "We would run from elementary, which is on one end of campus, all the way across to the baseball field. We would run right through the center-field gate and run all the way across the field as fast as we could."
 
Those memories provide the foundation for why Rodden, a 5-foot-9 sophomore second baseman, is enjoying a superb season for the Shockers. Wichita State (16-32, 5-13 American Athletic Conference) meets Tulane (30-19-1, 10-8) in a three-game series beginning Friday (6 p.m. ESPN+) at Eck Stadium.
 
Rodden was often the youngest and smallest on the diamond. Those experiences against older, bigger athletes taught him how to play hard, play with confidence and with an edge.
 
Rodden, from Oktaha, Okla., is hitting .324 with 14 home runs and a .628 slugging percentage, all highs for the Shockers. Over the past 12 games, he is hitting .434 with seven home runs and 15 runs batted in. His 14 homers are the most for a Shocker since Alec Bohm hit 16 in 2018.
 
Wedge is thrilled with Brock's passionate approach to the game and happy with improved focus on the fundamentals since his arrival last fall. Brock is the kind of Shocker that Wedge wants teammates to follow, listen to and emulate this season and in the future.
 
"I think he has a chance to be a great leader," Wedge said. "Every championship team needs leaders. It's his passion. It's his presence. His focus."
 
Rodden grew up on the baseball fields of Oklahoma, guided by Kevin Rodden, his father and a high school coach, and older brother Brayden, a catcher hitting .345 for NCAA Division II Northeastern (Okla.) State.
 
"He was always that one you had to rein back," said Kevin, coach at Oktaha High School since 2013. "He's one of those, when he walks onto the field, he thinks he's the best one on the field, no matter what level he's playing at. He is the epitome of a baseball player."
 
 

It's a good thing this one cleared the fence, or it might have knocked it down.@RoddenBrock rips a solo shot to right 🚀

📺: https://t.co/k6yLxgAPPd pic.twitter.com/0OafXn5E3T

— Wichita State Baseball (@GoShockersBSB) April 24, 2022

Wedge expresses that sentiment often when talking about Brock.
 
"He's a throwback," Wedge said. "It's about grit. It's about toughness. It's about accountability. That's what he brings every day."
 
Brock and Brayden, older by 11 months and three weeks, played on the same teams, starting with tee ball at age 6, growing up in Sallisaw and then Oktaha.
 
"(Brock) was always playing a year ahead," Kevin said. "He always hit 10^th in the order, because he was the young one, the small one. He plays with that chip on his shoulder because everybody's always told him 'Hey, you're too small, you're too little, you're not going to be this, you're not going to be that.'"
 
Brock loved playing with his brother. He loved talking baseball with his father and taking his advice to get better. Kevin told his sons they had to play well because he didn't want to defend their spot in the lineup to other parents. If he fumbled a ground ball, they would return home and use a tennis ball in the living room to work on hand-eye coordination. Playing against older kids added to the experience.
 
"It slowed the game down for me in the long run," Brock said.
 
Brayden showed his younger brother the wisdom of controlling emotions. Brayden plays with an even-tempered manner. Brock is fiery, less so now than growing up.
 
"I've been a lot more of a hot head," Brock said. "Watching how he handled all that, it was really crucial in my baseball career. A little bit of failure starts happening and I kind of lose it a little bit. Now, I'm a lot better at it."
 
The brothers also pushed each other. Neither wanted to be the Rodden who went 0 for 4 when the other Rodden went 3 for 4.
 
"Huge motivator in my compete factor," Brock said. "You never want to lose to your brother. Our stats have been so close, neck and neck, every year. That drives us to be a little bit better."

Everything about his baseball life - age, size, family, coaching - drives Rodden to be better.
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.