WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State has added Arkansas transfer Lauren Howell to the rotation for the 2023 season, head coach Kristi Bredbenner announced Tuesday morning.

"We are excited to add Lauren to the Shocker Softball pitching staff," Bredbenner said. "Lauren was a highly decorated athlete out of high school. Her experiences at Arkansas and playing travel ball for the Aces will give her an opportunity to make an immediate impact in our program. When we saw her name in the transfer portal I knew we could give her an opportunity to reach her potential as a student-athlete at Wichita State."

Howell has two years remaining after spending her first two seasons at the University of Arkansas. This past season Howell appeared in five games for the Razorbacks, throwing 5.0 innings and recording five strikeouts. On Feb. 20 she threw 2.0 innings of hitless and scoreless relief vs. Western Illinois. Her final appearance came on April 12 vs. Southeast Missouri State where she struck out two and allowed only one hit in 2.0 innings. As a freshman, Howell was 2-0 with a 5.01 ERA in 22.1 innings. She appeared in eight games, making four starts. She started her first SEC game, firing 2.0 innings with three runs allowed (two earned) on one hit and two walks and struck out two at South Carolina (March 13, 2021).

She attended Helias Catholic High School and was rated the No. 31 overall prospect in the 2020 class by ExtraInnings and No. 40 by FloSoftball. ExtraInnings Softball tabbed her the No. 15 pitcher in the class. Howell finished her prep career with a 1.40 ERA, 47-11 record and 646 strikeouts. She is the daughter of Jay and Rachelle Howell, and has two younger siblings: Hayden and Harper.