The RoundHouse | 4/23/2023 4:38:00 PM
By Paul Suellentrop
Jeff Glaze watched his niece dive for a ground ball.
Sydney McKinney, age 7 or 8, gave her uncle a look at the future of softball with her glove.
"He said 'That's a DI player," said Jason McKinney, Sydney's father. "He started calling her 'DI.' That was her nickname growing up."
Sydney McKinney committed to Missouri at 14 – fulfilling the NCAA Division I prediction after her freshman year in high school. When she decided that program didn't fit, she transferred to Wichita State for her freshman season and started piling up more nicknames – "Syd the Kid" and "Hit Queen" chief among them.
On Sunday, McKinney led off No. 23 Wichita State's 7-1 win over East Carolina by smacking a single to center. In the second inning, she bunted to reach base on a throwing error and moved to second on a botched pickoff throw.
At shortstop in the third, she robbed Jayci Chamberlain of a hit by diving toward third base to snag a line drive. In the sixth, she doubled to right field.
In all, McKinney provided the sold-out crowd at Wilkins Stadium a typical McKinney game on her senior day with speed, pop, command of the strike zone and fielding wizardry. She went 2 for 4 with a double and three runs to raise her average to a nation-leading .524.
The Shockers (40-8, 13-2 American Athletic Conference) remain atop the conference standings and can claim the title outright with three wins next weekend at Tulsa. ECU (26-23, 3-12) scored two runs in the three-game series.
After the game, McKinney posed for pictures with youngsters, signed autographs and posed for more pictures. She talked about her career with reporters. Fans met her on the field to tell her how much they enjoyed her talents.
"That was fun, getting all those opportunities on senior day to show people who I am," she said.
The home games for one of Wichita State's greats are dwindling – depending on Tuesday's weather for No. 1 Oklahoma and the NCAA regional selection committee. If Sunday was the last chance to see her in Wichita, she provided a seven-inning demonstration of the versatility and consistency that puts her on the list with any elite Shocker in any sport.
McKinney will leave Wichita State as a multi-time All-American and the 2022 NCAA batting average champion and hits leader. She leads both categories this season and with 364 career hits ranks seventh in NCAA history. She owns the top spot at Wichita State for both career and single-season hits, batting average, runs and total bases.
Before the game, Jason and Andreia McKinney stood near the Shocker bullpen and talked about their family's love for softball and Sydney's early aptitude. At 6, she played on a 10-and-under team.
Jason coaches softball at Norborne (Mo.) High School and coached his daughter for two of her high school seasons. Their home shares a property line with the high school. When Jason came home from construction work, Sydney waited with her glove to accompany him to practice. In the summers, they drove an hour and 15 minutes for practices near Kansas City.
"I used to take her before games, she was probably 10, and put her out in the field and hit her balls to center field," Jason said. "She would throw all the way to home and the other coaches would be watching her instead of warming up."
Sydney McKinney believes playing against older competition in that atmosphere led her to this career.
"I always played with older kids," she said. "Starting at that level and continuing that really helped me succeed."
After a coaching change at Missouri, she decided to enter the transfer portal. Since she committed to Missouri at 14, McKinney wasn't recruited by other schools. Wichita State coach
Kristi Bredbenner watched her often while recruiting others on her summer team. That presence would pay off.
"I got to watch her play as a fan because she committed so early to Missouri," Bredbenner said. "I was like 'Oh, that kid's a stud.' When she went into the portal, we tried to call her immediately and get her on campus."
McKinney knew about Bredbenner and Wichita State even without recruiting contact and visited in November of 2018. She considered around 30 schools before her visit. She signed with Wichita State and called a bunch of disappointed coaches.
"This was the first one," Jason McKinney said. "We went in the locker room and she said 'This is more who I am. This is where I want to be.'"
That locker room, modest as it is by high-level NCAA Division I softball standards, made McKinney feel at home. While she is excited about fund-raising plans for new facilities at Wilkins Stadium, the 1998-vintage digs suit her.
"We're getting the cool things coming up," she said. "That's not what I'm about. I've never been a flashy person. I came from a small town. As soon as I came here, I felt that family aspect. I felt the small-town vibe and that's what I thrive in. I loved it here as soon as I got here."
Sydney McKinney loved it at Wichita State over the past five seasons. As the scene after Sunday's game showed, Shocker softball fans returned that affection.
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
