The RoundHouse | 10/18/2024 12:49:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Wichita State baseball fans are curious about the rotation, shortstop and center field as fall practices hit a new gear.
 
Catcher probably isn't prominent on the list of areas of interest with Mauricio Millan back after starting 93 games at catcher over the past two seasons. However, the late-summer addition of senior Cole Dillon adds depth and flexibility to the lineup.
 
"He has really provided exactly what we need," coach Brian Green said. "He knows the game. He's mature. Really competitive at-bats. Handles the pitchers well."
 
Dillon, a transfer from Arizona, is one of several Shockers for fans to keep an eye on in public scrimmages. WSU meets Dallas Baptist at 1 p.m. Saturday in a 14-inning scrimmage at Eck Stadium. The five-game Fall World Series starts Wednesday (3 p.m.) and continues each day until Sunday.

Dillon, from Rockwall, Texas, played two seasons at McClennan (Texas) Community College and in two games last season at Arizona. He is the son of Kansas City Royals assistant hitting coach Joe Dillon. Green sees the familiar traits of someone raised around the major leagues.
 
"I've grown up in a locker room," Dillon said. "It's good seeing, at the highest level, how the best of the best compete. You can take it in and implement it."
 
Dillon is spending the fall learning how his pitchers take in information and respond.
 
"It's talking to the guys and getting to know them," he said. "They work on their craft every day. It's getting to talk to them and figuring out what works for them that day and what hasn't worked and how do we improve on that."
 
More to watch in scrimmages:
 
Brady Hamilton ended his freshman season with one of the most important performances of the season. He held ECU to six hits and two runs over five innings in a 12-2 win that sent the Shockers into the championship game of the American Athletic Conference Championship.
 
He started four AAC games and his fall performance tells Green that Hamilton is ready to return to the weekend rotation.
 
"He's bumped his velocity up and done a great job with his body," Green said. "His breaking ball is sharper, and he's smarter. I think the experience has been very beneficial."
 
The return of Grant Adler and Jace Miner, both of whom left WSU after the 2023 season and returned over the summer, strengthens the pitching staff. They both earned all-conference honors as Shockers in 2023. Adler spent last season at Kansas; Miner at Oklahoma.

"They've been really good," Green said. "(Adler) is stronger. I call him the 'Professor.' He's poised. He knows what he's doing. He's another guy you're going to see on the weekend."
 
Green sees the Shockers as a different type of offensive team in 2025. Last season's team relied on power. This team, he said, will offer more speed and a variety of ways to score.
 
"We're really trying to establish a running game, a short game, and trying to create some routines for guys, some roles for them, that they can understand it's just not everybody hitting doubles," Green said.
 
Kaleb Duncan, a sophomore transfer from Golden West (Calif.) College, fits that plan and is playing good defense in center field. He hit .325 and stole 23 bases on his way to all-conference honors in 2024.
 
"He can really cover ground out there," Green said. "Fans are going to like him. High-energy player."
 
The infield could look much different in 2025. Camden Johnson, a second team All-AAC pick at third, is playing shortstop with Kam Durnin sidelined by injury. Jordan Rogers, who started at second base last season, could move back to the outfield.
 
Third baseman Jordan Black, a transfer from Johnson County Community College, hit .344 with 10 home runs and 11 doubles on his way to All-Jayhawk Conference honors. Owen Washburn, a transfer from Texas Tech, can play the first or second base or in the outfield. In 2022, he made the All-Freshman Big 12 team.
 
"(Washburn) is a left-handed hitter with potential power," Green said. "He's old. He knows what he's doing."
 
The Shockers are putting what they know, and what they need to learn, on full display the rest of the month at Eck Stadium.
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.