Wichita State (3-3, 0-0 American) vs. Oral Roberts (4-3, 0-0 Summit)

Wednesday, February 28 | 3:00 pm CT | Tulsa, Oklahoma (J.L. Johnson Stadium)
TV: Summit League Network | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Michael Mulhollon (0-0, 0.00) vs. TBA

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SCENE SETTER: After a 1-2 showing at the prestigious Jacksonville College Baseball Classic, Wichita State concludes their season-opening seven-game road swing with a midweek contest at Oral Roberts on Wednesday afternoon. The Shockers look to reverse a recent trend of struggles in Tulsa, where WSU is just 2-6 over their last eight meetings against the Golden Eagles. Wichita State enters play on Wednesday at 3-3 overall on the heels of a comeback win over #18 Iowa on Sunday. The Shockers are coming off a 30-25 season in 2023 that included a 13-10 mark in American Athletic Conference play, good for third place in the final conference standings. Wichita State is hunting their first appearance in the NCAA tournament since the 2013 season, a regional bid that was later vacated by the NCAA.

SHOCKER BASEBALL ON THE RADIO AND ESPN PLUS: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM will once again serve as the radio home for Wichita State baseball broadcasts in 2024. Former Shocker pitcher (1991-94) and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Shane Dennis and Denning Gerig will have the call of the action in Tulsa, with "The Voice of the Shockers" and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Mike Kennedy returning to the airwaves following the conclusion of the Wichita State men's basketball season. The game will also be streamed live on the Summit League Network. Live audio, in addition to live statistics, will be available for all games at GoShockers.com/listen and ShockerStats.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: Wednesday represents the 74th all-time meeting between the Shockers and Golden Eagles, with Wichita State holding a 39-34 lead in the series. Oral Roberts won all three games between the two teams in 2023, including a wild 6-5 thriller on March 7 in Wichita, a 5-2 decision on March 21 in Tulsa, and a 4-1 result in Wichita. 2023 was the first time since 2013 that Wichita State and Oral Roberts played one another three times in a season. In the first meeting, WSU trailed 5-0 into the bottom of the sixth inning before rallying to put the tying and winning runs on base in the ninth. Golden Eagles closer Cade Denton escaped the jam when current ORU infielder David Herring's deep fly ball was run down in center field by ORU's Jonah Cox. WSU and ORU have also met seven times in NCAA tournament play, with the Golden Eagles holding a 4-3 edge in postseason contests.

SCOUTING ORAL ROBERTS: The Golden Eagles bring a 4-3 record into play on Wednesday following a dominant three-game sweep of SIU-Edwardsville. Oral Roberts piled up 29 runs in the series, outscoring the Cougars 29-12. ORU opened the season dropping two of three games against Evansville and a midweek game against Missouri State. All seven of the Golden Eagles games have been played at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa. Outfielder Elijah Rodriguez was named Summit League Performer of the Week after a 6-for-13 series against SIUE; the JUCO transfer has recorded multiple hits in all but one game this season. The Golden Eagles are coming off a historic 2023 season that ended in the College World Series. ORU set a D1 program record with 52 wins, claiming the Stillwater Regional and Eugene Super Regional on their way to Omaha for the second CWS appearance in program history. Head coach Ryan Folmar was named NCBWA National Coach of the Year and owns a career record of 371-224 (.624) in his 12th season with the Golden Eagles.

FAMILIAR FACE: Oral Roberts shortstop David Herring is a Wichita State transfer who started 53 games last season for the Shockers, slashing .294/.377/.411. The senior from Dale, Oklahoma has started every game this season for ORU, going 9-for-24 with two doubles to start the year.

GREENER PASTURES: Brian Green was named the fifth head coach in the modern era of Wichita State baseball on June 5, 2023, replacing interim head coach Loren Hibbs. Green comes to Wichita State after four seasons at the helm of Washington State, where he guided the Cougars to four straight seasons above .500, the first such stretch of success for the Cougars since 2006-10. Green went 91-79 overall in Pullman, including a 29-win season in 2023 that matched the most wins for Washington State since 2010. Prior to his tenure with Wazzu, Green revitalized the program at his alma mater New Mexico State, taking the Aggies from 11 wins in 2015 to 40 in 2018. In 10 total seasons as a head coach, Green owns a career record of 252-204-1, good for a .554 winning percentage.

PAIN PRODUCTION: Green's teams at Kentucky at New Mexico State both led the nation in hit by pitches during his tenure and Wichita State is following a similar formula in 2024. The Shockers set a program record on Sunday by earning six hit by pitches, moving them into the top-10 nationally with 20 HBPs on the season. Ryan Callahan was hit three times individually on Sunday, tying the program record.

BIG WEEKENDS: Outfielders Jaden Gustafson and Dayvin Johnson earned spots on the Jacksonville College Baseball Classic All-Tournament team. Gustafson recorded three hits, including two doubles, while driving in two while Johnson finished 6-for-12 with his first WSU home run and four RBI.

ROSTER REVAMP: It is a new-look Wichita State roster in 2024, as only 11 players return from the 2023 club. AAC Player of the Year Brock Rodden was drafted in the 5th Round by the Seattle Mariners, senior Sawyre Thornhill exhausted his eligibility, and the remaining 23 players transferred. 17 of those 23 ended up at another Division I institution. Catcher Mauricio Millan (54 starts), outfielder Seth Stroh (32 starts) and utilitymen Jordan Rogers (10 starts) and Will Stark (10 starts in 2022) lead the returners in experience, while Caden Favors (21 appearances) and Matt Wilkinson (18 appearances) are the senior members of the pitching staff.

JUCO BANDITS: Following the 25 departures from the 2023 club, head coach Brian Green turned to the junior college ranks to form his first roster with the Shockers. Wichita State has 14 newcomers who played at the NJCAA level a year ago: pitchers Mason Munz, Gavin Oswald, Caleb Anderson, Daniel Zang, Hunter Holmes, Peyton Walters and Jack Mount (7) and position players Brayden Luikart, Dayvin Johnson, Logan Kreske, Ryan Callahan, Derek Williams, Josh Livingston and Sammy Harris (7).

IRON MAN: On a roster with so much turnover, the steadying presence of catcher Mauricio Millan is an important one for the Shockers on both sides of the ball. Millan started an incredible 53 games at catcher for WSU in 2023, hitting .315 with 15 doubles and 26 RBI to go along with excellent defense. The junior from El Paso, Texas ranked among the nation's leaders in framing pitches and committed just three errors behind the plate.

BRIGHT FUTURE: Green was hard at work on the recruiting trail after taking the reigns, bringing in a class ranked 32nd nationally by Perfect Game. In addition to keeping nearly the entirety of the previous staff's class in place, Green was able to add two top-400 players nationally in shortstop Darnell Parker Jr. (#311, originally committed to Washington State) and right-handed pitcher Tommy LaPour (#388, originally committed to Cincinnati). The highest ranked player in the class is right-handed pitcher Ryan Geraghty, ranked by PG as the #165 player in the country.

MEET THE STAFF: Green wasted little time finalizing his assistant coaches, announcing the hires just two weeks after joining the Shockers. Veteran pitching coach Anthony Claggett came along from Washington State, recruiting coordinator Clay Overcash was brought on board after six seasons in the same role at Oklahoma, and hitting coach Anthony Miller, who as a player was committed to play for Green at NMSU, rounded out the assistants following four seasons at the junior college level. The Shockers director of baseball operations is Tad Reida, a former Shocker infielder who helped Wichita State to consecutive NCAA tournament appearances in 2004 and 2005.

GONE PROSPECTING: Wichita State was well represented on D1Baseball's Top Prospect rankings of the American Athletic Conference. Senior left-handed pitcher Caden Favors (#12), junior catcher Mauricio Millan (#23) and junior left-handed pitcher Hunter Holmes (#39) cracked the list among 2024 prospects, with sophomore righty Daniel Zang (#5) on the 2025 leaderboard. The Shockers made the most noise among Impact Freshman, with Tommy LaPour (#2), Ryan Geraghty (#5), Darnell Parker Jr. (#8) and Kam Durnin (#25) all earning recognition.

PRESEASON PROJECTION: The Shockers were picked seventh in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll out of 10 teams, the lowest preseason projection for Wichita State since joining the AAC in 2017. The conference features new blood in Charlotte, UTSA, Florida Atlantic, Rice and UAB, helping to offset the losses of Cincinnati, Houston and UCF to the Big 12. Defending champion East Carolina comfortably topped the poll, earning all nine other first place votes. The Pirates lead the conference with six preseason All-AAC selections, including the preseason Pitcher of the Year in Trey Yesavage. South Florida has five representatives; no other school has more than one. 

TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: With a program record of 2,313 wins, 1,251 losses and nine ties, Wichita State ranks in the top ten of all college baseball programs with a .648 winning percentage. The Shockers have won 20 regular season conference championships and 18 conference tournament championships, earning a trip to Omaha for the College World Series on seven different occasions. WSU claimed the 1989 national championship and finished as national runner-up in 1982, 1991 and 1993.