Softball | 2/6/2025 10:40:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Jodie Epperson drives a 2021 Mustang GT. It is yellow, her favorite color, and a tribute to a popular movie series based on driving at high speed.
 
"'Fast and Furious,'" she said. "I've always been into cars."
 
The Mustang is not subtle when the engine starts.
 
"When she turns it on in the morning, it shakes the whole house," said roommate Sami Hood. "It's so funny, because she's so small and so quiet, and then you see her driving that car. You would never expect Jodie to have a car like that, so loud and so out there."
 
Epperson's reputation is similar on the softball field. She is 5-foot-3, yet speedy and possessing surprising pop with the bat. She is known as "Mighty Mouse" around Wilkins Stadium.
 

"'Mighty Mouse' is perfect," Hood said. "One hundred percent. She has a lot of power, and her hand-eye coordination is super good."
 
Epperson, an outfielder from Combine, Texas, is expected to start for the Shockers, perhaps in center or left field, this weekend when they open the season in the GCU Kickoff Classic in Phoenix. WSU plays Northern Illinois (3:30 p.m.) and Grand Canyon (8:30 p.m.) on Friday.
 
She will likely hit near the top of the order and coach Kristi Bredbenner counts on her helping the Shockers transition to an offense sparked by speed and execution.
 
"She hits for power and is super-fast in the outfield with a good arm," Bredbenner said. "I think she is somebody who is really going to help us out quite a bit."
 
Epperson spent the past two seasons at North Texas, where she started 21 games and hit .235 with 11 doubles. When she decided to transfer, she called Hood. They played together as youngsters. Hood gave her a good review of the Shocker program and told her she had a room at her duplex available.
 
"She was a big reason (for choosing WSU)," Epperson said. "I asked her a bunch of questions. Culture and how the whole team got along. Relationships."
 
Epperson adds more speed to the outfield that also features Lauren Lucas and Ellee Eck. Lucas, out last season with a shoulder injury, earned third-team All-American honors in 2023 after hitting .384 with 16 doubles and 62 RBI. Eck, a transfer from Stanford, can also play center field.
 
That trio will also likely hit high in the order, along with shortstop Taylor Sedlacek, who hit 14 home runs last season.
 
"We're definitely going to be a little bit faster, a little more explosive, gap-to-gap type team," Bredbenner said.
 
Some of the athletic ability comes from the team's work with Audry Horn, assistant director of sport performance. Epperson likes the emphasis on lifting heavy every day with Horn.
 
"I've already gained muscle mass," she said. "It definitely comes off the bat harder."
 
Bredbenner hopes Epperson can become the latest transfer success story at Wilkins Stadium. Last season, CC Wong joined the Shockers and hit .470 with 14 home runs. Epperson gives Wichita State another chance to demonstrate how its approach can fuel a new direction for a softball career.
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.