Wichita State (10-9, 0-0) at #24/RV Florida Atlantic (21-4, 0-0)
Friday, March 7 | 5 PM CT
Saturday, March 8 | 1 PM CT
Sunday, March 9 | 11 AM CT
Boca Raton, Fla. | FAU Softball Stadium
Video: ESPN+
Stats: Statbroadcast.com

QUICK HITS
• Wichita State opens American Athletic Conference play in Boca Raton against the Florida Atlantic Owls.
• This is the Shockers' first-ever trip to Boca Raton. Wichita State is 2-4 all-time vs. Florida Atlantic
• The Shockers are coming off a 1-4 weekend in its home opening tournament with losses to Oklahoma State, Missouri, Nebraska and South Dakota State. Wichita State's lone win came in walk-off fashion over the Jackrabbits.
• Wichita State started the season 5-0 for the first time since 1994 and just the third time in program history. The Shockers' 5-0 weekend in Phoenix also marked the first time since 2021 the Shockers have gone 5-0 at an early season tournament.
• Lauren Lucas was named AAC Player of the Week on Feb. 10.
• Wichita State will face 12 NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago, which includes eight in the opening month of the season (Grand Canyon, Kentucky, Texas A&M, San Diego State, Liberty, Florida State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Missouri).
• Wichita State has made it to the NCAA Tournament three of the last four years. The 2024 Shockers came up just short of an NCAA Regional, snapping a streak of three straight appearances.
• A pair of redshirt seniors return to the lineup in 2025 after missing all of the 2024 season due to injuries in Lauren Lucas and Camryn Compton.
• Lucas was named to the Softball America Preseason Top 100, sliding in at No. 78.
Freshman pitcher Ava Sliger was named to the D1Softball D100 Freshman Watch List.
• Sliger and freshman teammate Ryley Nihart were named to the Softball America Freshman Watch List.
• The Shockers bring back only two pitchers that recorded innings in 2024: Chloe Barber (Sophomore, AAC All-Rookie Team) and Alex Aguilar (Junior, 2023 AAC Rookie of the Year).
• Wichita State was picked to win the American Athletic Conference in the Preseason Coaches Poll.
• In total, Wichita State returns four starters and 11 letterwinners from a season ago.
• Nine newcomers (six freshman, three transfers) join the team in 2025.
• Bredbenner recorded her 400th career win at Wichita State on Feb. 23 vs. Abilene Christian. She is the all-time winningest coach in program history.

SCOUTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC
No. 24 Florida Atlantic softball owns a 21-4 record, third most victories in the nation, with wins over Ole Miss, Kansas, Clemson, Minnesota and NC State to its name. Florida Atlantic was picked to finish second in the preseason coaches poll just five points behind Wichita State. The Owls are third nationally in hits with 222 and doubles with 44, 20th in total runs (163) and 21st in RBI (131). Florida Atlantic has made a comeback in nine of its 21 wins. Junior pitcher Autumn Courtney, transfer from Queens, currently leads the conference in wins with 10 and has 78 Ks on the season, ranked 10th in the nation. Senior pitcher Ainsley Lambert currently leads the nation in saves with six. Freshman Bella Foran leads the Owls with a .486 batting average and 36 hits. Destiny Johns leads the team in home runs (4), triples (2) and RBIs (24), while hitting .325. In all, Florida Atlantic has eight hitting over .300 through 25 games. In the circle, the Owls boast a 2.45 ERA split between four pitchers who have logged more than 28.0 innings. Head Coach Jordan Clark is in her third season leading the Owls. She sports a 97-40 record over three seasons and has a winning record of 13-11 against schools from the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big 12. Under Clark's guidance, the Owls put forth their best campaign in years during the 2024 season, with a 41-16 record and their first NCAA Regional appearance since 2016. In their inaugural season with the American Athletic Conference, Florida Atlantic posted a 21-6 record in conference play and finished on top as the AAC regular season champions.

SERIES HISTORY
The series between Wichita State and Florida Atlantic dates back to 2001. The Owls won the first two meetings with both wins coming at the FIU Invitational in back-to-back seasons. In the first season as members of the American, Florida Atlantic took the regular season series with the Shockers, 2-1, in Wichita. This will be Wichita State's first-ever trip to Boca Raton to face the Owls were picked to finish second in the preseason coaches poll.

LAST MEETING VS. THE OWLS
Wichita State punched its ticket to the 2024 American Athletic Conference Championship title game with a run-rule win over the top seed Florida Atlantic Owls in the semifinals, 12-2. The Shockers hit three home runs, including Addison Barnard's sixth home run of the tournament. Krystin Nelson and Bailey Urban added three-run home runs as well. Two batters into the game, Barnard gave the Shockers a 2-0 lead on a two-run home run. The Shockers would added two more in the top of the second and seven in the top of the third to take out the No. 1 seed.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State is coming off a 1-4 weekend at its home opening tournament, the Shocker Invitational. The Shockers dropped games to No. 16 Oklahoma State, Missouri, No. 18 Nebraska and South Dakota State. Its lone win came in walk-off fashion, 5-4, against South Dakota State in the first of two meetings with the Jackrabbits. The Jackrabbits got their revenge in the final game of the tournament, 6-4. In the three games vs. Oklahoma State, Missouri and Nebraska, Wichita State was outscored 36-3. In the win over SDSU, Wichita State took a 4-2 lead into the top of the 7th only to see the Jackrabbits hit a game-tying two-run home run. In the bottom of the 7th, Jodie Epperson hit a walk-off RBI double. Freshman pitcher Ryley Nihart struck out a season-high eight batters in 4.1 innings of relief in Sunday's 6-4 defeat to SDSU. She came in with the Shockers trailing, 5-1, and allowed just one run in her best outing of the season.

RPI - WEEK ONE
Wichita State checked in at No. 71 in the first RPI rankings on March 3. The Shockers have already faced 10 teams in the Top 65, including No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 8 Florida State, No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 21 Kentucky, No. 26 Oklahoma, No. 29 Grand Canyon, No. 30 Missouri, No. 40 Liberty, No. 43 San Diego State and No. 47 Nebraska. The Shockers still have games against No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 26 Oklahoma, No. 39 Florida Atlantic (three times), No. 44 South Florida (three times), No. 45 North Texas (three times), No. 53 Texas State, No. 59 Charlotte (three times) and No. 65 Kansas (twice).

WELCOME BACK
Wichita State welcomes back a pair of super seniors in Lauren Lucas and Camryn Compton after missing the entire 2024 season due to injuries. The duo have 161 combined starts between the two of them. Lucas is a two-time First Team All-Conference performer and earned Third Team All-America honors in 2023 after hitting .384 with 16 doubles, 7 triples, 4 home runs and 62 RBIs. Her 62 RBIs ranked Top 10 nationally. Compton has battled injuries throughout her career at Wichita State, but her experience will be key in 2025, as she looks to end on a high note.

TOUGH SLEDDING
Wichita State has never shied away from playing a tough schedule, and that is no different in 2025. The Shockers are scheduled to play 10 teams ranked or receiving votes in the Preseason NFCA Top 25: No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 4 Oklahoma State, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 9 Florida State, No. 15 Missouri, No. 19 Nebraska. Kentucky, Texas State, Grand Canyon and Liberty all received votes.

PRESEASON TOP 100 LOVE
Lauren Lucas was named to the Softball America Preseason Top 100 list and the D1 Softball D100 Player Rankings. Lucas checked in at No. 78 on the Softball America Top 100 and No. 88 on the D100. Lucas was also named the No. 21 outfielder according to D1 Softball. Freshman pitcher Ava Sliger was named to the D1 Softball D100 Freshman Watch List on Jan. 8.

UP NEXT
Wichita State travels to Lawrence for a midweek tilt at KU on Wednesday, March 12 at 6 p.m.