Wichita State (12-28, 4-11 American) vs. South Florida (22-16, 10-5 American)

Friday, April 25 | 6:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Grant Adler (3-4, 6.51) vs. LHP Corey Braun (5-2, 2.90)

Saturday, April 26 | 2:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Brady Hamilton (1-5, 5.66) vs. TBA

Sunday, April 27 | 12:00 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. TBA

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State attempts to snap a season-long eight-game losing skid with a return to Eck Stadium for a three-game series against South Florida beginning Friday night. The Shockers dropped a 14-8 decision on Tuesday night at Kansas State, dropping their overall record to 12-28. WSU has gone just 1-8 in midweek contests this season. The Shockers are coming off a 32-29 season in 2024 that included a 15-12 mark in American Athletic Conference play, tying for third in the final conference standings. WSU went on to reach the championship game of the AAC Tournament for the first time in program history, falling to Tulane, 11-10. 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 2025. "The Voice of the Shockers" Mike Kennedy will have the call of the series against South Florida. All three games will also be streamed on ESPN+ ($), with Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Shane Dennis on play-by-play and former WSU outfielder Corrigan Bartlett joining the broadcast as color commentator. Live audio, in addition to live statistics, will be available at GoShockers.com/listen and ShockerStats.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Bulls have met 25 times, with the all-time series deadlocked at 12-12-1. Since Wichita State joined the American Athletic Conference in 2017, South Florida leads the series 12-9-1. The lone tie is the most recent one in Wichita State program history, a 9-9 game at Eck Stadium on May 13, 2018, that was called due to South Florida's Sunday travel schedule. The Bulls swept a three-game series last season in Tampa, including a pair of one-run wins. The Shockers squandered a 2-0 ninth inning lead in the Sunday series finale, falling 3-2 in 10 innings. Prior to Wichita State joining The American, the Shockers downed South Florida in Hawaii in 2005 to claim the First Hawaii Title Rainbow Tournament title, and twice to open the 1985 season in New Orleans.

SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA: The Bulls bring an overall record of 22-16 to Wichita, including a 10-5 mark in American Athletic Conference play. South Florida dropped a 10-9 road contest at Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday, allowing two runs in the bottom of the ninth before falling in walk-off fashion in the tenth. Friday night starter Corey Braun has been the linchpin of the Bulls rotation, posting a 5-2 record with a 2.90 ERA in 68.1 innings. Veteran slugger Sebastian Greico is in his sixth collegiate season and leads USF with 12 home runs and 37 RBI. Longtime Indiana State head coach Mitch Hannahs is in his first season with the Bulls after 12 seasons with the Sycamores; Hannahs owns a career record of 377-230-1 (.621).

TRIPLE-DIGIT HEAT: Reliever Nick Potter made a loud entrance into Tuesday's clash at Kansas State, striking out three consecutive hitters in the seventh inning to escape a two on, no out jam. The second of the three strikeouts came on a fastball clocked on the Tointon Family Stadium Trackman system at 100 miles per hour. Potter returned to the mound for the eighth and was tagged for three runs in the 14-8 loss.

REPEAT PERFORMANCE: Last season, shortstop Kam Durnin shook off a slow start by raising his batting average 131 points from March 26 through the end of the season. Now a sophomore, Durnin has once again shed a quiet first two months of the season to become one of the Shockers best hitters. Heading into WSU's game against Oklahoma State on March 25, Durnin was hitting .227 with seven extra-base hits. In the 17 game since, he has gone 21-for-57 (.368) with six doubles, a triple and a home run to raise his season average to .283.

QUALITY START: On a pitching staff desperate for length out of the starting rotation, the Shockers have gotten a recent boost from sophomore Brady Hamilton. The right-hander set a career high in innings pitched in each of his last two outings, going 5.2 frames against UTSA on 4/13 before working 6.0 innings against Florida Atlantic on 4/19 for his first career quality start. The Shockers have not had a starter pitch into the eighth inning yet this season.

MIDDLE INNING MADNESS: For the majority of games, Wichita State has outplayed their opposition on an inning-by-inning basis. The middle frames, however, have proven problematic. The Shockers are outscoring opponents by two total runs in innings 1-2 and 6-9 but have been outscored by a staggering 72 runs in innings 3-5. Kansas State out-scored the Shockers 4-0 during that stretch on Tuesday.

POWER OF THE PLUNK: Wichita State shattered the program record for hit by pitches in 2024, drawing 116 HBPs to best the previous mark (84 in 2019) by 32. The Shockers have already been hit 82 times this season, including a program-record eight last Tuesday at Kansas. WSU finished 16th nationally in team HBPs last season, led by Mauricio Millan's new program and conference record 24.

BULLPEN STRUGGLES: Wichita State relievers have combined for a 7.04 ERA this season in 171.1 innings, a figure that is exacerbated by an inability to limit extra-base hits. The bullpen has allowed 24 home runs and 42 doubles, nearly twice as many (11 and 25, respectively) as opponents in nearly the same amount of innings.

NO RUNNING: For the third consecutive weekend series, Wichita State did not attempt a stolen base. The Shockers are just 20-for-26 in stolen base attempts this season, ranking 288th out of 299 teams nationally in stolen bases per game (0.50).

FREE PASSES: Wichita State pitchers walked five batters over eight innings in Tuesday's loss to Kansas State. The Shockers rank last in the American Athletic Conference with 5.71 walks per nine innings and have hit 64 batters, tied for second most in the conference.

BASES LOADED BLUES: This season with the bases loaded Wichita State has recorded just 11 hits (three for extra bases) in 59 at-bats, good for a .186 average. The Shockers have the same amount of double plays grounded into (11) as hits in bases loaded situations.

TRIPLE THREAT: The Shockers have hit 13 triples this season, ranking 30th nationally and five more than the next closest team in the American Athletic Conference (Tulane, 8). Wichita State hit three triples in the UAB series, capped off by the first of Mauricio Millan's career in the Sunday series finale.

SMALL BALL: With just 23 home runs through the first 40 games of the season, the Shockers are on pace for their fewest homers in a season since the BBCOR era (24 homers in 2013). Wichita State has hit 50 or more homers in each of the last four seasons, including 74 last year.

REVERSE SPLITS: Sophomore infielder Camden Johnson has defied all the conventional wisdom of left-on-left matchups so far this season. When facing same-side pitching, Johnson has 26 hits in 57 at-bats for a staggering .456 average, while hitting a more modest .296 against righties. 

PRESEASON PUB: Wichita State was picked second in the 2025 American Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll, the highest preseason projection for the Shockers since joining the conference in 2017. The Shockers had never been picked higher than fourth in the American preseason poll, a status they reached just once in the 2022 edition. WSU also matched Tulane for the most representatives on the Preseason All-Conference Team; catcher Mauricio Millan, first baseman Josh Livingston, second baseman Jordan Rogers and shortstop Camden Johnson were all recognized by the conference, with Millan as the unanimous selection behind the plate.

GETTING THE GANG BACK TOGETHER: Wichita State returned just 11 total players to their 2024 roster following the coaching change that brought Brian Green to Wichita, but this season the Shockers enter the year with significantly more experience. On the position player front, WSU returns nine players who started 10 or more games, while the pitching staff features nine hurlers who appeared in eight or more contests.

PORTAL POWER: Wichita State turned to the portal for seven D1 transfers: Grant Adler (Kansas), Cole Dillon (Arizona), Jace Miner (Oklahoma), Arnad Mulamekic (Siena), Owen Reynolds (Oral Roberts), MJ Seo (LSU) and Owen Washburn (Texas Tech). Adler and Miner both began their D1 careers at Wichita State before transferring during the coaching change, with Adler named the AAC Newcomer Pitcher of the Year in 2023 and Miner earning Second Team All-Conference honors as a reliever.

UPS AND DOWNS: The 2024 season was a true roller coaster ride for Wichita State. The Shockers entered the month of April at 18-9 following a three-game sweep of Rice, but had a miserable month that threatened to derail the season. WSU went 4-17 in their next 21 games, suffering a pair of conference sweeps at the hands of South Florida and East Carolina. But the Shockers righted the ship in May, winning a season-best seven games in a row from May 4-17 and reaching the championship game of the American Athletic Conference tournament with the help of two wins over top-seeded East Carolina.