2025 American Athletic Conference Championship
Second Round: [9] UTSA/[8] Tulsa vs. [5] Wichita State
Wednesday, May 7 | 3:00 PM CT
Tampa, Fla. | USF Softball Stadium
Video: ESPN+ 
Stats: Statbroadcast.com
 

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QUICK HITS
• Wichita State opens the 2025 American Athletic Conference Championship as the No. 5 seed. They will face the winner of No. 8 seed Tulsa and No. 9 seed UTSA on Wednesday at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
• The Shockers are 7-4 all-time in the AAC Championship with one tournament title in 2021. This is the first time Wichita State has been the 5-seed in the AAC Championship.
• Wichita State went 3-1 in the AAC Championship a season ago before falling in the title game to Charlotte.
• Wichita State is 6-4 in its last 10 games.
• The American Athletic Conference is rated the 5th best conference according to RPI, behind only the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten.
• Wichita State won seven of nine conference series' this season, but did not record a single sweep. It marks the first time since 2013, Wichita State did not record a series sweep in conference play.
• Ryley Nihart was named American Co-Freshman of the Year, while also earning a spot on the All-Conference Second Team and All-Freshman Team. She is the third Shocker to collect Freshman/Rookie of the Year honors.
• Lauren Lucas was named First Team All-Conference for the third time in her decorated career. Wichita State has had a first team honoree every season since 2013.
• Lucas was named the American Player of the Week on April 28 after hitting .583 with 5 HR, 8 R, 9 RBI in four games last week.
• Taylor Sedlacek leads the American in doubles and walks per game.
• Sedlacek's 34 career home runs rank 8th all-time at Wichita State. Her 15 home runs this season are tied for 7th on the single season charts.
• Ellee Eck's 22 stolen bases lead the American and are tied for 3rd on the Wichita State single season list.
• Lauren Lucas joined former All-American Sydney McKinney as the only Shockers in school history to have at least 10 triples, 40 doubles and 20 home runs in a career.
• Wichita State has 71 home runs this season, 4th most in a single season. They now rank 26th nationally in home runs per game.
• Head Coach Kristi 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 TULSA
Tulsa enters the conference tournament as the No. 8 seed after going 8-19 in conference play. Tulsa's offense has dropped off from last season, as they sport just a .240 batting average as a team. Maci Cole is the lone Hurricane hitting over .300 at .322 with 8 doubles, 2 triples, 10 home runs and 27 RBIs. The pitching staff is carried by Maura Moore again this season. She is far and away the leader in every pitching category. Moore has appeared in 34 of the team's 52 games, including 31 starts. She is 13-15 with a 4.41 ERA in 146.0 innings with 91 strikeouts and 46 walks.

SERIES HISTORY
Wichita State and Tulsa first met in March of 1994 and have faced off a total of 72 times. The Shockers hold a 41-31 lead in the all-time series, and have won 14 of the last 19 meetings. Since 1994, Wichita State and Tulsa have played every year with the exception of a two-year gap in 2012 and 2013. If Tulsa advances past UTSA, it would be the fifth time the two rivals have met in the conference tournament since Wichita State joined the American in 2018.

LAST MEETING VS. THE GOLDEN HURRICANE
Wichita State went 2-1 vs. Tulsa during the regular season, taking the first two games by scores of 10-0 (5) and 11-7 before falling in the finale, 5-2. The Shockers won the series opener behind a two-home run game from Ellee Eck and a complete game shutout in the circle from Ryley Nihart. In Game 2, Wichita State erased a 5-1 deficit behind a 7-run 6th inning. Helped by five Tulsa errors and home runs from Lauren Lucas and Sami Hood, the Shockers picked up a doubleheader sweep of the Hurricane. In the finale, the Shockers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning on Camryn Compton's 2-run home run, but Wichita State would manage just one hit over the final 6 innings.

SCOUTING UTSA
UTSA enters the conference tournament as the No. 9 seed after going 6-21 in conference play. Sabrina Wick hits a team-high .305 to go with 14 stolen bases. Katia Reyes is the top run producer with 7 home runs and 28 RBIs. Ava Eldridge leads the pitching staff in appearances (35), ERA (4.59), wins (8), innings (90.0) and strikeouts (43). As a staff, the Roadrunners have 264 walks to 192 strikeouts.

SERIES HISTORY
A series that started back in 2000 has largely been dominated by Wichita State. In 15 all-time meetings, Wichita State is 13-2 vs. the Roadrunners. UTSA snapped a seven-game losing streak vs. Wichita State with a win this season. The Shockers' last six wins against UTSA have come in run-rule fashion, outscoring the Roadrunners, 68-9, in those victories.

LAST MEETING VS. THE ROADRUNNERS
Wichita State run-ruled the Roadrunners in both wins, but coughed up a three-run lead
in the second game of the series, falling 8-7. In the opener Wichita State scored seven runs in the top of the 6th to turn a 5-2 game into a 12-2 win in 6 innings. Camryn Compton homered and drove in four runs to kickstart her red-hot weekend. In Game 2, UTSA jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but the Shockers came back to take a 7-4 lead after the top of the 4th. The Roadrunners would score a run in the 4th, 5th and two in the 6th to complete the comeback, 8-7. In the finale, Wichita State scored five in the top of the 1st thanks to Compton's first of two three-run home runs on the day. Taylor Sedlacek added a two-run homer in the 5th to give the Shockers a 13-5 win in 5 innings. Compton finished the series with three home runs and 11 RBIs.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State won 2-of-3 in the final regular season series at Memphis. After dropping the opener, 4-3, the Shockers bounced back to take Games 2 and 3: 5-2 and 4-2. The Shockers hit just one home run in the three-game series, a Jodie Epperson two-run homer in the opener. Ava Sliger and Ryley Nihart tossed back-to-back complete games in the final two games of the series.

ECK YEAH!
Over the last month Ellee Eck has provided power at the top of the lineup for the Shockers. Ten of her 11 home runs this season have come since the March 26 game vs. #2 Oklahoma. Over her last 22 games she's hitting .347 (26-for-75) with 3 doubles, 10 home runs, 22 RBIs and 26 runs. Her slugging percentage during that time is second highest on the team. She also has 59 total bases in that stretch, most on the team. In 148 career games over three seasons at Stanford, Eck had zero home runs. She has three multi-home run games in her last 20 games, including a school record-tying three-home run game vs. Kansas City on April 22. She became just the fourth Shocker to hit three home runs in a single game, joining Lauren Mills, Addison Barnard and CC Wong.

AWARD SZN
Ryley Nihart became the third Shocker to bring home American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors, joining Alex Aguilar and Addison Barnard. For the first time since 2014 only one Shocker earned First Team All-Conference honors in 2025. Lauren Lucas was named a first team outfielder for the third time in her career. Nihart also added Second Team All-Conference and All-Freshman Team honors to her standout freshman campaign. Brookelyn Livanec joined Nihart on the All-Freshman Team. The Shockers have placed at least one on the All- Freshman Team every year since joining the American in 2018.

FRESHIE MAKING AN IMPACT
Wichita State's offense has received a boost in conference play from freshman Brookelyn Livanec. Livanec has taken a hold of the DP position since the start of conference play at Florida Atlantic. In 26 AAC games, Livanec hit .351 (26-for-74) with five doubles, a triple, 13 runs scored and 10 RBIs. Her .351 batting average in AAC games was second highest on the team.

RPI AT A GLANCE
Wichita State checked in at No. 69 in this week's RPI rankings. The Shockers have already faced 17 teams in the Top 70, including No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 3 Florida State, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 20 Oklahoma State (twice), No. 25 Nebraska, No. 28 Liberty, No. 30 Florida Atlantic (three times), No. 31 San Diego State, No. 32 Missouri, No. 33 Kentucky, No. 37 South Florida (three times), No. 38 Grand Canyon, No. 50 Texas State, No. 53 Charlotte (three times), No. 57 North Texas (three times), No. 59 Central Arkansas and No. 65 Kansas (twice).