The RoundHouse | 10/2/2026 2:19:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Enthusiasm for the game and the work pushed Mickayla Tosch and Mackenzie Rooney to Wichita State.
 
In their first season on the softball team, they found that softening that perfectionist mindset is sometimes necessary. Their fall is devoted to modifying some of those thoughts to produce a softball player who is not quite so wrapped up in the ups and downs of the sport.
 

"I care a lot about everything I do, and sometimes I can care too much and want it too much," Tosch said. "I've been working on my confidence level and staying calm and not trying to do too much."
 
Tosch, a senior, and Rooney, a sophomore, are important returners for the Shockers. Coach Kristi Bredbenner needs a centerfielder to replace Jodi Epperson and a shortstop to replace Chloe Rhine, both of whom played excellent defense.
 
The Shockers open their fall season this weekend with scrimmages at Wilkins Stadium against McLennan (Texas) Community College at 1 p.m., Saturday and Oklahoma State at 1 p.m., Sunday.
 
In the outfield, Tosch and Rooney are candidates to take over in center. Rooney, from Louisburg, started 47 games in left field in 2026. She hit .283 with three doubles and seven home runs. Tosch, from Rosenberg, Texas, played in 34 games and started eight times in the outfield.
 
Tosch played for the Madison Night Mares in the Northwoods League over the summer and her performance built her confidence. She hit .349 with nine home runs and 10 doubles. Madison won the league title and Tosch played in the All-Star Game.
 
"The summer was really a positive for her," Bredbenner said. "Knowing she was going to play and going to get at-bats allowed her to calm down, have a better approach. She's a very, very hard worker. She wants to do it so bad, sometimes it's hard for her to slow it down and let it happen."
 
Tosch transferred to WSU from McLennan, where she earned All-American and Gold Glove honors over her two seasons. She hit .433 with 18 doubles and 11 home runs in 2025. After a tough spring with the Shockers, she took the summer to reset mentally.
 
"For two years, I had a lot of success," she said. "I played all the time. I thought I was going to play here, and I just didn't have the results at the beginning of the year to allow me to stay in the lineup."

 
A fresh start in the Northwoods League and a regular spot in the lineup helped.
 
"The summer allowed me to play a little bit more freely," she said. "I realized that why I play softball is to have fun. When I'm having fun is when I'm playing my best."
 
Rooney grabbed a spot in the lineup early in the season, helped by an 8-for-21 stretch that lifted her average to .333 in late February. She hit her first home run against Arkansas and hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to beat FAU in March.
 
"I started having confidence in myself because the coaches never stopped believing in me," she said. "My teammates had my back even when things didn't go the right way."
 
The home run against FAU gave the Shockers a 10-8 win and gave Rooney a belief in herself. She was pulled from the game in the seventh and then pinch-hit for Tosch in the ninth.
 
Associate head coach Elizabeth Economon told Rooney to forget about the earlier parts of the game and be ready to hit.
 
"She was telling me to have confidence in myself," Rooney said. "I got it. I went up there and I hit a walk-off."
 
Rooney, like Tosch, is working on the mental side of hitting.
 
"I was too tense," she said. "I wanted to make everything perfect, and it's not like that. You can't act like that."
 
At shortstop, sophomore Kammie Smith is a strong candidate after starting at second base and earning second-team all-conference honors. She hit .328 with 10 doubles. Freshmen Addi Smith and Kylie Wheaton play shortstop.
 
The return of third baseman Kinzey Woody, the American Conference Player of the Year, and first basemen Trinity Allen and Ausha Moore give Bredbenner experience on the rest of the infield. Moore hit .397 with 23 home runs. Allen hit .357 with eight homers.
 
As usual, hitting will decide many of the position battles. This weekend, coaches get their first look at which Shockers offer the most complete options.
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
 
Season tickets are on sale now, and season ticket renewals are available as well. To purchase, visit GoShockers.com/Tickets, dial 316-978-FANS (3267) or stop by the Shocker Ticket Office, located inside Charles Koch Arena, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.