Wichita State (4-0, 0-0 American) at Hawaii (3-1, 0-0 Big West)
Thursday, February 19 | 10:35 pm CT | Honolulu, Hawaii (Les Murakami Stadium)
TV: None | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Matthew Cuccias (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Isaiah Magdaleno (0-0, 1.50)
Friday, February 20 | 10:35 pm CT | Honolulu, Hawaii (Les Murakami Stadium)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Brady Hamilton (1-0, 2.25) vs. RHP Hekili Robello (1-0, 1.50)
Saturday, February 21 | 7:05 pm CT | Honolulu, Hawaii (Les Murakami Stadium)
TV: None | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Johnny Nuanez (1-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Brody Martin-Grudzielanek (0-0, 2.25)
Sunday, February 22 | 6:05 pm CT | Honolulu, Hawaii (Les Murakami Stadium)
TV: None | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Reese Kortum (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Liam O'Brien (0-0, 0.00)
SCENE SETTER: After a 4-0 opening weekend, Wichita State makes the trip out to Hawaii for another four-game series in Honolulu beginning Thursday night. The first two games of the series will begin at 10:35 pm CT, followed by a 7:05 pm CT Saturday contest and 6:05 pm CT first pitch on Sunday. The Shockers are coming off an emphatic sweep of Northern Colorado in which WSU outscored the Bears by a combined score of 43-8 and picked up a pair of run-rule victories. The 4-0 start is Wichita State's best start to a season since the 2018 club opened the year 8-0. The Shockers are looking to bounce back from a 20-36 record in 2025, the fewest wins in the modern era of the WSU program (1978-present). Wichita State is also 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 2026. Wichita State Athletics Hall of Famer Shane Dennis will have the call of the action in Hawaii, with Denning Gerig joining the broadcasts as color commentator. "The Voice of the Shockers" Mike Kennedy will return to the airwaves following the conclusion of the Wichita State men's basketball season. Only Friday's game will be available on ESPN+. Live audio, in addition to live statistics, is available at GoShockers.com.
SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Rainbow Warriors have 49 previous meetings, with Hawaii holding a 27-22 lead in the all-time series. Last season, Hawaii took three of four games in Honolulu, winning 4-3 in 10 innings to open the series then 4-2 and 7-1 in the final two contests. Wichita State claimed game two of the series, 11-4. Prior to 2025, the two programs last squared off in 2013, the last of three consecutive seasons the Shockers made the trip out to the islands. Hawaii won three of four games each of the series from 2011-13. The Shockers last series win at Hawaii came in 2007, when WSU swept a three-game series in addition to four wins against Hawaii-Hilo. Wichita State's first visit to Hawaii came in 1980, the program's third year after restarting under legendary head coach Gene Stephenson.
SCOUTING HAWAII: The Rainbow Warriors opened the 2026 season with a 3-1 series win against Gonzaga, a series that included two extra-inning contests. Hawaii begins the year with 16 consecutive home games at Les Murakami Stadium, one of the toughest places to play in college baseball. The Rainbow Warriors are 73-28 at home over the last three seasons and have a penchant for late-inning "Manoa Magic", with six walk-off wins last season and two already in 2026. The 'Bows were picked in a tie for fourth in the Big West Preseason Poll and are led by head coach Rich Hill, who owns a record of 1,211-820 over 39 seasons, including five with Hawaii.
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES: It was a historic start to the season for Wichita State third baseman Jayson Jones, who homered in all four games of the series against Northern Colorado. The Oklahoma State transfer became the first Shocker to homer in four consecutive games since future MLB All-Star Alec Bohm accomplished the feat in 2018. The program record is five straight games, established by Jeff Ryan in 1998. Jones was named American Conference Player of the Week and tabbed to the Baseball America Team of the Week after going 7-for-15 with 12 RBI in the four-game series.
BIG INNING: Wichita State put together their biggest single-inning outburst in 11 years on Sunday against Northern Colorado. Leading just 1-0 into the 5th inning of the doubleheader's first game, the Shockers put up 10 runs on seven hits with the help of four walks and two hit by pitches. Nine consecutive WSU hitters reached base after there were two outs in the inning. The 10 runs are the most in an inning since 10 scored in the 6th frame on March 17, 2015 against Western Illinois.
2025 RECAP: Wichita State labored through a challenging 2025 season, finishing 20-36 for the fewest wins in the modern era of Shocker Baseball. The 36 losses were one shy of the program record, set in 2016. The Shockers suffered a nine-game losing streak from April 11-25, tied for the second longest in the modern era. Wichita State unquestionably played their best baseball as the calendar flipped to May; WSU ended the month of April with a 13-30 record but went 7-4 to close the regular season, including a series win over conference champion East Carolina and a series sweep of Memphis to secure a spot in the conference tournament. The Shockers finished 0-2 at the American Championship in Clearwater, falling to Charlotte and South Florida.
NEW LOOK: With just seven returners from last season's roster (five position players, two pitchers) Wichita State is looking at a near-complete overhaul from the team that stepped on the field in 2025. The pitching staff in particular returns just Brady Hamilton (2-7, 5.38 ERA in 78.2 innings) and Karsen Richard (0-1, 9.00 ERA in 16.0 innings); the 19 other Shockers who threw a pitch in 2025 have graduated, transferred, or been drafted (RHP Nick Potter, 5th Round, Houston Astros).
AGE BEFORE BEAUTY: Head coach Brian Green made a point to add experience in the transfer portal over the offseason, a mission that resulted in the addition of four grad transfers, eight seniors and three redshirt juniors. All told, the Shockers added 77 seasons of previous college baseball experience to the roster among their 31 newcomers.
LOCAL BOYS: Wichita State's new-look roster includes a healthy dose of newcomers with local ties. Right-handed pitcher Brady Pacha (Bishop Carroll High School), utilityman Drew Bugner (Andale High School), infielder Owen Rush (Goddard Eisenhower High School), and left-handed pitcher Mitchell Johnson (Derby High School) all hail from the greater Wichita area, in addition to returning outfielder Jaden Gustafson from Maize High School.
HIGHLY TOUTED: A trio of Shocker transfers playing their final season of college baseball in 2026 bring noteworthy pedigrees to Wichita. Jayson Jones (Oklahoma State transfer), Max Kaufer (South Carolina), and Alex Ulloa (Florida International) were all ranked in the top 300 nationally of their respective recruiting classes coming out of high school. Jones leads the way as the #5 player in the 2022 class according to Perfect Game, while Ulloa ranked #65 in 2021 and Kaufer checked in at #257 in 2023.
STAFF CHANGES: Green revamped his coaching staff ahead of the 2026 season, adding three new assistant coaches. Marty Lees was the first addition as recruiting coordinator, bringing experience from previous stops at Oklahoma State, Washington State and Oregon State. Collin Wilber joined the staff as catching coach following stints with Sonoma State and the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, and Jason Foster rounds out the new hires as Pitching Strategist and Director of Analytics. Additionally, Faith Weekley was promoted from Administrative Assistant to Director of Operations.
HOME SWEET HOME: Wichita State will get very familiar with the friendly confines of Eck Stadium in the opening months of the 2026 season. The Shockers play 21 of their first 26 games at home, departing only for a four-game series at Hawaii on February 19-22 and a midweek game at Kansas State on March 10. Wichita State is scheduled to play 33 home games in total, the most since the 2016 Shockers played 34 home contests.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: If the Shockers are to improve upon their 20-win output from 2025, perhaps the biggest factor will be the lineup's production. Wichita State struggled to generate runs a year ago, ranking 251st nationally in scoring at 5.7 runs per contest. The Shockers team batting average (.261, 252nd nationally), home runs per game (0.64, 261st) and stolen bases per game (0.50, 289th) all landed near the bottom of the national leaderboard. WSU was one of the best teams in the country at taking hit by pitches, earning 105 HBPs to rank 34th nationally.
BIG LEAGUE PEDIGREE: The 2026 roster includes several Shockers with impressive baseball bloodlines. The list is headlined by MJ Sweeney and Owen Washburn, whose fathers both compiled lengthy Major League careers. Mike Sweeney played 16 seasons for four franchises, earning five All-Star nods. He is a member of the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame and ended his career with 215 home runs. Jarrod Washburn spent 12 seasons at the game's highest level, winning 107 career games for three teams. He finished fourth in the Cy Young voting while with the Anaheim Angels in 2004. In addition to Sweeney and Washburn, three other Shockers have fathers with professional baseball experience: Matthew Cuccias (Jonathan Cuccias, Western League, 2001), Jayson Jones (Tim Jones, Detroit MiLB, 1992), and Anthony Cepeda (Jose Cepeda, Kansas City/Atlanta MiLB, 1995-2000).
TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: With a program record of 2,366 wins, 1,313 losses and nine ties, Wichita State ranks in the top ten of all college baseball programs with a .642 winning percentage. The Shockers have won 20 regular season conference championships and 18 conference tournament championships, earning a trip to Omaha for the College World Series on seven different occasions. WSU claimed the 1989 national championship and finished as national runner-up in 1982, 1991 and 1993.
