Omaha (3-3, 0-0 Summit) at Wichita State (6-2, 0-0 American)
Thursday, February 26 | 3:05 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Maddox Meyer (1-0, 1.29) vs. RHP Matthew Cuccias (0-0, 0.00)
Friday, February 27 | 3:05 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Tanner Foertsch (0-1, 6.23) vs. RHP Brady Hamilton (1-1, 4.09)
Saturday, February 28 | 2:05 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Sam Beck (1-0, 2.70) vs. RHP Johnny Nuanez (2-0, 2.45)
Sunday, March 1 | 1:05 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. LHP Reese Kortum (1-0, 1.13)
SCENE SETTER: Following a 2-2 trip in Hawaii, Wichita State returns to the friendly confines of Eck Stadium for another four-game set, this time hosting Omaha. The series begins Thursday and runs through Sunday, with single games each day. The Shockers bounced back from a pair of close defeats to open the Hawaii series with a doubleheader sweep on Sunday, marking the first time since the 2007 season that Wichita State avoided a series defeat in Honolulu. With the 13-3 win in the doubleheader's first game, four of Wichita State's first eight games have gone just seven innings. 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. Denning Gerig will have the play-by-play call for all four games of the Omaha series. All games of the series will be streamed on ESPN+ ($), with Shocker Hall of Famer Shane Dennis on play-by-play and former Shocker outfielder Corrigan Bartlett providing color commentary. Live audio, in addition to live statistics, is available at GoShockers.com.
SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Mavericks have 19 previous meetings, with Wichita State leading the all-time series, 12-7. Wichita State is 9-1 against Omaha since restarting the baseball program in 1978. The series dates back all the way to the 1951 season, when the Shockers won the first meeting between the two programs, 12-4 in 10 innings. The last matchup took place in 2021, when WSU swept a three-game series by scores of 14-5, 9-0 and 11-1 at Eck Stadium. Omaha's lone victory in the modern era came in 2015, when the Mavericks snagged a 6-4 midweek win in Wichita. All 10 games since 1978 have taken place in Wichita.
SCOUTING OMAHA: The Mavericks bring a 3-3 record to Wichita, having played all six games away from home. Omaha was swept in a three-game series by Arizona State to begin the season but have picked up three consecutive wins since, highlighted by a midweek win over Arizona on February 17. Most recently, the Mavericks won a pair of games against Western Michigan as part of the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament in La Jolla, California. A third scheduled game against BYU was canceled. Omaha is led offensively by grad student Henry Zipay, the 2025 Summit League Player of the Year who hit .384 in 2025. Thursday starter Maddox Meyer struck out 10 over 6.0 shutout innings in the win over Arizona. Longtime head coach Evan Porter is in his 10th season with the Mavericks, owner of a 178-252 record (.414).
CAN'T TOUCH THIS: One would be hard pressed to put together a better first two appearances than those authored by junior right-hander Matthew Cuccias. The Glendale CC transfer made his Wichita State debut with 3.0 perfect innings against Northern Colorado, then followed it up by twirling 6.0 near-perfect innings on the road at Hawaii. The only baserunner he allowed came via an error, and Cuccias promptly erased it with a double play. All told, the righty has faced 27 batters and retired 26 of them, racking up nine strikeouts and allowing no hits. He is the last WSU hurler to make a hitless first start since Charlie Lowell against Florida Gulf Coast in 2009.
START IT UP: Cuccias delivered one of several outstanding starts from the Wichita State rotation, which has been a strong suit through the first eight games and allowed the Shockers to post a 2.76 team ERA, best in the conference and 19th nationally. The Wichita State starters have combined for 38.2 innings, allowing 37 hits and 12 earned runs while compiling an impressive 40:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. No starter has allowed more than four runs in a start through the first two series.
LEADING OFF: Senior outfielder Jaden Gustafson had never batted leadoff in any game of his career before Brian Green inserted him into that lineup spot to begin 2026. The decision has paid off through the first eight games, as Gustafson is slashing .375/.583/.500, good for a 1.083 OPS. The left-handed hitting outfielder put together one of the best games of his career in Sunday's series finale at Hawaii, going 3-for-3 with a home run and also reaching base on a walk and hit by pitch. Gustafson has at least one hit in seven of eight games and has reached base in all eight.
BIG INNING(S): Wichita State put together their biggest single-inning outburst in 11 years on February 15 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. It was the most runs scored in an inning since 2015, but the mark did not stand for long. The Shockers one-upped themselves by scoring 11 runs in the third inning of Sunday's win at Hawaii. The frame was highlighted by a pair of three-run doubles from shortstop Alex Ulloa, establishing a new program record with six RBI in a single inning.
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.
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.
TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: With a program record of 2,368 wins, 1,315 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.
