Baseball | 2/28/2026 9:58:00 AM
By
Paul Suellentrop
Ryan Morrison came to Wichita State willing to admit he needed a new approach to pitching. Eagerly willing, in fact, to give himself over to coaches for a makeover.
"I was hoping for big changes," he said. "I came in here wanting for them to show me things that nobody had shown me before and help me become a new pitcher. I think that's starting to show up."
Morrison, a 6-foot-7 graduate student, is one of the best examples - 10 games in – on a pitching staff that appears deeper than last season and is hitting the strike zone frequently. After the Shockers compiled a 6.60 earned run average in 2025, coaches adjusted their recruiting plans to land pitchers with starting experience and the ability to throw three or more pitches. They were willing to sacrifice velocity for versatility.
In baseball jargon, they hunted for "pitchability," the term for pitchers who can mix in off-speed pitches and work through a lineup more than once. They may or may not light up the radar gun. What's important is making hitters work to get on base.
"We really made an attempt to recruit a lot more pitching and a lot less arm strength, even though we have good arm strength," coach
Brian Green said. "You're seeing a lot more three-pitch mix from a lot of our pitchers – it's not just two-pitch and throw."
Wichita State (8-2) plays Omaha (3-5) in a doubleheader (both nine innings) at 12:05 today (Saturday) at Eck Stadium.
On Friday, Morrison threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen to help the Shockers defeat the Mavericks 10-3. Three Wichita State pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts and two walks to continue the contrast with last season's pitching performances.
In 2025, the Shockers walked and hit batters to the tune of 6.5 free passes a game. The 287 walks in 56 games were the most since the 2019 Shockers walked 307 in 59 games. They hit 81 batters in 2025, most in the program's recorded history.
Early this season, the Shockers are much less willing to send runners to first base. Walks (31) and hit batters (nine) are down to four a game.
Five of those walks came in the staff's lone poor outing – a 7-6 loss at Hawaii in which the Shockers surrendered a 6-0 lead. They walked three or fewer hitters in six of their 10 games, a mark hit 17 times last season.
"First-pitch strikes are pretty big for us," reliever
Caleb Reed, a junior from Olathe, said. "We just want to get ahead, stay ahead and put them away as soon as we can."
Green and pitching coach Anthong Claggett rebuilt the pitching staff by looking for starting experience. Reed started 13 games last season at Kansas City Kansas Community College and went 9-0 with a 2.16 earned run average. That makes him a weapon with the ability to throw several innings out of the bullpen for the Shockers, as he did with five shutout innings against Omaha on Thursday.
"If you look at us this year, we have a lot more guys who profile that they could start," Green said. "They can throw a fastball, curveball or a changeup. Or fastball, slider and a curveball. Something that can manage both left- and right-handed (hitters). We were really matchup based last year."
Five Shockers own scoreless stretches of two more innings out of bullpen this season, highlighted by
Brok Eddy throwing 4.2 innings in a 7-1 win at Hawaii.
On Friday, starter
Brady Hamilton threw 5 1/3 innings before handing the ball to Morrison with an 8-2 lead. Morrison handled the Mavericks while the offense added to the lead.
Heitaro Hayashi made his first appearance of the season to finish up.
No drama. No walks muddying up a solid effort.
"This is the most length I've seen, at least in the last two years – to have a guy come into the game in the sixth and not have to throw three more pitchers," Hamilton said. "We've got guys that have stuff, but everyone can give you length."
That brings the afternoon back to Morrison, who compiled a 9.05 ERA in two seasons for Seattle University, but who is also 6-7 and athletic enough to play first base earlier in his career. He throws hard (hitting 96 mph on Friday) and needed to remake his delivery. He worked in the fall to use his lower body strength to produce power and tighten up his form to take advantage of his height and arm strength.
"I was throwing a lot with my arm," he said. "Flying open a lot. My biggest thing was staying back, getting into my back leg and allowing everything to develop and then get everything out front."
The changes, Morrison said, help him throw harder and his arm feels healthier. On Friday, he said, he threw a curveball for the first time in college and struck out two hitters with the pitch.
"No arm pain whatsoever," he said. "It's giving me an opportunity to develop new pitches, because I'm moving better."
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.
