Getterman Classic
Waco, Texas | Getterman Stadium
Feb. 6: vs. #22/24 Mississippi State (12:30 PM CT) | at Baylor (5:30 PM CT)
Feb. 7: vs. Northwestern State (2:30 PM CT) | at Baylor (5:00 PM CT)
Feb. 8: vs. New Mexico (9:00 AM CT)
Video: ESPN+ (All Games)
Stats: Statbroadcast.com

QUICK HITS
• Wichita State opens the 2026 season and Year 15 of the Kristi Bredbenner era with the first of three straight tournaments in the Lone Star State.
• The Shockers begin in Waco, Texas at the Getterman Classic.
• Wichita State last participated in the Getterman Classic in 2015 when the Shockers went 2-3.
• The Shockers are 6-8 all time vs. Baylor, 0-1 vs. Mississippi State, 9-6 vs. New Mexico and 3-0 vs. Northwestern State.
• Wichita State is 23-25 in season openers and 11-3 under Bredbenner.
• The Shockers have won 11 of their last 12 season openers, including seven in a row.
• Wichita State is scheduled to face eight NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago (Mississippi State, Arkansas, Clemson, Miami (OH), Oklahoma State, Florida Atlantic, South Florida, Oklahoma).
• Wichita State was picked to finish 3rd by the league's coaches in the 2026 American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Florida Atlantic received 8 first place votes and was picked to win the league. South Florida came in 2nd.
• Seven Shockers return in 2026, led by 2025 American Conference Co-Freshman of the Year, Ryley Nihart.
• Wichita State welcomes 14 newcomers into the fold in the way of seven transfers, two junior college transfers and five freshmen.
• A pair of highly decorated McLennan Community College transfers hope to follow in CC Wong's footsteps. Wong, a former Wichita State All-American, spent two seasons at McLennan and was the 2022 Co-National Player of the Year. This season Trinity Allen and Mickayla Tosch bring their talents to Wichita. Allen was the 2025 NJCAA National Player of the Year and two-time All-American. Tosch was also a two-time NJCAA All-American and two-time Rawlings Gold Glove winner.
• Mississippi State head coach Samantha Ricketts was an assistant coach at Wichita State from 2012-14, helping the Shockers capture the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference regular season title.

SCOUTING BAYLOR
Baylor enters the 2026 campaign after going 27-27 last season, and 11-13 in the Big 12. Head coach Glenn Moore enters his 26th season leading the Bears with more than 1,000 career wins to his name. The Bears bring back 12 letterwinners, including six starters. The Bears return a strong group of veterans headlined by Brooklyn Carter who started 53 of 54 games a season ago, hitting .313 with 22 stolen bases in 25 attempts. Amber Toven is set to anchor the infield two years removed from a season inding injury that cost the Arizona transfer a majority of the 2024 campaign.

SERIES HISTORY
The Wichita State-Baylor series dates back to the first meeting in 1980 that Baylor won in dominant fashion, 10-0. Wichita State bounced back to win the next three meetings, two of those coming more than 16 years later. Eight of the 14 all time meetings have come on a neutral field. The Shockers are just 1-5 all time against the Bears in Waco. Baylor enters the matchup on a three-game win streak over Wichita State.

LAST MEETING VS. THE BEARS
It's been 11 years since Wichita State last faced Baylor, coincidentally it was at the 2015 Getterman Classic in Waco. The Bears came out on top, 7-4. Baylor built a 3-0 lead after 2.0 innings, but Wichita State answered with a 4-run third inning. Wichita State's lead would not survive the next half inning, as the Bears tied it on an RBI single. A three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth would be the final runs for either team the rest of the way.

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
Mississippi State enters the 2026 campaign ranked in the Top 25 in all four major polls, as high as No. 21 by Softball America. The Bulldogs are coming off a 39-19 season in 2025 that included an NCAA Regional appearance. Mississippi State was eliminated in the Lubbock Regional Final by the eventual National Runner-Up Red Raiders. Head Coach Samantha Ricketts begins her seventh season at the helm with 198 career victories to her name. The former Shocker assistant coach brings back 13 letterwinners, including Nadia Barbary. Barbary is the top returning bat in the lineup after hitting .353 with 11 home runs, 13 doubles and 46 RBIs in 2025. Two of the top three home run hitters are back in Starkville along with Kiarra Sells. Sells tied with Barbary and Sierra Sacco with 11 homers last season. In the circle, Delainey Everett is the top returning arm for the Bulldogs. Everett was second on the team in innings last season at 74.1. She was 10-2 in 25 appearances with 49 strikeouts and just 15 walks. Her 2.92 ERA was best on the team.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be just the second all time meeting between the Bulldogs and Shockers. Mississippi State won the previous matchup in 2013, 4-0 at the Blues City Classic in Southaven, Miss.

LAST MEETING VS. THE BULLDOGS
Mississippi State pitcher Alison Owen struck out 15 Shockers and allowed just two hits in the 4-0 complete game shutout. The only Shocker to record a hit was Brittany Fortner on a pair of doubles.

SCOUTING NEW MEXICO
Nicole Orgeron enters her fourth season as the head coach of the Lobos. Orgeron oversees the pitchers and catchers, areas the Lobos have made significant strides under her leadership. This past season, the Lobo pitching staff finished with a 3.99 ERA, the lowest since 2005 with eight shutouts, the most since 2004. UNM's staff allowed 385 hits, the fewest since 2011 and 235 runs, the fewest since 2008. The 271 strikeouts were the fifth most in a single season in program history. The Lobos bring back their second leading hitter in Allie Williams. Williams hit .339 with 13 doubles and 24 RBIs, while starting all 52 games.

SERIES HISTORY
Wichita State and New Mexico have faced each other 15 times prior to this weekend, with the Shockers owning a 9-6 record vs. the Lobos. Fourteen of the 15 meetings have come on a neutral field, and all 15 have been competitive. The largest margin of victory is just six runs, coming in a 6-0 shutout by New Mexico in 1998.

LAST MEETING VS. THE LOBOS
The two programs haven't met since 2008 when the Shockers downed the Lobos, 8-6, in New Mexico's home tournament. Wichita State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, only to see New Mexico fight back to take a 6-4 lead on a second inning grand slam. A Cynthia Verhulst three-run home run put Wichita State up for good in the fourth inning.

SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN STATE
Year 2 under head coach Jenny Fuller is set to begin in Natchitoches. The former Pittsburg State head coach looks to improve on a first year that saw the Lady Demons go 7-43. One of those seven wins came against No. 20 Mississippi State in Starkville. In three seasons at Pitt State, Fuller went 105-55, including a 53-8 season in 2024. Her first season was one of growth, both for her and her players, as she guided the youngest team in the country with 17 of the 18 players on the team classified as freshmen or sophomores. The first signature win of Fuller's tenure at NSU was made possible by the performance of one of the 12 freshmen on the team, pitcher Brooklynn Stohler, who threw her first career shutout in the win. Stohler went on to throw 155.0 innings in her first season, the sixth most by a freshman in NSU history and just the fifth pitcher in the past 10 seasons to toss more than 150.0 innings in a season.

SERIES HISTORY
Wichita State is 3-0 all time vs. the Lady Demons with two of those coming in 2023. All three meetings have come on a neutral field.

LAST MEETING VS. THE LADY DEMONS
Wichita State swept its way through the 2023 North Texas Invitational, which included a pair of wins over Northwestern State. The Shockers won the two games by scores of 7-1 and 5-2. In the opener, Addison Barnard belted a three-run home run to put the game away in the fourth inning. Lauren Howell tossed a complete game, allowing just one run on four hits and seven strikeouts. The next day Wichita State used home runs from Zoe Jones and Lainee Brown and a dominant outing out of the bullpen by Alex Aguilar to complete the sweep.

TOUGH SLEDDING
Wichita State has never shied away from playing a tough schedule, and that is no different in 2026. The Shockers are scheduled to play six teams ranked or receiving votes in the Preseason NFCA Top 25: No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 9 Arkansas, No. 13 Clemson, No. 22 Mississippi State and No. 24 Oklahoma State. Florida Atlantic received votes.

COLLECTING THE ACCOLADES
The Shockers had a First-Team All-Conference honoree for the 12th consecutive season in 2025. Lauren Lucas earned First Team All-Conference honors this season. The streak began in 2013 with Erin Carney.

SOMETHING TO CHEW ON
Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner started a new tradition in 2021 to reward players who hit home runs. Instead of a normal high-five for her players as they round the bases, Bredbenner began tossing a piece of Hi-Chew candy to her home run hitters. Former Shocker Madyson Espinosa should be credited for introducing the chewy candy to Coach B at the first tournament of the season down in Conroe, Texas, and thus a new tradition was born. The tradition enters season No. 5 in 2025, so be on the lookout for flying candy.

THE BRED-WINNER
Kristi Bredbenner is the longest tenured head coach in Wichita State softball history, which has resulted in 421 wins in 15 seasons. Bredbenner has the second-highest winning percentage in school history (.574) behind current Florida softball coach Tim Walton. She is Wichita State's all-time wins leader after surpassing Jim Maynard on April 24, 2022.