Softball | 3/20/2026 9:33:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Gabby Scott's pillowy white chair sits in the corner of Courtney Oliver-Elkins' office at Wilkins Stadium. It looks comfortable, the kind of chair a person can sink into and feel cozy.
 
Scott, Wichita State's sophomore catcher, starts most days with her morning rounds, a visit to each coach in the stadium. She needed a chair to talk with Oliver-Elkins, the pitching coach, so she had it delivered.
 
"I'm a relationship person," Scott said. "Coach O got moved into a new office. She didn't really have anything in there, and I was like 'Oh, since I'm going to be here every morning I need to make it my own space. Even though it's their space, I'm going to make it my own space, too."
 
Scott is making herself comfortable on the field, as well, this season. Wichita State (16-10, 4-2 American) meets FAU (20-9, 3-3) in a series starting at 6 tonight (Friday) at Wilkins Stadium.
 
The Shockers are on a five-game win streak (and lead No. 15 Oklahoma State 8-3 in the seventh inning of a game suspended by weather) with Scott providing plenty of power. She is 2 for 4 with a home run in the game against OSU, which will be completed on April 8 before the scheduled game at Wilkins Stadium. In the five other games, Scott is 6 for 14 with two home runs, two walks, six runs and four driven in.
 

She knew, they knew, we ALL knew this one was gone 👋 #FearTheWheat🌾 | 📺 ESPN+ https://t.co/drkj8FNh4X pic.twitter.com/96I6IGThkF

— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) March 14, 2026

She is hitting .403 for the season with four home runs and three doubles, 19 walks and eight strikeouts. As a freshman, she hit .214 in 37 games with one home run.
 
"I feel like we've become a second home for her, and that, to me, has been the difference," coach Kristi Bredbenner said. "She comes from a big family, and I think she trusts us. With that trust has come a desire to work harder and compete and be the best version of herself."
 
The chair in the office and morning rounds show how Scott is invested. Scott said they rarely talk softball. The conversations are mostly about family. The conversations build a bond that stretches from the offices to the playing field.
 
"If I can trust them with 'whatever,' than that means I can trust them in every single aspect of my life," she said. "Me building a relationship with people makes me more comfortable. I thrive off that kind of stuff."
 
Scott, from Angleton, Texas, has five siblings, including former Texas softball star Mia Scott. Bredbenner said she saw signs of more investment during an up-and-down freshman season as she moved into the starting lineup.
 
The transformation from freshman bystander – Bredbenner wasn't sure how much she loved softball - to sophomore who wants to chat about family each morning is obvious.
 
"She's just a different kid," Bredbenner said. "Something clicked in that second semester (in 2025), and you could tell there was a spark. That's spark's gotten brighter."
 
Scott's theme for the year is "produce and provide for her team." As a freshman, she didn't start for the first time in her career. When she pinch-hit, she put pressure on herself to impress coaches.
 
"That wasn't how I knew how to play," she said. "The only way that I know who to play is for myself, and I needed to get back in that. I had a long sit down with myself and had to really find the type of player I wanted to be and the type of player I knew how to be."
 
After 2025, she told herself she had seven months to get ready for 2026 and develop the right mental approach so she can play softball the way she wants.
 
"You're going to get your mind right and you're going to see what you can do," she said. "It's a little bit more than what I expected. I'm enjoying it."
 
At the plate, Bredbenner said Scott hits with a solid plan and shows the patience to wait on the pitch she wants. While Bredbenner sometimes prefers swinging earlier in the count, Scott is making it work and handles two-strike counts. A week ago, she homered on an 0-2 pitch to tie a game against UAB, giving the Shockers the chance to win 6-5. The next day, her home run on a 3-2 pitch put WSU up 6-1 on its way to a 9-1 win. At Oklahoma State, she homered on a 1-2 pitch in the first inning.
 
"I've challenged her to be a better catcher this year," Bredbenner said. "From a throwing perspective, she's doing a much better job. We have to continue to work on her framing and her glove, because I think that's a focus thing."
 
Bredbenner describes 95 percent of a catcher's job as making a pitcher look good. Scott is learning how to talk to pitchers, how to support them and how to get them on track when innings get rough.
 
"That's where it becomes a relationship thing," Scott said. "When they're struggling, it's not my job to add on to that."
 
It is her job to make her pitchers comfortable so they can perform. Many days, that starts in a padded white chair in an office.
 
 

GREAT SCOTT SHE CLEARED THE DECK!@gscott2024 | ESPN+ https://t.co/F7FuxJxWP1 pic.twitter.com/agOlq4YiYX

— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) March 10, 2026

 
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.