Wichita State (17-9, 2-1 American) at Memphis (7-16, 1-2 American)

Friday, March 27 | 6:05 pm CT | Memphis, Tennessee (FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Matthew Cuccias (2-0, 3.08) vs. RHP Will Howell (2-3, 5.67)

Saturday, March 28 | 2:05 pm CT | Memphis, Tennessee (FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Brady Hamilton (3-3, 4.68) vs. LHP David Case (1-5, 8.10)

Sunday, March 29 | 1:05 pm CT | Memphis, Tennessee (FedExPark Avron Fogelman Field)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. TBA

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State hits the road for the first road series of American Conference play, opening up a three-game series at Memphis on March 27. The Shockers have played just one previous road series, a four-game set at Hawaii on February 19-22, and only one other road midweek game at Kansas State on March 10. WSU is coming off a series win against Charlotte to open conference play this past weekend, sandwiching 8-3 and 7-2 wins around a 19-6 defeat on Saturday. Wichita State is 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. The Voice of the Shockers Mike Kennedy will handle play-by-play duties for the series in Memphis, with Denning Gerig joining the broadcast as color commentator. All three games of the series will be streamed on ESPN+ ($). Live audio, in addition to live statistics, is available at GoShockers.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Tigers have met 23 times in the all-time series history, with every game taking place after Wichita State joined the American Athletic Conference in 2017. The Shockers hold a 16-7 lead in the series, winning all seven regular season series. Memphis won the only meeting in the conference tournament in 2023. Last season, Wichita State earned their first sweep against the Tigers in program history, winning three straight to end the regular season in a result that simultaneously clinched a conference tournament spot for WSU and eliminated Memphis from postseason contention. The Shockers have won two of three games in Memphis in 2018, 2022 and 2024.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS: The Tigers bring a 7-16 record in play on Friday after snagging a home midweek win against nationally ranked Ole Miss on Tuesday night. Memphis dropped two of three games in their conference opener at Tulane and have just one weekend series victory, opening the year by winning two of three at home against Toledo. A speedy Memphis lineup averages more than two stolen bases per game and leads the conference with 41 total swipes, led by 16 from Freddy Rodriguez. The pitching staff has struggled to an 8.44 ERA, allowing more than 11 hits per nine innings. Head coach Matt Riser is in his third season with the Tigers after 10 years at Southeastern Louisiana, combining for a 372-305 (.549) record.

SEARCHING FOR A SWEEP: Wichita State is looking for the program's first sweep of a three-game road series since February 16-18, 2018 at McNeese, when the Shockers won three straight to open the season. WSU has not swept a conference road series since joining the American Conference in 2018. Twice Wichita State has won the first two games but been unable to close out the series finale: at Cincinnati in 2023 (9-8 loss) and at Memphis in 2024 (11-10 loss).

GONE STREAKING: Third baseman Jayson Jones brings a 17-game hitting streak into Friday's series opener. Designated hitter Owen Washburn already put together a 14-game streak from 2/22 to 3/14, giving the Shockers two hitters with a longer streak than any Wichita State player had in 2025 (Cole Dillon - 13 games).

SHORT STARTS: The Shockers have leaned more heavily upon their bullpen in recent weeks as WSU starters have struggled to work deep into games on a consistent basis. A Shocker starter has failed to record more than 10 outs eight times in the last 14 games; junior Brady Hamilton has been the workhorse of the weekend rotation with five consecutive starts of five or more innings.

SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY: Second base has been a position in flux this season for Wichita State, with five different players earning at least one start there (Zeb Henry, Owen Rush, Drew Bugner, Evan Escobar, Nico Rodriguez). Rush has stepped into the void and given the Shockers some offensive punch in addition to strong defensive work; the Wichita native is hitting .429 over the last 10 games, including nine starts. He delivered a season-high three hits in the series-opening win against Charlotte on March 20.

OFF THE BENCH: Head coach Brian Green has had remarkable success in 2026 when calling upon pinch hitters. The Shockers are 14-for-43 (.326) in pinch-hit situations, compared to a 5-for-37 (.135) mark from opponents. Wichita State also has a pair of pinch-hit home runs, one from Max Kaufer and the other from Jacob Gutierrez. Last season, Wichita State had just 12 pinch hits at a .245 average.

30-PIECE: The Shockers scored 30 runs in the first game of last Saturday's doubleheader against Butler, the 6th-highest output in a single game in program history. The 30-1 win was tied for the largest margin of victory against a D1 opponent, matching a 31-2 win over Howard in 2002. The offensive explosion was highlighted by a 13-run bottom of the sixth, the largest single-inning total since April 6, 2011 against Alcorn State (14 runs). WSU recorded 10 hits in the inning, all singles.

ONE-UPPING THEMSELVES: The 30-run explosion came two days after the Shockers scored 27 runs in the series opener against Butler, a game where Wichita State scored in every inning for the first time since April 11, 1999 against Illinois State. Entering 2026, the Shockers had not scored more than 20 runs in a game since 2015 but accomplished the feat three times in the first 20 games of 2026.

BIG INNING(S): After going more than a decade without scoring double-digit runs in an inning, Wichita State did so five times in the first 20 games of 2026. The Shockers scored 10 in the 5th inning against Northern Colorado on February 15, 11 in the third against Hawaii on February 22, 11 in the sixth against West Georgia on March 6, 11 in the third against Butler on March 12 and 13 against Butler in the sixth on March 14. 

SMALL BALL: Despite slugging 34 home runs through the season's first 26 games, Wichita State has shown an increased willingness to sacrifice bunt. The Shockers rank 22nd nationally and tops in the American Conference with 17 sacrifices already this season.

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.

TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE: With a program record of 2,379 wins, 1,321 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.