Wichita State (23-14, 7-5 American) at #18 Kansas (26-10, 12-3 Big 12)

Tuesday, April 14 | 6:05 pm CT | Lawrence, Kansas (Hoglund Ballpark)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
LHP Reese Kortum (3-1, 6.23) vs. RHP Kannon Carr (2-1, 3.10 ERA)

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SCENE SETTER: On the heels of a series win at conference-leading UAB, Wichita State continues their longest road swing of the 2026 season with a trip to Lawrence on Tuesday for a midweek game against #18 Kansas. It is the first ranked opponent that Wichita State will face in 2026. The Shockers are in the midst of eight straight games away from the friendly confines of Eck Stadium after opening the season with 21 of the first 26 games at home. All eight of the road games are against teams in the top 50 of the RPI. Wichita State's 23-14 record is the fastest a Shocker team has reached the 20-win mark since the 2018 club began the year 20-6.

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 game in Lawrence, 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 Jayhawks have met 90 times, with Wichita State holding a 52-38 lead in the all-time series. Kansas won the only meeting in 2026, a wild 18-12 game in Lawrence on April 15 that featured 29 combined hits and 18 total pitchers. Wichita State set a new program record with eight hit by pitches, drew six walks and racked up 16 hits, but stranded 18 baserunners to match a program record. From 2013-2016, Kansas won seven consecutive games in the series and Wichita State put together a six-game winning streak from 2017-2022.

SCOUTING KANSAS: The Jayhawks enter Tuesday as one of the hottest teams in the country, winners of 10 games in a row and 16 of their last 18 to bring the overall record to 26-10 and 12-3 in Big 12 play. Kansas swept #12 UCF at home over the weekend, including a doubleheader sweep on Saturday. A patient and powerful lineup is 15th nationally with 211 walks and 26th nationally with 56 home runs. While not a prolific base stealing team, the Jayhawks have been thrown out attempting to steal just once this season (32-for-33). The pitching staff has totaled a 5.47 ERA, with Boede Rahe (5-1, 3 saves, 3.54 ERA) leading the way. Head coach Dan Fitzgerald is in his fourth season with the Jayhawks bringing a 125-82 record (.604) into play on Tuesday.

GOING, GOING, GANTER: Wichita State received a power boost from an unlikely source in Sunday's win over UAB, as first baseman Nolan Ganter connected for his first two home runs of the season. Ganter entered the day with just three extra-base hits for the year (all doubles) but launched a pair of two-run shots on his way to a season-high four RBI.

A LITTLE BIT EXTRA: Wichita State's 5-4 win in 10 innings on Saturday at UAB marked the first extra-inning win of 2026 for the Shockers, who also did not have an extra-inning win in 2025. Prior to Saturday, nine run-rule-shortened games meant that Wichita State had played 16 fewer innings than originally scheduled.

MIDWEEK STRUGGLES: The Shockers are hunting their first road midweek win against a power conference opponent under Brian Green. Wichita State is 1-4 in midweeks this season, with the one win coming against D2 foe Washburn and two losses apiece to Nebraska and Kansas State. Last season, WSU went just 2-9 in midweek games, one of which was a win over D2 Newman. Tuesday also represents an opportunity for Wichita State's first ranked win since the American Conference tournament in 2024, when the Shockers defeated #9 East Carolina.

OFF THE BENCH: Head coach Brian Green has had remarkable success in 2026 when calling upon pinch hitters. The Shockers are 20-for-52 (.385) in pinch-hit situations, compared to a 7-for-44 (.159) mark from opponents. Nine different Shockers have recorded a hit off the bench this season for the Shockers. Wichita State went 3-for-3 pinch hitting in the UAB series, most notably a two-run single from Josh Wulfert on Sunday as part of their late inning rally.

PACHA PAYOFF: The Shockers can thank righty Brady Pacha for their 7-5 start to American Conference play, as the Wichita native has had a big hand in all seven WSU victories. In those seven wins, in which he has earned four saves, Pacha combined for 15.0 innings and allowed just two earned runs on 10 hits, racking up 17 strikeouts without a walk. Pacha has walked just one of the last 92 batters faced dating back to February 28.

RAZOR SHARP: Wichita State's pitching staff has gotten a major boost from left-hander Dax Sharp, a grad transfer from D2 Central Oklahoma. The southpaw spun three scoreless innings on Sunday against UAB in his first weekend start of the season, dropping his ERA to 2.41 in 18.2 innings. Sharp has not allowed more than one run in any of his nine outings and has only walked a batter in two of them.

GONE STREAKING: Third baseman Jayson Jones saw his 25-game hitting streak snapped on Friday at UAB. It was the seventh-longest hitting streak in program history and the longest since Loren Hibbs hit in 26 straight during Wichita State's 1989 National Championship season. The program record is 47 games, set by Phil Stephenson in 1981. Jones recorded 15 multi-hit games during the streak.

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 14 times in the last 25 games; WSU did get a huge boost on Sunday from right-hander Johnny Nuanez, who fired 6.2 innings for the second-longest outing of the season for a Shocker starter.

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 44 home runs through the season's first 36 games, Wichita State has shown an increased willingness to sacrifice bunt. The Shockers rank 19th nationally and tops in the American Conference with 27 sacrifices already this season; four Wichita State players have four or more sac bunts on the year.

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.

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 2,385 wins, 1,327 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.