Rice (24-17, 7-8 American) at Wichita State (24-18, 8-7 American)

Friday, April 24 | 6:05 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Matthew Cuccias (3-1, 3.54) vs. RHP Tanner Wiggins (2-1, 3.24 ERA)

Saturday, April 25 | 2:05 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. TBA

Sunday, April 26 | 12:05 pm CT | Wichita, Kansas (Eck Stadium, Home of Tyler Field at Gene Stephenson Park)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. TBA

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SCENE SETTER: Following an eight-game road swing against four teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI, Wichita State returns to Eck Stadium for a crucial three-game series against Rice beginning Friday in Wichita. The American Conference standings have become increasingly muddled over the last two weeks, with a four-way tie for fifth place at 7-8 and just two games separating third place from eighth. The Shockers are currently alone in fourth place at 8-7; under the new conference tournament format, the top two seeds receive a double bye and seeds three and four receive a single bye.

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 against the Owls. The series will also be streamed on ESPN+ ($), with Shocker Hall of Famer Shane Dennis on play-by-play and former Shocker outfielder Corrigan Bartlett providing color commentary. Live audio, in addition to live statistics, is available at GoShockers.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Owls have a limited series history, with just 11 total meetings between the two programs. Three of the games occurred in NCAA postseason play. Wichita State swept the first conference series between the two clubs in 2024, but Rice won two of three games last season in Houston. Prior to 2024, the only regular season meeting between the two came in 1986, as the Shockers swept a two-game series in Houston by scores of 8-7 and 4-1. In 1996, the Shockers routed Rice 16-6 in Wichita to claim the Midwest Regional crown and advance to the College World Series. The Owls got their revenge in 2003, downing the Shockers 10-1 and 5-2 in the Houston Regional championship game. Rice went on to win the College World Series that season.

SCOUTING RICE: The Owls bring a 24-18 record to Wichita, including a 7-8 mark in American Conference play. Rice was swept over the weekend by Memphis and suffered a 4-3 loss at Tuesday to crosstown rival Houston. The Owls lean heavily on a talented pitching staff that ranks top-50 nationally with a 4.50 ERA and top-100 nationally with a 1.44 WHIP. The Rice offense has struggled to a cumulative slash line of .248/.350/.377. JC Davis leads the club with a .328 batting average, while Paul Smith's nine homers represent the only Owl with more than five long balls. Tennessee transfer Tanner Wiggins will start on Friday, working to a 3.24 ERA with just 10 walks in 50 innings. Former Sam Houston, Tulane and Texas head coach David Pierce is in his first full season with the Owls after joining the program after 18 games in 2025.

TWO-OUT MAGIC: The Shockers have done much of their damage offensively this season with two outs. WSU has produced a staggering 115 two-out RBI, 36 more than their opponents. Alex Ulloa and Owen Washburn are the top two-out producers, with 20 and 19 RBI in those situations, respectively. 10 of those two-out RBI came in Sunday's series finale at East Carolina.

LEFTY PARADE: Wichita State used six pitchers on Tuesday night at Oklahoma State, five of which were left-handers (Dax Sharp, Heitaro Hayashi, Brady Owens, Reese Kortum, Ethan Rogers). It's just the second time this season the Shockers have deployed five southpaws in a contest, matching their total from March 31 against Washburn.

GOING, GOING, GANTER: First baseman Nolan Ganter had just five total hits in the month of March as Jack Quick earned the majority of the starts at first base. April has been a different story, however, as Ganter has gone 16-for-32 (.500) highlighted by a two-homer game against UAB on April 12. In the East Carolina series, Ganter finished 8-for-14 with games of three, two, and three hits.

ERROR MESSAGE: Wichita State's .963 team fielding percentage is the lowest in the American Conference and the Shockers have struggled defensively over the last two weeks. WSU has committed 14 errors over the last eight games, with only one errorless contest (April 19 at East Carolina) during the stretch.

HANG THE BUNTING: Wichita State catcher Ethan Gonzalez set a new single-game program record with three sacrifice bunts in Sunday's win over East Carolina. The junior laid down a sacrifice bunt in five consecutive games and now leads the American Conference with nine sacrifices on the season. The individual program record is 11, set by Andrew Stewart in 2022. Wichita State's 33 team sacrifice bunts are already tied for sixth most in program history.

INJURY UPDATES: Wichita State announced last Tuesday that catcher Max Kaufer and reliever Ryan Morrison are both out for the season due to injury. Kaufer was leading the nation with a 1.747 OPS and 11 home runs in 50 at-bats, while Morrison had posted a 3.65 ERA in 12.1 innings out of the bullpen.

POWER OUTAGE: Wichita State has produced just one extra-base hit over the last five games, dating back to a midweek defeat at Kansas on April 14. During that stretch, WSU has totaled 39 hits, 38 of which are singles. The only exception during the stretch came with two outs in the sixth inning of Sunday's series finale at East Carolina on a two-run double from Jaden Gustafson. WSU opponents have 15 extra-base hits during the same time frame, including eight homers.

OFF THE BENCH: Head coach Brian Green has had remarkable success in 2026 when calling upon pinch hitters. The Shockers are 21-for-62 (.339) in pinch-hit situations, compared to a 8-for-48 (.167) mark from opponents. 10 different Shockers have recorded a hit off the bench this season for the Shockers.

PACHA PAYOFF: The Shockers can thank righty Brady Pacha for their 8-7 start to American Conference play, as the Wichita native has had a big hand in all eight WSU victories. In those eight wins, in which he has earned four saves, Pacha combined for 17.0 innings and allowed just three earned runs on 12 hits, racking up 18 strikeouts without a walk. Pacha has gone 89 consecutive batters without issuing a walk dating back to the end of his outing on March 13 against Butler.

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. Since the start of conference play, Wichita State has had just one start of six or more innings: Johnny Nuanez's 6.2 innings at UAB on April 12. This past weekend at East Carolina, none of WSU's three starters recorded an out in the fifth inning.

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. 

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.

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 2,386 wins, 1,331 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.