#11 Kansas (33-11, 17-4 Big 12) at Wichita State (26-19, 10-8 American)

Tuesday, April 28 | 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 Mathis Nayral (4-2, 5.48) vs. LHP Dax Sharp (0-2, 3.42 ERA)

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SCENE SETTER: After picking up a crucial series win against Rice, Wichita State welcomes the red-hot Kansas Jayhawks to Eck Stadium for the final midweek game of the 2026 season on Tuesday night. It will be the second meeting with Kansas in the last two weeks; the now-#11-ranked Jayhawks claimed the first meeting in Lawrence, 5-2 on April 14. By taking two of three games against Rice, WSU maintained sole possession of a pivotal top-four spot in the American Conference standings. 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 game against Kansas. The game 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 Jayhawks have met 91 times, with Wichita State holding a 52-39 lead in the all-time series. Kansas has won three straight in the series, all in Lawrence, including a 5-2 decision two weeks ago on April 14. Jayhawk relievers combined for seven scoreless innings in the victory. The Shockers won the most recent meeting in Wichita, a 7-6 thriller on April 3, 2024, in which Mauricio Millan hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the ninth. From 2013-2016, Kansas won seven consecutive games in the series while Wichita State put together a six-game winning streak from 2017-2022.

SCOUTING KANSAS: The Jayhawks bring a 33-11 mark into play on Tuesday, including a 17-4 record in Big 12 play that is good for the top spot in the conference standings. 17 of their 33 wins have come on the road, tied for the most in the nation. Kansas jumped to #11 in the D1Baseball Top 25 poll after a midweek win over #20 Nebraska and a three-game road sweep of the Sunflower Showdown against in-state rival Kansas State. With that 4-0 week, the Jayhawks have now won 17 of their last 18 games. Sophomore outfielder Tyson Owens earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors after racking up 10 hits, including three homers, to power the Kansas offense. Head coach Dan Fitzgerald is in his fourth season with the Jayhawks, posting an overall record of 132-83 (.614).

KING HENRY: Wichita State welcomed back Zeb Henry into the starting lineup against Rice after missing 26 games due to injury. The Shockers opening day second base announced his return with a 5-for-10 series, highlighted by a career-best three hits on Sunday. In a statistical oddity, Henry now has exactly the same batting average (.241, 7-for-29) as at the end of his 2025 season.

IN THE ZONE: Shocker pitchers combined to issue just five walks in the three-game series against Rice, matching WSU's lowest total in any three-game stretch this season (first three games of the West Georgia series, 3/6 and 3/7 doubleheader). The bullpen nearly avoided free passes entirely, handing out one total walk in 11.1 combined innings of work.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE: After mustering just one extra-base hit over the five games leading into the Rice series, Wichita State's offense finally broke out against the Owls. The Shockers combined for 12 extra-base hits in the three games (six doubles, six home runs). It is the most extra-base hits WSU has produced in any conference series this season.

TWO-OUT MAGIC: The Shockers have done much of their damage offensively this season with two outs. WSU has produced a staggering 120 two-out RBI, 38 more than their opponents. Alex Ulloa and Owen Washburn are the top two-out producers, with 20 and 19 RBI in those situations, respectively. The Shockers racked up a season-high 10 of those two-out RBI on 4/19 at East Carolina.

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 18-for-40 (.450) highlighted by a two-homer game against UAB on April 12.

ERROR MESSAGE: Wichita State's .964 team fielding percentage is the lowest in the American Conference and the Shockers have struggled defensively in the month of April. WSU has committed 18 errors over the last 11 games, with only two errorless contests (April 19 at East Carolina, April 25 vs. Rice) during the stretch.

HANG THE BUNTING: Wichita State catcher Ethan Gonzalez set a new single-game program record with three sacrifice bunts on 4/19 in the 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 35 team sacrifice bunts are already tied for fifth-most in program history.

INJURY UPDATES: Wichita State announced on 4/14 that catcher Max Kaufer and reliever Ryan Morrison are both out for the season due to injury. Kaufer led 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.

OFF THE BENCH: Head coach Brian Green has had remarkable success in 2026 when calling upon pinch hitters. The Shockers are 21-for-67 (.313) in pinch-hit situations, compared to a 8-for-52 (.154) 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 10-8 start to American Conference play, as the Wichita native has had a hand in all nine of the 10 WSU victories. In those nine wins, in which he has earned four saves, Pacha combined for 19.2 innings and allowed just three earned runs on 14 hits, racking up 19 strikeouts with just one walk. Pacha went 94 consecutive batters without issuing a walk from March 13 against Butler to April 24 against Rice.

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 two starts of six or more innings: Johnny Nuanez's 6.2 innings at UAB on April 12 and 7.1 innings from Matthew Cuccias on April 24 vs. Rice. The start from Cuccias was the longest by any WSU hurler this season.

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.