Wichita State (21-13, 5-4 American) at UAB (22-11, 7-2 American)

Friday, April 10 | 5:00 pm CT | Birmingham, Alabama (Young Memorial Field)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
RHP Matthew Cuccias (3-1, 3.22) vs. RHP Mason Steele (4-2, 3.72 ERA)

Saturday, April 11 | 2:00 pm CT | Birmingham, Alabama (Young Memorial Field)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. TBA

Sunday, April 12 | 1:00 pm CT | Birmingham, Alabama (Young Memorial Field)
TV: ESPN+ | Radio: KFH 97.5 FM/1240 AM
TBA vs. TBA

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SCENE SETTER: Wichita State opens their longest road swing of the 2026 season this week, traveling to Birmingham, Alabama for a three-game series against American Conference leaders UAB. The series begins on Friday with a 5:00 pm CT first pitch, followed by 2:00 pm on Saturday and 1:00 pm on Sunday. The Shockers will play eight straight games away from the friendly confines of Eck Stadium after opening the season with 21 of the first 26 games at home. Last time out, WSU dropped a 10-6 decision to Kansas State on Tuesday night, falling into a quick 5-0 hole after three innings that proved too much to overcome. Wichita State's 21-13 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 all three games of the series against the Blazers. The series will also be streamed on ESPN+ ($). Live audio, in addition to live statistics, is available at GoShockers.com. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Shockers and Blazers have a limited history, with just seven previous meetings. Wichita State leads the brief all-time series, 5-2. WSU won two of three games last season in Wichita, opening the series with 11-1 and 6-2 wins before UAB rallied for an 11-9 victory in the series finale. In 2024, the Shockers also won two of three in Birmingham, dropping the first meeting, 5-3, before earning 9-2 and 9-1 wins. The two teams later faced off in the opening round of the American Championship; a great start from Caden Favors (6.1 IP, 1 R, 7 K) and homers from Josh Livingston and Seth Stroh powered the Shockers to an 8-2 win.

SCOUTING UAB: The Blazers bring a 22-11 record into Friday's series opener, including a 7-2 record in American Conference play that is good for the top spot in the league standings. The Blazers were picked last in the American preseason poll following a 24-30 (8-19) season a year ago. UAB is coming off a 5-3 midweek loss on the road at Mississippi State on Tuesday night, a defeat that snapped a nine-game winning streak which included sweeps of Tulane and Florida Atlantic. The Blazers lead the conference with 51 home runs, led by an American-best 13 from sophomore John Paul Head. JUCO transfer and Friday night starter Mason Steele headlines the pitching staff, working on a string of five consecutive starts of at least 6.0 innings. Head coach Casey Dunn is in his fifth season with the Blazers after 17 years as head coach at Samford; all told, Dunn owns a combined record of 450-422 in 22 total seasons.

GONE STREAKING: Third baseman Jayson Jones brings a 25-game hitting streak into Friday's game dating back to a hitless series opener against Omaha on February 26. It is 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 has recorded 15 multi-hit games during his current 25-game streak.

PACHA PAYOFF: The Shockers can thank righty Brady Pacha for their 5-4 start to American Conference play, as the Wichita native has had a big hand in all five WSU victories. In those five wins, in which he has earned three saves, Pacha combined for 11.0 innings and allowed just one earned run on six hits, racking up 12 strikeouts without a walk. Pacha has walked just one of the last 77 batters faced dating back to February 28.

BIG DEBUT: With injuries to catchers Max Kaufer and Finn Kaiyala, the Shockers are down to just two healthy backstops on the roster in Ethan Gonzalez and Dominic Archila. Archila earned his first career start on March 31 against Washburn and delivered a breakout performance, going 3-for-5 with five RBI in the victory. Archila had just one previous at-bat before the Washburn game.

RAZOR SHARP: Wichita State's bullpen has gotten a major boost from left-hander Dax Sharp, a grad transfer from D2 Central Oklahoma. The southpaw spun three scoreless innings on Saturday against Tulane, his third three-inning relief stint this season, dropping his ERA to 2.87 in 15.2 innings. Sharp has not allowed more than one run in any of his eight outings and has only walked a batter in one of them.

OFF THE BENCH: Head coach Brian Green has had remarkable success in 2026 when calling upon pinch hitters. The Shockers are 17-for-49 (.347) 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 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.

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 13 times in the last 22 games, and all three starters were unable to complete five innings in the most recent series against Tulane.

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 and Fort Scott CC transfer is hitting .298 with a .476 on-base percentage, thanks in large part to 15 walks (second on the team) in just 67 plate appearances.

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 40 home runs through the season's first 33 games, Wichita State has shown an increased willingness to sacrifice bunt. The Shockers rank 27th nationally and second in the American Conference with 22 sacrifices already this season, led by a conference-best five from Alex Ulloa.

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 2,383 wins, 1,326 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.