Softball | 5/7/2026 9:45:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Addison Barnard hit four home runs in her first nine at-bats as a Shocker. Sydney McKinney singled in her first at-bat, went 2-for-3 the next game and moved into the lead-off spot.
 
Barnard kept blasting home runs all freshman season on her way to 22 in 2021. McKinney hit .262 in her first 21 games before heating up on her way to hitting .329 in 2019.
 
Kinzey Woody's path is more McKinney than Barnard, although it is looking more Barnard-like with each swing. Woody's evolution from newcomer to unprecedented debut season started with a miserable game played 45 minutes from her hometown of Westphalia, Missouri early this season.
 
What followed created one of the nation's best freshmen seasons.
 
"Kinzey is a fighter, a competitor," Wichita State coach Kristi Bredbenner said. "She got that freshman-itis out in February and she's really settled in."
 
No matter the timetable or the similarities to past Shocker freshmen softball stars, Woody's season is as memorable as any in the program's history.
 
Woody, a third baseman, earned American Conference Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year honors on Tuesday. She is the first conference softball athlete to win both in the same season.
 
As second-seeded Wichita State (35-16) prepares for Friday's American Conference Championship semifinal game, she is hitting .364 with 14 home runs, 11 doubles and 50 RBI. In 27 conference games – the performances that matter in all-conference voting by coaches – she led the American in batting average (.476), slugging percentage (1.000), on-base percentage (.587), hits (39) and RBI (36). She hit 12 homers in conference play, second behind teammate Ausha Moore's 14.
 
Sparkling defense is also part of her resume.
 
 

M3 | MEM 1, WSU 8

lol Woody.

For those counting at home that's our 3rd DP of the series and 27th of the season, just two shy of the single season record.@WoodyKinzey | @trinitygallen pic.twitter.com/F26JUDmYQc

— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) May 2, 2026

"She's awesome," Moore said. "She's having not only a freshman of the year-type year, but a player of the year-type year. That's a huge deal. She's just such a high-level hitter and goes hard at what she does."
 
Like McKinney, a shortstop now playing professionally, Woody had to endure ups and downs before locking in a star turn. On Feb. 27, she struck out three times in a 12-4 loss at Missouri to drop her batting average to .227. She didn't play the next three games.
 
"Being kind of a hometown kid, I had a lot of people there," she said. "I wanted to prove myself. Looking back, I didn't need to do that. I let it get to me too much."
 
She didn't play again until a 14-5 win at ECU on March 6 in which she went 0-for-4 but drove in two runs. She singled in the next three games – one a win at Oklahoma State – before all the coaching, listening, working, talent and swagger popped.
 
"I sat three games in a row," she said. "A lot of self-reflection. I was like 'This isn't me. That's not who I am.' Going into conference play I wanted to step up when my team needs me. Whenever Coach B needs me, I'm not going to let it slide this time."
 
On March 13, she went 3 for 3 with a home run and a double at UAB. She finished the series 5 for 9 with two home runs and five driven in to help WSU sweep. Her batting average rose to .277. She went 8 for 10 in a series vs. FAU with two home runs to raise her average to .317.
 
"Sometimes you have to have a little humble pie before you're really able to understand what it takes to be a great hitter," Bredbenner said. "She's a great hitter. She was just trying too hard and getting herself out. Her moment was Mizzou and since that weekend, she's been outstanding."
 
The numbers piled up and the Shockers won.
 
They won eight in a row to get back in the conference race. They won 14 conference games in a row – going 15-1 overall – to tie USF for the regular-season title. Opponents walked Moore – who hit 22 home runs – to pitch to Woody. Woody made that strategy look bad – she has three grand slams, 13 games with multiple RBI and takes a 17-game on-base streak into Friday.
 
Woody's hitting improved when she let her smooth swing, understanding of the strike zone and natural power take over. She stopped trying to crush every pitch. She struck out 12 times in her first 15 games and recorded an on-base percentage of .370. In the 33 games since, she has eight strikeouts and her on-base percentage rose to .489.
 
"She's not getting herself out," associate head coach Elizabeth Economon said. "Pitchers really rely on that. She's consistently attacking pitches in the zone and not expanding."
 
In Bredbenner's words, Woody didn't need to win the game with every swing. She needed a competitive swing for the situation, and her ability would prevail.
 
"Home runs are nice, but they're not everything," Woody said. "As a power hitter, you obviously want to hit one over the fence. Sometimes you just need a base hit to get a rally going."
 
There is a lot of quick-twitch movement, power and hand-eye coordination fueling Woody's unprecedented success. Teammates noticed something else early in her freshman year.
 
"She really has a great aura and confidence about her," right fielder Johnna Schroeder said. "Even myself, being someone who is older, can take some notes from her in terms of getting in the box and the pitcher is fearful of you."
 
Pitchers had good reason to fear Barnard, an outfielder who won conference Rookie of the Year in 2021 and Player of the Year in 2022 with a combination of power and speed. McKinney, Player of the Year in 2021 and 2023, led the nation in batting average twice.
 
Woody started to strike that same fear in pitchers when she learned how to do what was needed by not trying to do too much.
 
 

T4 | WSU 5, UNT 1

Woody is so locked in right now it's not even funny. She's now a triple away from the cycle after this RBI double.

3-3, 2B, HR, 4 RBI | @WoodyKinzey pic.twitter.com/63TFOiqtSw

— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) April 25, 2026

 
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
 
Season tickets are on sale now, and season ticket renewals are available as well. To purchase, visit GoShockers.com/Tickets, dial 316-978-FANS (3267) or stop by the Shocker Ticket Office, located inside Charles Koch Arena, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.