The Wichita State Shockers baseball team represents

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

in the sport of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. The Wichita State Shockers compete in Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletics Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

(NCAA) and in the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

after 72 seasons in the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

. The Shockers have made the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

seven times, winning the national championship in 1989. Wichita State has the eighth-highest winning percentage in NCAA Division I baseball history at .655. That percentage currently leads the

History

Early years: 1899–1923

Wichita State, then Fairmount College, played its first college baseball game on April 14, 1899, against Southwestern College. For the first three years, they were coached by

Harry Hess Harry Hess (born July 5, 1968) is a Canadian record producer, singer and guitarist best known as the frontman for the Canadian hard rock band Harem Scarem. Hess has used his recording studio (Vespa Music Group) to work with many famous acts, ...

, who was also the head football coach at the time. Over the next two decades, the program would cycle through a number of coaches, none finding particular success or lasting more than 4 years. Wichita would produce two

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

players during that time in

Claude Hendrix Claude Raymond Hendrix (April 13, 1889 – March 22, 1944) was a professional baseball pitcher who played in the National League for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1911–13) and Chicago Cubs (1916–20) and in the Federal League with the Chicago Whales ...

and Lloyd Bishop. After the 1923 season, the baseball program was shut down.

Second stint: 1948–1970

Having since joined the

, Wichita decided to re-launch their baseball program for the 1948 season. Over the next 23 seasons, Wichita would struggle through a number of coaching changes and middling success, only once finishing at the top of the MVC's West Division. After the 1970 season, the baseball program was again shut down.

Stephenson era: 1978–2013

The modern era of Wichita State baseball began in 1977, when

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...

assistant coach

Gene Stephenson Gene Stephenson (born August 31, 1945) is an American retired college baseball coach, who served as the head baseball coach at Wichita State from 1978 to 2013. Career When he arrived at Wichita State, he inherited a program that had been dormant ...

was hired to run the program beginning with the 1978 season. Stephenson had been recruiting coordinator and hitting instructor for the Sooners under

Enos Semore Enos Semore (born April 28, 1931) is a former college baseball coach. He attended Keota High School and Northeastern State University, where he played baseball and basketball. Semore was the head baseball coach at Bacone College from 1963 to 1967 a ...

and helped lead Oklahoma to five

appearances. In just Stephenson's third season, led by three-time All-American

Joe Carter Joseph Chris Carter (born March 7, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, ...

, Wichita State qualified for the 1980 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, the first tournament appearance in Shocker history. In his fifth season, Stephenson led the Shockers all the way to the

1982 College World Series The 1982 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1982 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series, ...

, where they lost to the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

in the championship game. Ultimately, the Shockers won 73 games in 1982, setting the NCAA record for wins in a single season. In 1988, Stephenson again led Wichita State to the

before being eliminated by the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member o ...

in the semi-finals. In 1989, led by All-Americans

Eric Wedge Eric Michael Wedge (born January 27, 1968) is an American former baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher and manager. As a player, Wedge attended Northrop High School in Fort Wayne and played on the school's state champion baseball team in ...

, Greg Brummett,

Mike Lansing Michael Thomas Lansing (born April 3, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and the Boston Red Sox between 1993 and 2001. During his playing days, he had the nickname “The L ...

, and Mike McDonald, the Shockers returned to the

and won the national championship, defeating the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

in the championship game. To date, it is the only team national title ever won by a Shocker team in any sport. From 1991 to 1993, led by multi-year All-Americans Chris Wimmer,

Doug Mirabelli Douglas Anthony Mirabelli (born October 18, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the San Francisco Giants (1996–2000), Texas Rangers (2001), Boston Red Sox (2001–2005), and San Diego Padres (2006) before returning to ...

, and

Darren Dreifort Darren James Dreifort (born May 3, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Early career Dreifort played baseball in High School at Wichita Heights High School and was drafted out of High School by th ...

, the Shockers made three consecutive trips to the

, finishing as the runners-up to the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...

in both

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

and

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

. Wichita State made their seventh and most-recent tip to the

in 1996. Since 1996, the Shockers have had quite a bit of success, with 12 NCAA tournament appearances, including Super Regional Appearances in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, but have failed to reach the same heights they found during the 1980s and 1990s. Since 1980, Wichita State trails only

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

in total wins and winning percentage On July 11, 2005, Stephenson announced he was returning to Oklahoma as head coach, but decided to return to Wichita State just hours after his introductory press conference, citing concerns with Oklahoma's scholarship situation. After 36 years, WSU fired Stephenson on June 4, 2013. Stephenson was fired after making the NCAA tournament for a 28th time, though that appearance was later stripped by the NCAA.

Post-Stephenson era: 2014–present

Todd Butler was hired as just the second coach of WSU baseball's modern era 12 days after Stephenson was fired. Butler had served as an assistant at

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

over the past eight seasons. Butler's teams struggled initially, posting losing records in three of his first four seasons, the only three sub-.500 years since Stephenson had restarted the program. In 2018, third baseman

Alec Bohm Alec Daniel Bohm (born August 3, 1996) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, Bohm was a standout hitter for Roncalli Catholic High Sc ...

was drafted in the First Round by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. The Shockers won 35 games in 2018, the best season under Butler. Butler was fired following the 2019 season in which the Shockers finished 28–31 after making the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Butler finished his six-year tenure with a 169-180-1 record and did not make the NCAA tournament. In June, 2019, former Shocker All-American catcher, and Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Famer

was hired as the third baseball coach in Wichita State modern era history. Wedge led the Shockers to a 13–2 season cut short by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Shockers were ranked 30th in the country when the 2020 season was suspended and were a perfect 10–0 at Eck Stadium. On April 10, 2021, the Shockers hosted the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

in the first game played at Wichita's Riverfront Stadium.

Head coaches

Year-by-year results

Wichita State in the NCAA tournament

* The

NCAA Division I baseball tournament The NCAA Division I Baseball Championship is held each year from May through June and features 64 college baseball teams in the United States, culminating in the eight-team Men's College World Series at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in Omaha, Nebr ...

started in 1947. * The

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

of the tournament has changed through the years. * * indicates appearance was vacated by the NCAA.

Individual awards

National awards

* ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'' National Player of the Year :

- 1981 *

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

- 1993

All Americans

* 1979 :Joe Carter, OF * 1980 :Joe Carter OF * 1981 :Joe Carter, OF :

Phil Stephenson Phillip Raymond Stephenson (born September 19, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played all or parts of four seasons in the majors, from until . Amateur career While playing for the Shockers of Wichita State Universit ...

, 1B * 1982 : Russ Morman, DH :

Bryan Oelkers Bryan Alois Oelkers (born March 11, 1961) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He attended Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights, Missouri and college at Wichita State. He batted and threw left-handed. He was drafted in the ...

, P :Phil Stephenson, 1B * 1983 :Russ Morman, 1B :Erik Sonberg, P * 1985 :Kevin Penner, OF * 1987 :

Dave Haas Robert David Haas (born October 19, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of three seasons in the majors, from until , for the Detroit Tigers. On April 14, 1991, Haas pitched a no-hitter while playing for Lakeland in t ...

, P :Tim Raley, OF * 1988 :Mark Standiford, 2B * 1989 : Greg Brummett, P :

, SS :Mike McDonald, OF :

, C * 1991 :Billy Hall, 2B :

, C :

Kennie Steenstra Kenneth Gregory Steenstra (born October 13, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs. He attended Wichita State University. High school Kennie att ...

, P :Chris Wimmer, SS * 1992 :Darren Dreifort, P :Todd Dreifort, OF :Charlie Giaudrone, P :Doug Mirabelli, C :

Scot McCloughan Scot G. McCloughan (born March 1, 1971) is an American football executive. He was formerly the general manager of the San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins, as well as a senior personnel executive for the Seattle Seahawks, helping the 49ers ...

, DH :Chris Wimmer, SS * 1993 :Darren Dreifort. P :Joey Jackson, 2B * 1994 :Shane Dennis, P :Carl Hall, OF * 1995 :Jason Adams, SS :

Casey Blake William Casey Blake (born August 23, 1973) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and Los Angeles Dodge ...

, 3B :Mike Drumrights, P :

Braden Looper Braden LaVerne Looper (born October 28, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for several teams between 1998 and 2009. High school Looper was a scholar athlete while a student at Mangum High School in Mangum, Oklaho ...

, P * 1996 :Casey Blake, 3B :Braden Looper, P :Travis Wyckoff, P/OF :Ben Thomas, P/DH * 1998 :Marc Bluma, P : Kevin Hooper, 2B :Pat Magness, 1B :Jeff Ryan, OF : Zach Sorensen, SS * 1999 :Marc Bluma, P :Kevin Hooper, 2B :Pat Magness, 1B * 2000 :Blake Blasi, 2B :Pat Magness, 1B * 2002 :Brian Burgamy, 2B :John Tetuan, P * 2004 :Brandon Green, 3B :

Mike Pelfrey Michael Alan Pelfrey (born January 14, 1984) is an American college baseball coach and former professional baseball pitcher. He is the pitching coach at Wichita State University. He played college baseball at Wichita State University from 2003 to ...

, P :Logan Sorensen, 1B * 2005 :Mike Pelfrey, P * 2006 :Aaron Shafer, P :Damon Sublett, 2B * 2008 :Anthony Capra, P :

Andy Dirks Andrew Lee Dirks (born January 24, 1986) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He attended Haven High School in Haven, Kansas, and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2008. Dirks made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with ...

, OF :

Conor Gillaspie Conor Michael Gillaspie (born July 18, 1987) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman who played for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim between 2008 and 2017. Early life Gillaspie ...

, 3B :Rob Musgrave, P * 2010 :Jordan Cooper, P * 2011 :Charlie Lowell, P :Chris O'Brien, C * 2014 :Casey Gillaspie, 1B * 2018 :Alec Bohm, 3B

All College World Series

* 1982 :Tim Gaskell, OF : Loren Hibbs, OF :Russ Morman, DH :Bryan Oelkers, P :Jim Thomas, 2B * 1988 :Mark Standiford, 2B * 1989 :Jim Audley, OF :Greg Brummett, P :Todd Dreifort, P :

Pat Meares Patrick James Meares (born September 6, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. Meares was the 12th round draft pick of the 1990 amateur draft by the Minnesota Twins, from Wichita State University. Meares made his major league debut ...

, SS :Jim Newlin, P :Eric Wedge, C * 1991 :Jim Audley, OF :Kennie Steenstra, P * 1993 :Jason Adams, SS :Casey Blake, 3B

Current and former major league players

Ken Berry Kenneth Ronald Berry (November 3, 1933 – December 1, 2018) was an American actor, dancer, and singer. Berry starred on the television series ''F Troop'', ''The Andy Griffith Show'', ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' and ''Mama's Family''. He also appea ...

* Lloyd Bishop *

* Jaime Bluma * Greg Brummett *

* Larry Foss *

* Tyler Green *

Don Heinkel Donald Elliott Heinkel (born October 20, 1959) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played during two seasons at the Major League level for the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals. Heinkel notched his lone major league save on April 2 ...

Koyie Hill Koyie Dolan Hill (pronounced 'Koy') (born March 9, 1979) is an Americans, American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago Cubs, Miami Marlins, and ...

* Kevin Hooper * Kris Johnson *

Don Lock Don Wilson Lock (July 27, 1936 – October 8, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1962 to 1969 for the Washington Senators (1962–66), Philadelphia Phillies (1967–69), and Boston Red ...

* Russ Morman *

* Adam Peterson *

Nate Robertson Nathan Daniel Robertson, (born September 3, 1977) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies. Career Florida Marlins Robertson attended Wichi ...

* Daryl Spencer *

* Rick Wrona *

:''Source
Baseball Reference
'

References

External links

* {{American Athletic Conference baseball navbox