Wichita State softball is back in a NCAA regional. Who, when, where the Shockers play
For the first time in program history, the Wichita State softball team will play in an NCAA regional for the second straight season.
It was a nerve-wracking 48 hours for the Shockers since their bid for the American Athletic Conference tournament bid fell short on Friday, but they were ultimately rewarded for their aggressive nonconference scheduling and body of work from a 33-win season.
Wichita State received the No. 3 seed in the Fayetteville Regional hosted by No. 4 national seed Arkansas (44-9), as the Shockers (33-16) will be joined by Oregon (31-17) and Princeton (27-15-2).
WSU will play the first game of the double-elimination bracket tournament against No. 2 seed Oregon, an at-large team from the Pac-12, at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Fayetteville, with the game streaming on ESPN+. Meanwhile, Arkansas will play No. 4 seed Princeton, the Ivy League champions, in the first game with a 5 p.m. start time.
On Saturday, the two winners from Friday’s games will play at 1 p.m. with the two losers playing at 3:30 p.m. with another elimination game following at 6 p.m. The regional championship game will be played at 1 p.m. Sunday with another game following if required.
“I know we’re going to hit and offensively, that’s something we’ve always been able to count on,” WSU coach Kristi Bredbenner said. “But we’ve got to pitch. We’ve got the pitchers. We’ve got the tools. We just have to avoid the mistakes because that’s what bit us against South Florida and UCF.”
It’s a somewhat favorable draw for the Shockers, especially considering last season when they were assigned to No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma’s regional after entering the postseason with 39 wins, a top-25 rankings and both AAC championships.
WSU won’t have to go through the Sooners to reach their first NCAA Super Regional, but Arkansas is the No. 4 overall seed for a reason: the Razorbacks have won 13 of their last 14 games, can almost match WSU home run for home run and recently won their first SEC regular-season and tournament championships. The Shockers have experience playing in Fayetteville, as they lost 7-4 to Arkansas on Feb. 19.
“We want (our team) to feel like they belong,” Bredbenner said. “I think the hope is a bit stronger this year knowing we’re not facing the Goliath of softball in Norman. But last year we accepted that challenge and we had the underdog mindset. This year I wouldn’t say we’re much of an underdog. When we play well, we’re a very good team and when we play well, we can beat a team like an Oregon or an Arkansas or a Princeton. This is a regional we’ve got a chance at.”
The Shockers didn’t quite have as strong of a resume this season, but they still managed to earn an at-large bid because of an No. 36 RPI, per D1Softball.com, and a 10-8 record against teams ranked No. 26-100 in the RPI. It is the sixth NCAA regional bid WSU has earned in program history.
Wichita State also brings two potential All-American college players in shortstop Sydney McKinney, who leads the country in batting average (.511) and is a top-10 finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year, and outfielder Addison Barnard, who leads the country in home runs (32), RBIs (82) and total bases (168) and was named AAC Player of the Year.
The Shockers were always going to be a dangerous team in the postseason, not only because they have two of the best players in the country, but also the hitting depth that gives them arguably the best offense outside of OU in the country.
WSU ranks second only to OU in home runs (118 total) and scoring (8.4 runs per game) and ranks third in team batting average (.353). The Shockers have also had significant contributions from Lauren Lucas (.400), Neleigh Herring (.336, 14 home runs), Zoe Jones (.327, 15 home runs, 50 RBIs) and Lauren Mills (.296, 15 home runs, 49 RBI).
