SB: 2023 in season news

[ShockTalk]

I know the men didn't play well, but....................

[SubGod22]

I've always gotten the feeling that Syd has really enjoyed and benefited from NIL opportunities in Wichita. She's been the most active one that I've seen in any sport on campus and I think a lot of athletes could learn from her on how to go about it all. I believe she's been used as a national spotlight in how to do it and build a brand that can be an asset.

[1972Shocker]

I've always gotten the feeling that Syd has really enjoyed and benefited from NIL opportunities in Wichita. She's been the most active one that I've seen in any sport on campus and I think a lot of athletes could learn from her on how to go about it all. I believe she's been used as a national spotlight in how to do it and build a brand that can be an asset.

It helps when you are as marketable as Sydney is and the best to ever play her sport at Wichita State at a time that sport is growing in interest with fans. She didn't get money upfront an enticement to play at Wichita State. Her deals came the old fashioned way, she earned them. The way NIL should be and probably was intended to be.

[WstateU]

The way NIL should be and probably was intended to be.

Reminds me of an old classic commercial...

[flyingMoose]

This is not 2023 news, but with Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF leaving the AAC and Charlotte, FAU, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA joining the conference from Conference USA, here are the RPI of the softball-playing schools:

34 Charlotte (who were in the NCAA Tournament)
61 North Texas
96 FAU
98 UAB
260 UTSA

Rice does not play softball, but they do play volleyball. They will be one of the conference powers in that sport.

[SubGod22]

Go Shockers - More Records In 2023 - Shockers Savor Return To Regional Play

The uncomfortable fact of NCAA regional play is that one bad day in a bracket can overshadow, at least briefly, three-plus months of success.

Wichita State's softball team ended its season on Saturday in the NCAA Stillwater Regional. Amidst the farewells, tears and hugs after the final game was a realization that the Shockers produced another strong addition to the program's most successful era. After Friday's 6-5 win over Nebraska, the Shockers lost 6-0 to host Oklahoma State, the tournament's No. 6 seed, and 9-8 to Nebraska in a nine-inning elimination game on Saturday.

"It's a tough game, and when you get to the post-season you have to remind yourself that every team that you're playing is really good," coach Kristi Bredbenner said. "It's not easy."

Nothing about the regional came easily for the Shockers, who couldn't depend on a pitching staff that excelled during the regular season. They needed to rally from a 5-0 deficit on Friday to beat the Huskers. On Saturday, hitters struck out seven times, didn't produce an extra-base hit and stranded six against OSU, the eventual regional champion. Shocker pitchers, on the day, surrendered 15 earned runs in 15 innings in the two losses.

Once that disappointment fades, the Shockers can savor 2023 as another landmark.

Most important, they played in an NCAA regional for the third straight season and the fourth in the past five. They won their second American Athletic Conference regular-season title and the fourth conference title for the program, all in Bredbenner's 12 seasons.

The Shockers finished 44-12 to record 40-plus wins for the third time in program history and the second under Bredbenner. Wins over top-10 teams Oklahoma State and Arkansas during the regular season lifted the Shockers into solid NCAA at-large position and helped build an RPI in the 20's that made hosting a regional a possibility.

Wichita State's trademark power hitting remained an asset. This season's team also leaned on pitching and defense often. The Shockers led the conference in batting average (.327), home runs (70), earned run average (2.55) and fielding percentage (.984). Pitchers Lauren Howell, Alex Aguilar and Alison Cooper gave the Shockers their deepest pitching staff of the Bredbenner era and that group combined for 10 shutouts and 24 complete games.

"Grit and energy and fight," Bredbenner said. "This was an awesome season."

Senior shortstop Sydney McKinney ended her career with numerous program records and added to her resume as one of the game's greatest hitters. As the tournament enters super-regional play, she leads the nation with a .520 batting average and 103 hits, putting her on target to become the first to top those categories two seasons in a row. Her 378 career hits rank fifth in NCAA history.

Those are the types of accomplishment the Shockers talked about after Saturday's elimination.

"One for the books," Bredbenner said. "I'm extremely proud of the program and proud of where it's at."

The program is in good hands and good shape, even with us losing Syd, Zoe and Krystin. Syd is irreplaceable but one would thing the freshmen would continue to improve and there were a number of others who hold a lot of value themselves. Addie and LuLu will anchor the offense and all three pitchers return. One would expect Alex to take a step. Lauren pitched a ton more innings than she had since HS and I wonder if that's why she seemed to wear down a bit later in the year. Cooper improved over last year and is a valuable 3rd option. Does someone else step up? Do we bring in another pitcher to push those we have?

[WeWillShockU2]

Go Shockers - More Records In 2023 - Shockers Savor Return To Regional Play



The program is in good hands and good shape, even with us losing Syd, Zoe and Krystin. Syd is irreplaceable but one would thing the freshmen would continue to improve and there were a number of others who hold a lot of value themselves. Addie and LuLu will anchor the offense and all three pitchers return. One would expect Alex to take a step. Lauren pitched a ton more innings than she had since HS and I wonder if that's why she seemed to wear down a bit later in the year. Cooper improved over last year and is a valuable 3rd option. Does someone else step up? Do we bring in another pitcher to push those we have?

I believe that 2 pitchers have already signed. High School recruits so I’m not sure how much they will help next season. All three of the current pitchers should be back next season.

[SubGod22]

Refresher on recruits. It wasn't in the recruiting thread and instead in last seasons off-season thread. I knew we had to have more than Avery but couldn't remember

Chloe Barber | Lino Lakes, Minn. | 5'11" | Pitcher

Bredbenner on Chloe Barber: "Chloe was a late addition to our 2023 class but one that we are very excited about. She is a power pitcher with a nice offspeed pitch, and understands how to spot the ball with natural movement on her pitches. If Chloe can command her pitches and get stronger throughout her time here, I think she will be part of a very solid pitching staff at Wichita State."

Avery Barnard | Beatrice, Neb. | 5'6" | Utility

Bredbenner on Avery Barnard: "Avery Barnard will provide much-needed speed to the lineup. She's not quite as powerful with the bat as her sister Addie, but she more than makes up for that with her speed. Avery is very athletic and will wreak havoc on the bases and cover substantial ground in the outfield."

Sophie Johnson | Odessa, Fla. | 5'6" | Catcher

Bredbenner on Sophie Johnson: "Sophie Johnson will be a strong presence behind the plate with her arm strength and ability to make her pitchers look good with her glove. A great catcher can make a huge difference for her battery mate. We think that Sophie will be an impact player as a freshman."

Erica Schertz | Miami, Okla. | 5'10" | Pitcher

Bredbenner on Erica Schertz: "Erica Schertz is a pitcher with natural movement and great speed. She spins the ball very well and has competed against some top-level travel ball teams. The best thing about Erica is her potential. There are a lot of things that Erica does right, but getting her in the weight room and with Coach (Presley) Bell will allow her to use her great frame and elevate that potential."

Mila Seaton | Tonganoxie, Kan. | 5'10" | Utility

Bredbenner on Mila Seaton: "Mila Seaton is one of the most athletic student-athletes we have brought into our program. Mila could have played Division I volleyball, but softball is her true passion. She's a true utility that has a high ceiling."

Sydney Zenon | Haslet, Texas | 5'9" | Infielder

Bredbenner on Sydney Zenon: "Sydney Zenon has the potential to be a monster hitter in our lineup. She hits the ball hard and still has a lot of her body to get into the pitch. If we can develop a full body swing, she will be a great replacement for Lauren Mills in our lineup. Her 5'9" frame makes her a likely candidate for reps at first base."

Barber intrigues me. Taller and described as a power pitcher. Could add a twist to the staff as Alex, Lauren, and Allison are all three more about movement and hitting spots.

Nobody in the outfield graduates, so it will be interesting if Avery finds a spot or takes one. Maybe we mix things up and Taylor gets some days off. It will be fun to follow her but an outfield of Addie, LuLu, and Avery would cover a ton of ground.

If Johnson can contribute as a FR, it would give Lainee a bread behind the plate some. I think Lainee is a fantastic catcher but does struggle at the plate at times. Or can she unseat Lainee? Does Lainee continue playing? She got her degree this year. I suppose she could work towards her masters while staying behind the plate.

Schertz sounds like a bit of a project with upside. We have a couple of them on the staff already but you can never have too many pitchers. Options are a good thing and you never know who will make that jump.

I wonder if Seaton might have a shot at 2B. I'm assuming Sami moves over to SS to replace Syd.

Zenon sounds like a big bat that might be able to play first. Someone will have to with Zoe moving on. Though I think Caroline played there when Zoe was injured. Competition is good.

[1972Shocker]

The program is in good hands and good shape, even with us losing Syd, Zoe and Krystin. Syd is irreplaceable but one would thing the freshmen would continue to improve and there were a number of others who hold a lot of value themselves. Addie and LuLu will anchor the offense and all three pitchers return. One would expect Alex to take a step. Lauren pitched a ton more innings than she had since HS and I wonder if that's why she seemed to wear down a bit later in the year. Cooper improved over last year and is a valuable 3rd option. Does someone else step up? Do we bring in another pitcher to push those we have?

Krystin was a sophomore this season. However, we will be losing Lolo along with Syd and Zoe. That's 3 of our 5 best bats. We also will be losing Bailey Urban who had some key pinch hits this season and was our go to pinch hitter by the end of the season.

I agree that we need to and should see development from Sami and Taylor.

Not much more to ask from Sami defensively and I anticipate she will move over to short next year. However, Sami needs to improve signficantly on her .218 batting average. Even if she improves by 50 points we lose about 250 points in batting average at that position and since Syd was also and outstanding defensive player we really don't gain much at short on defense. Sydney struck out 8 times this season and Sami struck out 26 times which was 2nd on the team in strikeouts. Not a horrible number for Sami at 1 K in every 6.7 at bats but a far cry form Syd's 1 K every 27 at bats.

Taylor had a pretty solid season at both the plate, hitting .271 with 5 home runs, and solid season in right field. With Taylor I see I swing that looks like it can generate good power so, hopefully, we will see that home run total at least double next year. Taylor struck at 31 times, most on the team, which was 1 K per every 5 at bats. Perhaps if she can cut that down a little she pick up a few more hits. Just 5 more hits last year would have raised her average to .310.

Another player I think we need to see improvement from is Lainee who will be a 4th year junior next year. Her receiving and working with the pitchers is solid. One weakness is that she only threw out 2 of 28 runners on steal attempts. Not sure there is a lot she can do about that. However, I do think offensively she has quite a bit more to give. This season she hit .267 with 6 home runs. Not expecting another Butters at the plate but some improvement in those numbers should be expected.

As you say Syd is irreplaceable but it will be a challenge to replace Zoe and Lolo as well. With Taylor and Lolo it's mostly about replacing their bats and that won't be all that easy, especially their combined 24 home runs and 100 RBI's. Also, somewhat counter-intuitively, is that, among the regulars, Lolo was second on the team to Syd in OBS at .495 because she walked 38 times. By far the most on the team.

I discussed the incoming recruits in an earlier post but hard to know how they will transition to the college level. But it sounds like there is some potential there. How long it will take for that potential to be realized is hard to say.

A wild card, of course, is the possibility of a Zoe-type transfer or 2 out of the portal.

It looks to me, at this point, that the offense will take a bit of a hit (no pun intended) next hear. How big of a hit is hard to say. If that proves to be the case then we will need another solid year and perhaps some improvement as well from the pitching staff. Will one or both of the incoming freshman pitchers be ready to contribute? Again hard to say but we got far more out of Alex this season than we were expecting and that was a key factor in the Shockers doing as well as they did.

All that said, I am quite interested to see how things develop in the post-Syd era.

[SubGod22]

Don't know why I had Krystin being a SR in my head. I rarely expect a ton from FR, but I'm hopeful that we can have a few of them step up again like we did this year. Zenon will have a chance. Either to fill the LoLo role or to push Caroline for duties at first.

If Johnson has a decent bat, she might be able to push Lainee if her arm is as described. I like Lainee, but being able to cut down on steals would go a long way.

I think we'll see the power numbers of Sami improve. Taylor and Caroline both have good pop potential.

Zoe and Syd leave as 1 and 2 in career batting average. That hurts. The good news is that the pitching as taken a step forward from what we've known. I expect that to continue. I think we have something really nice with Alex. I'm intrigued by Barber if she can be a decent power pitcher.

[Stickboy46]

Krystin was a sophomore this season. However, we will be losing Lolo along with Syd and Zoe. That's 3 of our 5 best bats. We also will be losing Bailey Urban who had some key pinch hits this season and was our go to pinch hitter by the end of the season.

I agree that we need to and should see development from Sami and Taylor.

Not much more to ask from Sami defensively and I anticipate she will move over to short next year. However, Sami needs to improve signficantly on her .218 batting average. Even if she improves by 50 points we lose about 250 points in batting average at that position and since Syd was also and outstanding defensive player we really don't gain much at short on defense. Sydney struck out 8 times this season and Sami struck out 26 times which was 2nd on the team in strikeouts. Not a horrible number for Sami at 1 K in every 6.7 at bats but a far cry form Syd's 1 K every 27 at bats.

Taylor had a pretty solid season at both the plate, hitting .271 with 5 home runs, and solid season in right field. With Taylor I see I swing that looks like it can generate good power so, hopefully, we will see that home run total at least double next year. Taylor struck at 31 times, most on the team, which was 1 K per every 5 at bats. Perhaps if she can cut that down a little she pick up a few more hits. Just 5 more hits last year would have raised her average to .310.

Another player I think we need to see improvement from is Lainee who will be a 4th year junior next year. Her receiving and working with the pitchers is solid. One weakness is that she only threw out 2 of 28 runners on steal attempts. Not sure there is a lot she can do about that. However, I do think offensively she has quite a bit more to give. This season she hit .267 with 6 home runs. Not expecting another Butters at the plate but some improvement in those numbers should be expected.

As you say Syd is irreplaceable but it will be a challenge to replace Zoe and Lolo as well. With Taylor and Lolo it's mostly about replacing their bats and that won't be all that easy, especially their combined 24 home runs and 100 RBI's. Also, somewhat counter-intuitively, is that, among the regulars, Lolo was second on the team to Syd in OBS at .495 because she walked 38 times. By far the most on the team.

I discussed the incoming recruits in an earlier post but hard to know how they will transition to the college level. But it sounds like there is some potential there. How long it will take for that potential to be realized is hard to say.

A wild card, of course, is the possibility of a Zoe-type transfer or 2 out of the portal.

It looks to me, at this point, that the offense will take a bit of a hit (no pun intended) next hear. How big of a hit is hard to say. If that proves to be the case then we will need another solid year and perhaps some improvement as well from the pitching staff. Will one or both of the incoming freshman pitchers be ready to contribute? Again hard to say but we got far more out of Alex this season than we were expecting and that was a key factor in the Shockers doing as well as they did.

All that said, I am quite interested to see how things develop in the post-Syd era.

We really have to caution ourselves to not try to compare too many people to Syd. It's not fair to Sami to expect her to "replace Syd" .. she just needs to improve batting while maintaining her field play. We aren't going to get another Syd. 99.9% of college programs won't get a Syd-Level player

[1972Shocker]

I won't be surprised to see both Addie and Avery Barnard in the lineup next year.

We have a huge whole to fill in replacing Syd in the infield. Not only was Syd an extraordinary hitter and an outstanding defensive player she was very quick and fast (which no doubt contributed to both her offensive and defensive prowess). I think that Sami can adequately fill the hole at shortstop but the big question is who can at least partially fill the hole at the top of the lineup and the hole in the middle infield (probably at 2nd).

Addie was probably the closest to Syd in terms of speed. According to HCKB's comments on Avery, she brings even more speed than Addie. Also note that Addie was listed as a P/SS in her recruiting bio in 2019. At that time HCKB said "Addie is a versatile athlete who could see playing time in the middle infield or outfield next year."

Regarding Avery HCKB said "Avery is very athletic and will wreak havoc on the bases and cover substantial ground in the outfield."

A lot of pressure to put on a freshman but Avery may well be out best option in the lead off spot with her speed. High school numbers are notoriously difficult to evaluate but Avery's senior year numbers at Beatrice a .597 batting average, an OPS of 1.500, OBP of .656 and 17 steals. It does indicate great potential.

Avery does have some wheels:

https://sportsrecruits.com/athlete/avery_barnard2?video=1379071

I think it's possible that Addie will move to 2nd base with Avery taking over in left field.

Top of the lineup could be Avery (RH), Lulu (LH), Addison (RH). The hole in the middle at the 4 and 5 spots maybe just as big of a challenge to replace Zoe's and Lolo's production as mentioned above but also, just as importantly providing protection behind Addison. At this point I see no obvious answers among the returning players. Perhaps the incoming freshman class will hold those answers. Both of the incoming pitchers were strong hitters in high school and perhaps could be used in the DP role and hit for themselves when pitching. Or maybe HCKB can find another Zoe in the transfer portal.

Fall ball in a few months will be pretty interesting.

[flyingMoose]

Alex Aguilar | Midland, Texas | 5'5" | Pitcher
Alex Aguilar is one of two pitchers in this year's signing class. She will bring her talents in the circle from Midland High School to Wichita State. A four-year starter and letterwinner, Aguilar has racked up more than 500 strikeouts during her prep career, while also hitting better than .450 at the plate. She has earned first team all-district honors every year, while helping Midland to the District Championship as a junior. Aguilar was named the District MVP as a junior behind 150 strikeouts in the circle. She is the daughter of Rod and Gaby Aguilar. She has one brother, Ryan, and one sister, Sophia. Aguilar plans to major in biology at Wichita State.

Coach Bredbenner on the signing of pitchers Aguilar and Proberts: "As we navigate the trends in softball, we are seeing an increase in the number of pitchers teams are carrying on their rosters. We are following that trend by signing Alex Aguilar and Sarah Proberts. They bring two completely different pitching styles to the circle, but both are competitive and have had to carry their travel teams through some tough tournaments."


The description of Alex would not lead you to think she would become the ace of the staff - ace, in my opinion, at least. It is hard to compare with the descriptions of other incoming pitchers over the last few years. Any coach is always going to say positive thinks about incoming players.


Oh, I will say this. I don't think being a late recruit is a good thing in general. It sounds like a lot of hard work is ahead for that young lady. A lot of it.

[1972Shocker]

We really have to caution ourselves to not try to compare too many people to Syd. It's not fair to Sami to expect her to "replace Syd" .. she just needs to improve batting while maintaining her field play. We aren't going to get another Syd. 99.9% of college programs won't get a Syd-Level player

Why is caution needed? The discussion was not about replacing Sydney with another Sydney. It was specifically stated that Sydney is irreplaceable. I think that is generally accepted and no one has challenged that. No one said Sami would "replace" Syd. But she is the heir apparent take over at shortstop and expecting her to come close to Syd's offensive numbers is not reasonable as I described.

But we still have to field a team next year and fill the huge hole she leaves in the best way we can, knowing it won't be completely filled..

And, as I stated, filling the holes left by Zoe and Lolo will be a challenge as well.

Of course, everything at this point is speculation but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[SubGod22]

I never thought about Addie potentially moving to 2B. Guess I've just seen her running around the OF so much I never thought about it. That would open a spot for someone like Avery who has the speed to be disruptive offensively. It will be fun to see how things play out and who steps up where.