Category: Shocker Athletics

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) returns to Charles Koch Arena Friday, July 18. The AfterShocks — led by former Shockers Conner Frankamp, Markis McDuffie, Trey Wade and Rashard Kelly — are poised for another run at the $1 million prize.

Their journey begins with a first round matchup against number seven No Excuses at 8 p.m. July 18 in Charles Koch Arena. With a win, they would advance to the second round at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 20.

They need the help of Shocker Nation to secure homecourt advantage throughout the tournament to boost their chances of winning the $1 million prize. Secure your seats at goshockers.com/TBTTix to help the team be one of the first to sell 4,000 tickets to lock in homecourt advantage.

Wichita State’s Brooklyn Benn, Mackenzie Wilson and Kayla Van de Ven were each named as Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) All-American Scholars June 30.

Selection to the All-American Scholar Team is a tremendous honor, as the WGCA has some of the most stringent criteria in all of college athletics.

In order to be selected, a student-athlete must:

• Have an overall cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher.
• Be an amateur and on the team’s roster through the conclusion of the team’s season.
• Have played in 50% of the college’s regularly scheduled competitive rounds during the year nominated through the team’s conference championship.

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• Subscribe to Shocker Brew, the Shocker Athletics newsletter, publishing every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
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One of the best track and field athletes in Wichita State history wrapped up her collegiate career, claiming her sixth All-American award June 14 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field.

Destiny Masters, a senior from El Dorado, Kansas, placed 10th in the heptathlon with 5,763 points, good for Second Team All-America status. She became the first Shocker in history to earn All-America status in back-to-back NCAA heptathlons and gave Wichita State its eighth All-American award in the event.

“To have Destiny finish her final NCAA Championship in 10th for her sixth NCAA All-American performance is really meaningful, and I couldn’t be prouder of her and all of her accomplishments,” head coach Steve Rainbolt said. “This was certainly a highlight, probably second only to her sixth-place finish at the indoor championship a year ago in the pentathlon.”

Shocker Athletics’ Alejandro Jacome earned his first career professional tour singles victory with a win in the main draw of the Wichita Tennis Open on June 11.

Jacome survived a back-and-forth battle with Kentucky’s Eli Stephenson to earn the victory, winning 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4). 

Wichita State’s Yared Kidane and Jason Parrish claimed Second Team All-American honors on day one of the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field, University of Oregon.

Kidane, a redshirt-junior from Sweden, ran the sixth-fastest 800-meter time of the day, missing the final by one spot. The American Athletic Conference champion finished sixth in the first and fastest heat, clocking a time of 1:46.86 to claim 10th place overall and Second Team All-America status.

Parrish, a sophomore from Olathe, Kansas, also finished 10th in his event, running 50.26 in the 400-meter hurdles, missing the final by one placement.

Shocker women’s tennis players, Anne Knuettel and Xin Tong Wang, each earned regional awards in the Central Region from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).

Knuettel earned the Cissie Leary Sportsmanship award for the Central Region. The award is given to a Division I women’s tennis player from each region who displays inspiring dedication and commitment to her team, which has enhanced her team’s performance and exemplifies to the spirit of college tennis. The award dates back to 1997 and is in memory of the late and widely admired Penn women’s tennis coach Cissie Leary.

Wang was named the ITA Player to Watch from the Central Region. The award recognizes a player from each region who had an outstanding season on the court and is expected to continue improving and performing at a higher level in the near future. 

The NCAA announced that the 2026 and 2027 Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) semifinals and finals will be at Charles Koch Arena on the Wichita State campus. This will be the first year that Wichita will host the final WBIT games. Wichita has experience hosting women’s basketball tournament games, most recently when it hosted a March Madness regional in 2022.

WBIT semifinals and finals will be broadcast on ESPN platforms. Below are the dates for the semifinals and finals in Wichita:

• 2026: March 30 (semifinals), April 1 (final).
• 2027: March 29 (semifinals), March 31 (final).

The Wichita State women’s tennis team was mentioned multiple times June 4 when the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced the Mid-Major and Regional Rankings for the 2025 season.

The Shockers were ranked No. 15 in the ITA Mid-Major Poll, their highest ranking in the poll since its establishment in 2021, surpassing their previous No. 25 ranking from the 2023 season. In the Central Region, the Shockers were ranked seventh as a team. Their highest Central Region ranking since 2018, when they were fourth.

Additionally, sophomore standout Xin Tong Wang became the first Shocker since 2018 to be ranked in the Central Region top 20 in singles, appearing at No. 11.

After a year marked by significant improvement, the Wichita State men’s tennis team was ranked No. 7 in the Central Region by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in their end-of-year regional rankings June 4.

Additionally, Kristof Minarik was ranked No. 20 in the Central Region in singles, marking the first ranking since 2023, when Minarik was also ranked No. 20.