Wichita State

Wichita State basketball assistant coach Dana Ford is leaving the Shockers to take an assistant job at Illinois State.  Ford started as a graduate assistant under Gregg Marshall at Winthrop and Wichita State before moving on to Chipola Junior college as an assistant.  He eventually moved to Tennessee State as an assistant to another former Shocker, John Cooper. Ford spent one season with Wichita State as an assistant before making his move.  He was considered a very strong recruiter for the Shockers.

From Wichita State Sports Information WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State will travel to Florida State for Super Regional play with game one beginning on Fri., June 6. Game two will be played on Sat., June 7 and if a game three is necessary it will be played on Sun., June 8. The NCAA also announced game times and television coverage. Friday's game will begin at 2 p.m. (ET) on ESPN2, Saturday's will begin at noon (ET) on ESPN2 and Sunday's will be at 1 p.m. (ET) on ESPN.

Wichita State is looking at Dallas Baptist head coach Dan Heefner as a potential successor to Gene Stephenson, Eyewitness Sports learned   Monday   night.  Heefner has been the head coach at Dallas Baptist for the last 6 years, guiding the former NAIA program to a 30-30 record in 2013 with a 13-14 conference record.  Dallas Baptist is set to join the Missouri Valley Conference for competition in baseball starting...

Newcomer Ben Smith doubled his previous season high with 16 points to lead Wichita State past Evansville 91-57 in a Missouri Valley Conference opener Wednesday night. The Shockers (10-2, 1-0) had four other players score in double figures: Joe Ragland (12), J.T. Durley (12), David Kyles (11) and Toure Murry (10). Evansville (6-5) was led by Colt Ryan, who scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half. Wichita State's huge first-half lead dwindled to 44-35 early in the second half before the Shockers exploded.

Wichita State is number one when it comes to keeping employees happy. It just received the top spot in the "Top 10 Happiest University Employers," an online poll by CareerBliss. Employees completed surveys on the website.  WSU employees gave the school an overall ranking of 4.29.  The average of the top 10 schools is 3.946. Wichita state employees seem to be happy about the growth opporunities they have at work.  They also find there's a good work-life balance. Other schools that make the list are as follows: • Auburn University • Brigham Young University • Wayne State University • University of Southern California • Columbia University • University of Florida • University of Houston • Cleveland State University • University of Michigan See complete results of the poll .

Cleanthony Early scored 24 points to lead Wichita State over Bradley 69-63 Sunday. Early was 8 of 14 from the field. Demetric Williams added 10 points, and Ehimen Orukpe had nine rebounds for Wichita State (14-1, 3-0 Missouri Valley). Wichita State led 35-34 at halftime in a game with 12 lead changes. Wichita State closed the game on a 10-2 run. The Shockers shot 47 percent from the field for the game, while Bradley shot 46 percent. Walt Lemon Jr. and Dyricus Simms-Edwards had 15 points apiece to lead the scoring for Bradley (10-5, 2-1)

The schedule for the Wichita State-Delaware baseball series has been changed to allow fans to attend the baseball and men's basketball games on Sat., Feb. 23. The Shockers will now play a doubleheader on Fri., Feb. 22 at 1 p.m. at Eck Stadium and a single game at 1 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 23. Sunday's game remains at 1 p.m.

Cleanthony Early led all scorers with 25 points as Wichita State beat Iowa 75-63 to win the Cancun Classic. Early was 3-6 from the three-point line, 7-13 from the field and 8-9 from the free-throw line against the Hawkeyes.  Wichita State was down by two at halftime thanks to a hot shooting peformance by Josh Oglesby.  Oglesby and the Hawkeyes were 7-8 from three-point range in the first half. The Shockers are off until next Wednesday when they host Tulsa.  The Golden Hurricane are coached by former Kansas assistant, Danny Manning.

Carl Hall finished with a double-double, 16 points and 11 rebounds, as Wichita State (7-0) dominated Tulsa (2-5) 86-60 at Koch Arena.  This was a 3 point game with just under 7 minutes to play in the first half and that is when Wichita State started to pull away.  The Shockers finished the first half on a 20-12 run, taking an 11 point lead at halftime. Wichita State steadily added to its lead in the second half and never let Tulsa back in the game.  Cleanthony Early was the second leading scorer for the Shockers with 11 points.  Overall, every Shocker that took the court during the game scored at least 2 points.

Todd Butler has been named the head baseball coach at Wichita State University, Director of Athletics Eric Sexton announced today. “Todd is highly regarded as a baseball coach, brings a passion for baseball and success, and has a wonderful family,” Sexton said. “He brings a resume worthy of the success Wichita State is accustomed. “I look forward to watching his teams compete on the field and his student-athletes excel in the classroom.”  Wichita State will hold a press conference at 2 p.m., Monday, in the All-American Club at Eck Stadium to introduce Butler.

Eyewitness Sports reporter Bruce Haertl has learned that Dallas Baptist head baseball coach Dan Heefner is no longer a candidate for the head job at Wichita State. Eyewitness News reported on Monday that Heefner was a candidate for the job. Ironically, Heefner will be a part of the Missouri Valley Conference next year as Dallas Baptist is joining the league as a baseball-only member.

Wichita State is looking at Dallas Baptist head coach Dan Heefner as a potential successor to Gene Stephenson, Eyewitness Sports learned   Monday   night.  Heefner has been the head coach at Dallas Baptist for the last 6 years, guiding the former NAIA program to a 30-30 record in 2013 with a 13-14 conference record.  Dallas Baptist is set to join the Missouri Valley Conference for competition in baseball starting...

Monday morning quaterback--- Talk about a small world - I ran into Chris Harper's parents yesterday down in Tulsa. They report that Chris is doing well in Seattle with the Seahawks. The former K-State receiver is back in the Pacific Northwest where he started his collegiate career at Oregon. The word is that all the receivers are marveling at the moves and quickness of recently acquired Percy Harvin, Harper will never break anyone's ankles - but he's a big receiver with deceptive speed who doesn't mind catching balls over the middle.

Michael Mucha took the final swing of the Shockers 2013 season with a ground out in the bottom of the ninth. That ended a two hit effort from Wichita State, losing to Arkansas 3-1 in NCAA Regional play, Saturday, ending their season.  The Shockers won out in the Missouri Valley Tournament to make it to the NCAA regional field. They end their season at 39-28. Casey Gillaspie knocked one of the two hits on a solo home run in the fourth inning. WSU had no answer for Ryne Stanek, who went 7.1 innings with only three strikeouts.

I must have seen a thousand shows since I fell in love with rock and roll forty years ago, I've never seen (or heard) a better song live than Paul McCartney's rendering of 'Live and Let Die' last night. At the age of seventy the man can still deliver, he sounded great, his band sounded even better. Even if you're a borderline Beatles guy - this tour is one you want to see. Heck, I'd go see it again just to hear him do 'Live and Let Die' again. Shox-Cats--- Familiarity should help Wichita State today.

For the first time since 2009 Wichita State is back in the NCAA baseball tournament.  For the first time in 80 years, Kansas State won the Big 12 conference regular season title AND they're hosting their first ever regional.  Every single player on Wichita State's team is playing in his first NCAA baseball tournament.  This is Bryant University's first year to be eligible for the tournament and they made it! Oh and I ate at Coco Bolo's tonight in Aggieville.  There are a ton of firsts happening this weekend in Manhattan!

Wichita State will take on Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA baseball tournament. The game is Friday at two o'clock in Manhattan.  This is the first time that Manhattan has been selected as a host city.   Click here for bracket Kansas State won the regular season but lost to eventual champions Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament. The Shockers won the Valley Tournament this weekend, sending them to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.

Wichita State will play Illinois State on Saturday for the Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament.  Wichita State is looking for its first Valley title since 2009.  A win would give them an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Shockers beat Indiana State on Friday afternoon, 5-4, to advance to the championship game. The Shockers and Sycamores were scoreless through 5 innings.  Indiana State took the lead in the top of the 6th on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to make it 2-0.  The Shockers made two pitching changes in that inning but forced Indiana State to leave three stranded.

The funniest thing I've seen at the Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament: The grounds crew using old couch cushions to soak up the water in the outfield. Talk about necessity being the mother of invention. People watching--- Wichita State Athletic Director Eric Sexton has been a constant at this event (as he is at most Shocker events); one can't help but wonder what his agenda is relative to Shocker Baseball. In what is a testimony to the stability in his department - how to handle Gene Stephenson is the first major personnel issue that he's had to deal with.