[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello, welcome to the Roundhouse podcast with Paul Sullentrop of Wichita State University Strategic Communications.
Thanks very much for listening. We always appreciate your time. My guest today is Denning Gehrig, voice of the Shockers, and we are going to go to full talk radio mode. We've got two podcasts to welcome everyone back to the school year and have some fun with storylines for Wichita State athletics over the entirety of 2627.
Denning, your big summer project was the Shocker film Room series. Looking at the five newcomers with basketball coach Paul Mills.
My understanding is the university had to install new servers, buy some more RAM or whatever it is, gigabytes to deal with all the demand. So I will encourage fans to check that out.
[00:01:00] Speaker B: Crash Social network.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: Yes, that's available on social media.
I would encourage people to really check that out. What did you learn from that series?
[00:01:09] Speaker B: I learned that Paul Mills loves film.
On his podcast with you, I think he said that he does all the film breakdowns whenever they host potential recruits on visits.
And I got the sense that that guy loves really diving into the nuance of film and just enjoys kind of the work of it all. And then I also feel like I learned that their targets in this portal cycle were very specific, very intentional, that they knew what they were looking for, positionally, what types of players they were looking for and were able to kind of fill those needs. As I understand it, they basically every visit that they had, they got a commit from. So it was like these were the players they identified or the types of players they were looking for and they were able to fill those needs. Just a really cool experience to be in the room with Paul for that.
[00:02:01] Speaker A: I think we always knew Paul Mills did a lot of film work and enjoyed it. But I would agree those two conversations I had with him and your work drove it home, maybe in a different way. So that was interesting. Did anything fascinating get left on the cutting room floor?
[00:02:17] Speaker B: I mean, honestly, we had way more than we could ever use for a short social media clip.
Nothing stands out specifically. I just, I tried to keep in as much of the of the ball knowledge as possible.
I know you love the Gortat reference. I did too, because I had never heard of that before.
And then he, in the last video in the new new Jones one, he talks about a Spain pick and roll, which I wasn't familiar with before. And it's just a kind of a different action that you run out of a pick and roll.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: And.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: And so just the way that he kind of sprinkled those in, I tried to include little explainers, I guess, in the video for people like me who maybe are hearing that term for the first time and are thinking, okay, what exactly does that mean? Because coaches, you know, they talk at such a, at a high level that sometimes it's nice to pause for a second and be like, okay, but what does that mean exactly? And so I think there was, there was a lot of that and we did our best to communicate it to fans in a way that could be
[00:03:16] Speaker A: easily understood anytime we can reference Marching Gore Tat on the Phoenix sun center. That's a good thing.
[00:03:22] Speaker B: I try to work that in as much as I can.
[00:03:24] Speaker A: Okay, we are recording this on Wednesday. By now, you know there is a possibility Kenyon Giles will return for Shocker basketball. That's still pending court cases and NCAA and all that kind of stuff. So since that remains an uncertain item, we're not going to include the possibility of KG being on a Shocker roster.
[00:03:42] Speaker B: You're just saying because he was going to be your first pick in the storyline, right?
[00:03:45] Speaker A: I think he would have been the first pick, yes, definite. But we're going to set that aside for later. So our first draft is favorite storylines for the 2026-27 season. We're each going to pick five items. Any sport that are worth thinking about paying attention to. It's kind of a loose category, but hopefully we'll have some fun and give you some things to talk about. Denning, I'm the home team because we're recording this in my office.
You get the first pick.
[00:04:14] Speaker B: Okay, I'm now on the clock and with the first pick in our storyline draft, I'm going to say Wilburg, sixth man to star this year.
Obviously last year the move from the starting lineup to the bench was tremendously profitable for him. It kind of kept him out of foul trouble early in games and it also had the added benefit of it seemed like Emmanuel Okorafor responded really well to his role starting off games. Those two kind of paired really well together.
The expectation, at least from everything that I'm hearing, is that Wilberg is certainly not coming off the bench this year and that he's going to play a lot more minutes. He has conditioned his body to hold up to a much bigger workload. He has added to his game. I think if you were out at the open practice, maybe you saw him expanding his jumper out beyond the three point line.
Physically he just looks ready to kind of take that star turn for me.
And as good as Wichita State's guards and forwards were Last year. If you have a post in the American Conference who can do the kind of things that Wilburg can do, I think it takes your team to a different level. So that is one of the biggest storylines to watch for me this year.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: And the additions of Jordan Frison and Johari Long, as you detailed in the film room, are a lot of that. They are good passers and they are intending to take more advantage of Wilbur and some of the other Shocker bigs. Okay, your first pick, Wilburg, my first pick. The non conference schedule for men's basketball, I think we like it. Boise State, New Mexico, both of those are in Kocarina. Southern Cal in Nevada, Kansas State in Kansas City and Kentucky in Lexington.
So that would be my big. My question, can the Shockers enter conference play with enough good wins, avoid bad losses to be in the at large picture for NCAA play? When you schedule like this and coming off last season, I think you clearly telling people that's the kind of team you think you are.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: Totally.
[00:06:19] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:06:19] Speaker B: I mean I think the schedule sends almost a bigger message than anything else that we're kind of going for it. That it is a schedule built to craft an at large resume and it just gets people excited. I mean how can you not be excited about a game at Kentucky or a game against usc? So a lot of benefits there.
[00:06:39] Speaker A: I was approached by a prominent member of a local rock band who is very excited about going to Kentucky and Lexington. So in my mind that's an indication people are on board.
[00:06:48] Speaker B: That's good. That's what we want to hear.
[00:06:50] Speaker A: Pick number two. Denny, you're up.
[00:06:53] Speaker B: Okay, I'm going to switch over to softball. I'll go over to Wilkins Stadium. I will say, and I guess I don't really know how to compress this into one coherent thought but the return of Osha, Moore, Kinsey, Woody, Trinity, Allen as like just a three headed monster of softball mashing excellence like the stats for that trio are ridiculous. I think it's a huge testament to that coaching staff that they kept those players because I'm sure that there was a lot of interest from, from schools around the country at the power conference level for those players.
I think they are going to have a ridiculous season. And if they can stay healthy and play all the games together, those, those three, in addition to really the whole lineup, those three in particular should put up some, some fun numbers.
[00:07:49] Speaker A: So The Shockers won 14 conference games in a row to finish up last season and tie South Florida for the conference title. They were borderline NCAA regional team. And yes, with the people they have coming back, those three and and several others, I would think they they also expect to be that kind of an NCAA at large team.
Okay, my pick and you led me perfectly into it. My second important storyline, how WSU continues to navigate this rev share transfer portal era. That's where we are. So you got to do your best with it.
And so at this point I think Wichita State fans could look at 10 basketball players back. That has to be the envy of the conference, maybe the envy of the nation having that many people back. Softball, as you just mentioned, retained its top returners. Sidney Dunning, although injured, is back in volleyball. So I think we can take those as good signs. It wasn't a perfect record for Wichita State, but I think in these days you have to say it was a pretty good run and that should signal that both rev share wise culture wise people thinking I can be successful here. I enjoy it here.
I'm working well with the coaches and the staff. I think those are all pretty good
[00:09:05] Speaker B: signs for my third storyline. I want to keep it on the diamond. I'm going to switch over to X Stadium.
I think a huge one to watch that I would really encourage fans to come out in the fall for and get a firsthand look at themselves is the battle for shortstop and really the battle up the middle for second base and shortstop over there. There are three really good junior college players that they have added two returners, Zeb Henry and Evan Escobar. But Liu Rodriguez Jr. From South Mountain Community College, Ty Mercado from Harford Community College and Cade Gavina from Fort Scott Community College.
I did an interview with Brian Greene last week and he very affectionately referred to them as his rats.
They are all a little undersized. They're all juco guys and they can all really pick it. I think two of the three won Gold Gloves in their respective conferences this past year.
Just seeing how that all shakes out is going to be really interesting. Alex Ulloa played virtually every game at shortstop for Wichita State last year. He is gone.
So those positions up the middle are really up for grabs. But as you know, you have to be good up the middle to be a good baseball team. And I think that battle will be a fascinating one to watch and will go a long way towards determining how their season goes.
[00:10:28] Speaker A: So we have sharks when you knock in a two out run and now we have rats. So we may have rats throwing up the shark fin.
[00:10:37] Speaker B: Yeah. What hand signal could you even do for like a rat?
There's nothing That I can come up with immediately. I like the shark fin, but that's pretty good.
[00:10:46] Speaker A: I'm thinking the Sedgwick County Zoo has to be interested in sharks and rats.
[00:10:50] Speaker B: Hit our line. Hit our line.
[00:10:52] Speaker A: Okay, my third pick. I'm going back to basketball. Will crowds continue to return to Koch Arena? So they grew late last season. They responded to of course my Kennedy night. Of course I'd like to get him to retire again if we could maybe bring back some fans. But I don't know if he's up for that or not. Shocker's won eight of nine regular season games.
Drew 8,163 fans for the final game. So we definitely saw this team resonating. We saw people coming back to Koch arena, enjoying the atmosphere, all of that.
I think they have a chance to continue winning back fans with the non conference schedule and get people back in back in Koch Arena. That's my number three pick, Denning.
[00:11:36] Speaker B: Alright, I'm going to go a little off the beaten path towards one that's near and dear to my heart. Can bowling win the national championship?
They have in their two seasons at the NCAA level gone as far as you can go without winning a national championship. They reached the Final Four in their first season, went 02 and then last year reached it again and that time made it to the final and lost to Jacksonville State.
If you are listening to this podcast and maybe you don't follow NCAA bowling at a really high level. Jacksonville State is considered far and away the country's preeminent program. They have won two NCAA titles in their three seasons at the NCAA level.
They have national team coaches, they have an absolutely loaded roster. They will be good every year.
And if Wichita State is to win a national championship at some point they will have to go through Jack State. So I think it will be a really fun battle to watch. The Shockers have had at least marginal success against Jacksonville State in their two seasons which almost nobody else has had.
And you just kind of have to keep knocking on the door and hoping that eventually it opens up. But two great seasons so far. Can they get over the hump and put that ring on the finger?
[00:12:53] Speaker A: And that's the first one you've had that was also on my list. I would point out three all Americans are back. Correct. Alicia Oden. Sara Duque Jimenez. Am I pronouncing that correctly?
[00:13:03] Speaker B: Yep, you got it.
[00:13:04] Speaker A: And Ashton Woods. This roster has four seniors and two juniors. So you would think they are primed for another.
Another fabulous season. All right, goes back to me for number four. I've got a lot of choices here.
I'm going to go with defense up the middle at Wilkins Stadium.
Who replaces Chloe Rine? Excellent defender at shortstop. Who replaces Jody Epperson, also an excellent defender in center field for Shocker. Softball got some candidates. Cammie Smith is back for her sophomore season. She was second team all conference, started all 52 games at second base. I would think she would be a strong possibility to move to short in center field. I would think Mackenzie Rooney and Janna Schrader, both of whom started in the outfield last season, would be candidates. Mikayla Tosh was kind of in and out of the lineup. Had some injury issues last year, but she had a good summer. I would think she would also be an option there. So a lot of returners on the softball team.
But much like baseball, as you mentioned, always important to have good defense at short and center field. So that'll be something to watch at Wilkins Stadium.
[00:14:09] Speaker B: Yeah, it kind of all comes down to what you value. And I know Chloe Ryan was about as good as it gets defensively and so it felt like Christie Bredbenter said, I don't even really care what you hit if you keep bringing that level of defense. A lot of coaches feel the same way about the catching position where it's like, if you can give us a little bit offense, great, but you're there to catch and throw. And I think that's. It's really hard to have a good team without quality players up the middle, whether that's defensively or otherwise.
[00:14:41] Speaker A: You're on the clock for number five.
[00:14:43] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm going to go to women's basketball here, Paul. I'm going to say the addition of Melanie Balcombe and what she brings to that coaching staff, she has a very impressive track record. Prior to her time here at Wichita State, she spent some time at Xavier, spent some time at Vanderbilt.
And for Terry Nooner, what does that add to his staff? It's a lot of high level experience. It's a lot of head coaching experience.
And what does she introduce into this program? It is almost an entirely new roster for them and so they are very much starting fresh.
I think it's the kind of AD that you're looking for and hopefully that they can put together a good season. But her addition is one that I'm really going to be keeping an eye on.
[00:15:26] Speaker A: And she's a big, big Bruce Springsteen fan.
[00:15:29] Speaker B: Well, I know that that's near and dear to your heart.
[00:15:31] Speaker A: So got that going already.
[00:15:32] Speaker B: Ahead of the curve for you.
[00:15:33] Speaker A: Yes. She may be a regular podcast guest.
Okay, that brings me to number five. I am going to go with volleyball. Scoring on the pins, the Shockers.
You always need scoring in volleyball. I guess that's pretty obvious without Sidney Dunning this year. Lost Brooklyn Leggett, who finished up her career last year. We got some sophomores who the door is wide open for them to step in bigger roles. They all played to varying degrees last year as freshmen.
Olivia Cohee, Mackenzie Jones, who I think is going mostly on the right, it appears, and Jenna Cubbidge. Will those three take advantage of the opening and really get the Shocker offense going? Very tough non conference schedule. It'll be interesting to see how this group navigates that.
[00:16:21] Speaker B: That was on my list of storylines as well. I think the Olivia Cohee, Jenna Kubbage combination.
You're probably going to hear those names a little bit later in our second podcast here, but they will be heavily relied upon and it would be hard to imagine Wichita State has a good season without good seasons from that pair.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: Okay, that's our five. Danny, what was your six? If you had to go to a sixth, what would you have chosen?
[00:16:49] Speaker B: Shooting from Dylan Batee and TJ Williams. It kind of feels like one of those two has to add outside shooting so that they can pair together more efficiently on the court.
As it stands right now with their skill sets, it's almost like a rotation of those two, which is still very good. It forms 40 minutes of a really good player.
But if either one of them shoots 35% from three, then you're able to get both on the court at the same time. And it feels like you can kind of take it to a different level. So I wasn't specific if either one of them is able to add shooting, if both add shooting, then we can start planning the parade.
But it is something that I think could really elevate that basketball program.
[00:17:33] Speaker A: I think the next one I would have really strongly considered maybe should have picked men's track. They will defend their American Conference title next spring. They dominated the American Conference outdoor meet, winning by 31 points over North Texas. Got a lot of returners. They are missing the Parish twins. They were really, really strong performers in the hurdles, jumps and sprints. They are now at Texas Tech, but I think there are people coming in or returners who can. Who can return, who can make up for some of that scoring.
So that will be interesting in the spring. See how Shockers do in men's outdoor track. All right, thank you, Denning. That is our draft for top storylines. I will remind you Shocker volleyball is on the docket. They Scrimmage Kansas City 1pm Saturday at Koch Arena. On Aug. 28, they start the start the regular season. They will play Stephen F. Austin next day. August 29th they play Idaho State. That's the return of former Shocker assistants Shawn Carter and Chelsea Scott, who are now coaching Idaho State. And then they ended up with Missouri state noon on August 30th.
Denning, thanks very much. We'll be back quickly with a draft of most interesting athletes for this school year.
[00:18:49] Speaker B: Thanks, Paul.
Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse
[00:19:06] Speaker A: Podcast courtesy of Wichita State University Strategic Communications.
[00:19:11] Speaker B: We encourage you to rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more roundhouse
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[00:19:19] Speaker C: work his way in the lane. Spins in the lane. Put up a shot. No good. Rebound. Pinion had it. Saves it to Brown. Up to Enos. And now South Florida in control. They're up one with 25 seconds ago. Chipped away and stolen by Giles. He goes to the basket. Reverse. Way up. Good. Wow, what a steal by Kenyon Giles.
[00:19:37] Speaker A: That half court a huge play, Sam.
