[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello. Welcome to the Roundhouse Podcast with Paul Solntrop of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. Thank you very much for listening. Our guest today is softball associate head coach Elizabeth Economen. Elizabeth is entering her ninth season with Wichita State.
Fall practices are underway at Wilkins Stadium. Shockers will play McLennan Community College at 1pm Saturday.
Sunday at 3pm The Hornets of Emporia State visit and then you might want to circle on your calendars. October 16th. That's when Oklahoma State comes to Wichita. Elizabeth is making her eighth appearance on the podcast, so she is first among all Shocker coaches and she is running away from track coach and YouTube sensation John Wise. He's in second place place and falling farther and farther behind. Last spring, shockers went 29, 25, 1, 15, 11 and one in the American seven shockers returned from that team, including pitcher Riley Neihardt. She was conference co freshman of the year center fielder Jody Epperson, who hit.290 with eight home runs. Brooklyn Lavonick, who earned a spot on the conference. All freshman team catchers Gabby Scott and Caitlin Beckerley are back for their sophomore seasons. Patrick pitcher Ava Sligar was second on the team in innings pitched last season. She was also a freshman. Prominent Shockers not returning outfielder Lauren Lucas. She hit.379 with 13 home runs, wrapped up one of the program's best careers. Infielder Taylor Solacek, who led WSU with 15 home runs, outfielder Ellie Eck, third baseman Kristen Nelson and second baseman Sammy hood. Elizabeth There's 14 newcomers on the roster, five freshmen, nine transfers. That's more than in recent season for softball at Wichita State. How did the coaching staff go about getting people on the same page when you convened this fall?
[00:02:00] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it was something new for us. We haven't had this big of a turnover in my nine years and I think that's maybe a little more normal in the landscape of college athletics now. But we took the approach of, you know, we're going to have 14 new kids. Let's go and do individual workouts for four to five weeks and extend that period of our practice so eight hour week a little bit longer than we normally would, just so we could get everybody on the same page from skill work and team chemistry and getting to know each other. And so far I'd say it's been really successful. It's been a lot of fun to be a part of. We start team practice tomorrow, so we've been getting after it in individual skill workouts with hitting, defense, pitching, catching. So it's been really fun to watch them kind of all figure out our language, our terminology, our drills, kind of how we work on a day to day basis. It's pretty exciting.
[00:02:54] Speaker A: So when you go through this process of so many newcomers, do you kind of self scout and evaluate and say, well, it might be more effective if we're teaching it this way just because we have such a big group of newcomers.
[00:03:07] Speaker B: I think Coach B does a pretty good job of really knowing her personnel, student athletes and coaches. And so we kind of all in our little areas of expertise kind of have a plan of attack.
Excuse me, so. And she lets us kind of run with that and figure out what's the best approach, you know, to get all the hitters on the same page and where should we start with the catchers and you know, what do we think we need to do first with the pitching staff? So we meet as a staff weekly and kind of go through everybody individually and talk about, you know, what we can't, what we have to cover, what we need, you know, what we can delay a little bit, but what we need to, you know, all the boxes we need to check before we start team practice. And I think we've all done a pretty good job of getting a lot of work done in the first four weeks. And I know everybody's excited for team practice to start tomorrow.
[00:03:55] Speaker A: How about the schedule? Does that change at all in the fall? The outside scrimmages? Because of the composition of the roster, it'll be interesting.
[00:04:04] Speaker B: I mean, we're playing a lot of the same teams that we have in the past, as far as, you know, Oklahoma State. I don't think we played them last year, we played them the year before. It's usually one of our fall games.
Emporia's close and McLennan. We're. I think this will be our third season playing McLennan, maybe second or third.
And we've developed a really good relationship with them. So I think teams that we will compete against will stay the same and I think we'll still give everybody a fair shot and rotate positions and innings pitched and at bats and stuff.
The biggest change will be the timing of the 20 hour week being a little bit later this year and we're taking a gamble with the weather and so far it's going to be fine. I think we're not going to run into winter too early, so knock on wood. But it's been really fun to see the development just so far. And even the kids, the freshmen specifically, are noticing how much better they've gotten across the board in four weeks. One of them sat down with me yesterday and said, man, this is amazing how quickly you can really grow.
And then we talked about the weight room and she was impressed with herself. So I always think that's exciting, too, that they can see it working, they can feel the changes and then we'll roll it out tomorrow and see what it looks like as a big group.
[00:05:15] Speaker A: Wichita State they will continue the fall schedule later in October, Southern Nazarene and then several junior colleges, Hutchinson and Butler among them, before wrapping up on November 6th. So let's start with the infield. All four starters from last season are gone.
That's an area where you went for some transfers. Asha Moore is a sophomore first baseman. She played at North Texas and then Trinity Allen from aforementioned McLennan Community College. She was national player of the year. You have new shortstop Chloe Ryan. She was the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year at St. Louis last year. Take us through the infield.
[00:05:49] Speaker B: Yeah, it's going to be a new look infield. If you're used to watching us, this will be brand new and we did bring in some veteran leadership. Obviously. Chloe Ryan is a senior, has one year left, has had a lot of success to at her past institutions. So she comes in and doesn't maybe have the nerves that a freshman would have or an underclassman. So she's going to be good. Also, we didn't mention Jana Schrader came over from Stanford and she can play the left side of the infield as well. I think she could play short or third and to be honest, could play first as well. But Asha and Tyrin seem to have a pretty good idea of what's going on over there. So yes, we brought in that's four transfers. We also have Skylar Rogers, who's a freshman, Cami Smith, who's a freshman, and Kinsey Woody, who's a freshman that could play in the infield as well. So we have a little bit more depth than we've had in the past and a little more versatility and a lot more athleticism. I think across the board with those seven or eight, Matt's not my strong suit. We have a lot of options as far as who can play.
So I think for the fall games that'll be really interesting to see how we shake it up and who thrives in certain spots and maybe who works well together, who plays well next to each other. But it's going to be different.
I watch the defensive practices because I think they're exciting.
I Don't tend to dabble too much. But I watch and I really enjoyed watching them play softball this fall. So far, they're making plays that I think are fun and are exciting for the fans, and they're covering a lot of ground and they've got good arm strength. So it'll be different, and I think different is good for us right now.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: That's nice that you can appreciate defense as a hitting coach. Sometimes hitting coaches struggle with that.
[00:07:36] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm working on it.
[00:07:39] Speaker A: Very good. So there's a wide range of experience levels. I'm interested in the teaching process. So you have a player such as Chloe Ryan four years in, she's had success. How do you approach working with her as opposed to working with a freshman who might come in as more of a clean slate?
[00:07:57] Speaker B: Yeah, I think that's a great question. We work, you know, that happens all the time in defense, offense, in the bullpen. And I think somebody like Chloe specifically is.
[00:08:06] Speaker A: So.
[00:08:08] Speaker B: She's so passionate about her craft that she takes it very. She's very responsible and takes it very personally, her development in that. So you can see her when she's not at practice, she'll go down to the indoor and she's got some drills that she runs through very methodically. Very much of a routine that you can tell she's been doing for years, and that are probably her foundation of what she's about. So she's. And that's perfect. We're not going to change that. And if somebody else sees her doing that, maybe they go, oh, that's a good idea. I should probably take a page out of her book. And then she talks to them and can kind of take them under her wing. And everybody's got their own set of things that are different. Trin might have a totally different workout that she does for bag coverage at first base, and she may or may not, I don't know, but she's excellent around the bag. So there are things that have gotten them to where they are that I think they'll hold on to and maybe pass on to somebody else, and then we can feed off of that, too. And I think the best the coaches are, I think we do a great job of teaching.
When the athletes really open up their mind and want to learn and then start talking to each other, I think that's when the real growth happens, that they can, you know, take ideas from other people or things that work for somebody might be, you know, the missing link of what they've. They've been waiting for, for A year to figure out how to make this. How can I get better? Maybe just common terminology or language or working with somebody that's been taught a different way can really open up or unlock the next level of their game. So getting them all with different backgrounds and, you know, different ages and different experiences and getting them to work together, I think sky's the limit. So it's pretty fun to watch and see, you know, who, who opens up and who grows quickly.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: Let's go to the outfield. Jody Epperson is back. Morgan Lloyd started two games at designated player last season before an injury sidelined her. You have another McLennan Community College transfer that figures in the outfield. Mikayla tosh. She hit.433, earned Gold Glove and All American honors at McLennan. Take us through the outfield for Wichita State.
[00:10:11] Speaker B: Yeah, I'll field it. It will be different again. Jody obviously returns and is the quickest one out there. Covers all kinds of ground, hit really well. I think she wants to do better offensively this year and I think she will.
She's been in a lot, doing extra work and just, I mean, she, she's around, she's at the new indoor, which everybody wants to be at because it's, it's outstanding. But she's hanging around a little bit because I know she was not satisfied with her season, although it was just fine.
But she'll do. I mean, she's going to be tough to beat out in center field.
Morgan is coming off of an injury, a surgery and she's full go now, so she's getting the rest off, getting back into it. But she brings a left handed bat that we didn't get to use that much last year, so I'm always excited about that possibility.
She runs well, so there's definitely some athleticism there. Brooke is coming off the most experience, maybe from, from the freshman, from being a DP almost. You know, once we got rolling, she, I think was kind of the steady DP option for us. Hit.360, I think.364.
[00:11:15] Speaker A: 364. Eight doubles. Yes.
[00:11:17] Speaker B: Yeah, Not a ton of power, but was on base a lot. So that's something that she's been working on. And she had a little setback and she's full go now too. But she's dedicated to getting back to her, back to where she was getting her body full strength. And so I know digging in and getting a little more power out of her is something that she wants and I want, but she's got a ton of at bats to put under her belt. That definitely will help her in the future.
Mikayla Tosh is a beast physically. We're really excited about her.
Swings the bat well from the right side, plays well in the outfield, covers a lot of ground. She's pretty quick, good communicator, good leader, somebody that we're really excited about. And then we also have Mackenzie Rooney, who's a freshman outfielder, another left handed bat. She's from Kansas, so she's not far from home.
She's one that's really noticing some of the changes over the first four weeks and has really kind of bought in and is all in and is ready to get to work. So, you know, that crew's been fun to watch and I always feel bad for them when I watch them.
They get a lot of cardio in, in their defensive practice, just covering that whole green out there, so.
But they do it and they do a really good job. So I'm excited to see what they're capable of.
[00:12:33] Speaker A: So when you talk about a player such as Brooklyn trying to improve power numbers, we always hear that if you try to hit home runs, you're not going to hit them. Is improving power, is that mostly a strength, physical maturity thing? Is it a controlling the strike zone thing? How do you kind of walk somebody through trying to hit a few more doubles and home runs?
[00:12:52] Speaker B: Yes, I think all of those things factor in and everybody's a little bit different. And I joke with Brooklyn about, you know, eating a hamburger and, you know, getting a milkshake and really doing a good job in the nutrition category. But she's coming off of an injury and a surgery and so she's, she's getting her, her work back in, in the weight room. So I think working with coach Horn and getting everything back to 100% where she feels good and then she can build on that.
But yeah, a lot of it is, you know, is your swinging the right sequence? Are you using your big muscles, you know, your legs and your torso? Are you swinging at the right pitch? Because it's really hard to hit a ball in the dirt out off the wall. So I think everything factors in. And so I have a pretty good relationship with, I would say most of the hitters. And Brook is no different where we can have those conversations. And I could say, let's, you know, let's try this and if that doesn't work, then let's try this. And we just kind of go through the list of things that work and when it clicks, then, then we try to move on from there and build on that. But a lot of it's just feeling comfortable and being confident in your own swing. And then once you feel good about it, then you can really kind of let it rip and let it loose a little bit. Everybody's a little bit different, but all those things you said are a factor.
Coach Horn does a really nice job in the weight room as far as getting all of the athletes in really good shape to be strong and powerful and explosive.
That's step one. And then from there we can build just about anything.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: Do you ever sit shockers down with video of a past shocker, say Bailey Nickerson or Madison Perrigan and say, hey, your swing looks a lot like this player. You might be able to learn something from this video.
[00:14:33] Speaker B: Not video wise, we've talked about it, but a lot of times I try to link them up with somebody that's still here because then they can have those conversations. In the past, I have had a couple of people call Kayleigh Hecker and talk about her work ethic because she was great at putting in. She really needed to put in extra work on her swing. And so she dove in and was dedicated to that. And so I've had people kind of reach out because she was on campus for a while. So I like it when you're able to talk to them in person. It seems like it goes further. It means more that there's somebody that they can watch and see.
But it's not a bad idea. Probably start showing Cece and Lauren and Sid film to everybody when they come, come in and say, do this.
[00:15:15] Speaker A: I was gonna say, I didn't mention Sidney McKinney specifically. I'm not sure you could teach some of the things she did.
[00:15:21] Speaker B: I don't. I wish.
[00:15:23] Speaker A: Jody Epperson, transferred from North Texas, had a really nice season in center field. So now she has a second season. She had a, you know, a summer to digest what she learned, what she went through in her first full year as a shocker. How does being in a program, a second season, how does that help a player such as J?
[00:15:40] Speaker B: I think she'll thrive again. I think she was great last year. There were a lot of unknowns with her, I think us with her and her with us. So she's athletic, she's quick, she's got all the tools and maybe didn't feel comfortable in her first stop at North Texas and then really kind of got comfortable last year. So now having a feel good year, something that she is confident in and understands and knows what she's getting Into I think now maybe the nerves and, you know, the worry of, you know, what's gonna happen. Maybe that stuff has left her mind and she can really build on her physical ability. And I mean, she's a senior, so she's got a lot of it. I mean, she had, gosh, how many bats? 169 bats last year. So I mean, she had a lot of experience to draw from and she had a lot of success. So hopefully she can keep that in the back of her mind and know that she's prepared and she can do it. So she shouldn't have to worry about what if, what if, what if she, she can do it. And we all know that. And I think that will help her confidence, so maybe she can just run with it this year.
[00:16:42] Speaker A: Wichita State has not recruited many junior college kids over the, over the recent history of the program. Now you've got the two from McLennan. What's the evaluation like? You know, how did junior college numbers Translate to Division 1 softball?
[00:16:56] Speaker B: Every case is different. And Cici Wong came from McLennan and that's how we developed that relationship. I ran into Chris Berry, who's their head coach, recruiting the summer before Cece got here, and just kind of right place, right time and just got to talking about coaching and recruiting. And he was fun, fun guy to talk to. And then he was like, oh, I might have a left handed hitter that could help. You know, after talking to me and what I'm about. And then obviously that panned out really well. And she was one of the best hitters to ever come through here. Wish we had her longer.
But then you talk to a coach like Coach Berry and everything that he said was accurate. And the program that he runs has been highly successful. So he's got a good thing going. His assistant coach, Jess Smith, she's outstanding with pitching. So they've got a good little system down there. And they've been to the post season, you know, two, three, four years consecutively. They win a lot of games.
I would say their team is physically mature compared to a lot of junior college teams that we may see around here. And so immediately you're drawn to their physicality and then they win a lot and they do things the right way. They're really well coached. They're very dedicated to the fundamentals and understanding softball. So they'll come in game ready, plug and play. Don't have to do a ton of teaching to get them caught up. They are ready to rock. And so I think that piece of it is Enticing because they're not afraid to lift weights. They've been doing that.
They've played a ton of games. I think they've won over 50 games for the past two years. So they're playing a lot of games and they're winning a lot. So they have that expectation of success. And so when you get them here and you can feel it from Trinh and Mikayla this year that they want to win because that's what they do. They don't want to stop now. So they're driven to continue to do all the things that have gotten them there. And they've been really good leaders for some of our younger kids. Even though everybody feels new, they've kind of fallen into some leadership roles and get the respect of their peers pretty quickly because they can back it up.
[00:19:00] Speaker A: So what was the hitting philosophy that you bonded with McLennan coach over? What was the language you used that you both said, oh, this, this fits more.
[00:19:10] Speaker B: It wasn't even necessarily hitting. I don't think it was more of, oh, I like talking to this guy. He's. He wants to win, he's funny, he's got a really good personality, a really good eye for talent. He was really able to pick out, you know, kids and identify or evaluate talent quickly and just seemed a little kind of no nonsense y like what do we got to do to win? And and told a bunch of jokes along the way. So personality wise he's, he's. I'm really excited to see him on Saturday because I haven't seen him in a long time. So just a good, good friend, a good, a good person to keep near the program and yeah, so nothing specific to softball. Just a good conversation that I was like, I think I could keep talking to this guy and it was great.
[00:19:56] Speaker A: I will Remind people about CC Wong Spent the 2024 season at Wichita State after transferring, started at McLennan, went to Grand Canyon for one season. Came from which came to Wichita State. Ended up finishing second or third in.
[00:20:10] Speaker B: The nation in hitting. Second in the nation 420. Yeah, I think the leader was 421.
[00:20:14] Speaker A: Maybe just had a fabulous season in her one year at Wichita State. So Cece is back. Lauren Lucas is also back and Sydney McKinney are back. They are all working as graduate assistants. I was over at the indoor last week and they were all out there. I think Lauren was pitching. CeCe and Sydney were helping with infield jobs. Describe their roles that might be. I can't imagine there are too many programs with a More talented group of great graduate assistants.
[00:20:41] Speaker B: Yeah, we're loaded in the ga.
We are.
They're outstanding. And they all, they all bring something different to the table. Obviously they all had a ton of success here.
Well, offensively and defensively, Sid is. I mean, we talk about her hitting. She was outstanding at short too. So selfishly, for me, I was like, well, I'll take all three of them offensively and we'll just go to the cages and we'll mind our own business. And, you know, I don't know. I should have mapped out their average, but shoot, the average of those three together has to be in the four hundreds just because they barely ever got out. But they all bring a very different approach or mindset offensively at least where, you know, Sid has unteachable bat to ball skills. Her hand eye coordination is off the charts.
And not that CeCe and Lauren don't either. Lauren is very cognitively involved, so she wants information and she, she wants scouts and she wants to do all the things. And Cece just tell her if the ball's coming underhand, like is it yellow and is it big and she's gonna hit it. So all three were very different learners, which I think that allows them to relate to all of our athletes or some, maybe some would understand more of how Cece approached it or Lauren or Sid. So they have.
Our girls have really good options to go to for feedback or ideas or, hey, this worked for me, or why don't you try this?
And all three of them, having been in our program, they are all about Wichita State, so they want us to be in the post season again for the rest of time. So they're invested and they want to give back because they feel, and I'm not speaking for them, but I feel pretty confident that they would say they had a great experience and now they want their turn to give back for what they were given here.
It's fun to watch them. And, you know, we've been in our individuals, we've been doing some tough stuff in the hitting individuals. And after the our girls are done, those three will stay and run through the circuit and try to figure it out. And then it's fun to listen to them talk because they don't necessarily have anything on the line, you know, yes, they're all going to go and play. Cece's on Team Canada, Lauren's on the New York rise, and Sid is with ausl. So they want to continue to learn and get better themselves, but they'll run through our hitting circuits. And then have conversations and think, you know, and say, hey, this might help Asha. This might help Trin. And so then it's. It's pretty fun to. It's like a classroom every day where they just have ideas, and so we're kind of spitfiring things around, and it's really. It's a really fun time to be down there. And then you, you know, you roll them out to defense. And Lauren's great with the outfield, Sid's great with the infield, and Cece's been picking Coach O's brain a little bit in the bullpen. And so she's been kind of helping out and talking to the pitchers and Coach O, and I think that's been a really good perspective because she's seen some of the best pitching in the world. And so she can say, you know, I noticed this, or, you know, coach O, what do you think about this? And so I think it's been a nice person for Court to talk to because she doesn't necessarily have a GA dedicated to pitching. Jesse was here last year, but then graduated and I think has gone on to get a real job, so she doesn't have somebody that's with her all the time. So CC popping in has been a really big bonus for corp.
[00:24:01] Speaker A: So we've mentioned the indoor, which is probably worth a little bit of explanation. Opened last spring, the indoor practice facility right next to Wilkins Stadium. It is now fully up and running. Banners, lights, all the bells and whistles are there. How does having that space next to Wilkins, how does that help preparation?
[00:24:21] Speaker B: It's ridiculous. We're spoiled rotten. We have come a long way in the nine years that I've been here. We've always had to be creative with our space and our equipment. And now I feel like we have more space and more stuff than anybody.
And sometimes I think, wow, we are really spoiled and we're really lucky. And I hope we don't forget that, because nine years ago we were hitting in our left field cages, which were really one cage and a half, and we had a couple pitching machines and, you know, we were wearing out Coach B. Coach B was throwing live in the cages all the time. And now we have four extra long, extra wide cages in the indoor that we can set up just about anything.
And so. And I think our kids, even the new ones, that didn't know what it was like last year without it. And obviously Lauren Lucas is probably the one that's been around the longest, I guess Sid returning. So she's seen it the the furthest along, but it's a different place and it's one of the best around, you know, the indoors getting all the attention. I think our field's pretty good, too, so the turf has made a big difference there. The infield plays really well.
Yeah, I think we're very lucky. So from a preparation standpoint, we're able to set up. I mean, yesterday we did three different cages of a drill and kind of just branched out and looked at it three different ways. And then we were able to leave it set up overnight because nobody has to come in and use a facility.
So then the girls probably are over there right now trying it again. And so they're getting extra prep because we don't have to move machines and take them across the street or put them in storage or anything like that. So they're getting. I mean, they're going to get out of it what they put in. And a lot of them have been hanging around. They're kind of cage rats. And it's easier for them to get the reps they need because there's so much space and so much more time and so many options for, you know, machines or live pitching or whatever that we're very productive. I think we're very efficient with our time. We get a lot of work in and, yeah, I think we're spoiled.
[00:26:31] Speaker A: And they are in the process of moving the outdoor cages, which were on the south. Right. South end of the indoor. They're on the process of flipping them to the north end of the indoor outside still. So you'll have to be able to use those. And maybe that's a good point. I guess as sports fans, we might be so used to football having all the indoors, baseball having all the indoors. But it sounds like you're saying in softball that is not as universal as those sports. And Wichita State's is a little bit more. A little bit more unique than what we might think.
[00:27:03] Speaker B: Yeah, I think, you know, there's a lot of. A lot of places that do have their own indoor. And, you know, in our conference, there's. We have a lot of warm schools that may not need necessarily what we have or have smaller versions of it, But I think when.
When Coach B. And the. And the architects and the engineers and Brad Pittman sat down and went through, you know, what does this building look like? They were really.
That really wanted to do it right. If we're going to do it, let's do it right. And so I think they thought of everything because you don't get a read you don't want to have this facility that you're unhappy with. And so they thought of just about everything that I've even come across. Now that the building's up and running and it should serve us for many, many years, but from a space, just space alone, it's, it's bigger and has more options for workouts and you know, if it's rainy. And of course, now that we have the indoor, it's been the rainiest September of my nine years here, I think. So we have taken full advantage of that. But we're able to raise the nets and they can do defense in there. It's a full infield with a little extra, so we won't be able to do a full scrimmage, but we'll be able to do infield defense.
Anytime of short game. We can hit live in there because there's a perimeter net. So we're going to be able to rearrange the cages and set up just about anything we want. The outfield usually gets shafted in the winter anyway, but there's plenty of things they can do footwork wise and just maybe not as applicable without the blue sky. But a lot of people have indoor space that they either share with a baseball team or is smaller than what we have. So we've kind of got the best of all of it.
[00:28:49] Speaker A: And then plans call for locker room, offices, team room, all that kind of kind of stuff as part of continuing improvements at Wilkins Stadium. I'm sure there's someone in the WSU foundation who would love to take your phone call if you'd like your name on a hallway or a locker room or a refrigerator or a nutrition area or whatever as they're really trying to upgrade and renovate Wilkins Stadium.
Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse podcast courtesy of Wichita State University Strategic Communications.
[00:29:33] Speaker B: We encourage you to rate, review and.
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[00:29:42] Speaker B: To center and well struck and Lucas is there. She's got it. And that is the ball game.
[00:29:48] Speaker A: And look at the celebration for Wichita State as they have ended the Cowgirls 14 game winning streak in a dandy from Wilkin Stadium.
[00:29:59] Speaker B: 8 7.
