Get set for the week with the Roundhouse Rundown podcast, the fastest five minutes in collegiate promotions. The Shocker Volleyball Classic opens the season with Idaho State, Stephen F. Austin and Missouri State visiting Koch Arena this weekend. The Shockers play Southland Conference preseason favorite Stephen F. Austin at 6 p.m., Friday, Idaho State at 6 p.m., Saturday and Missouri State at noon on Sunday.
Each match comes with a promotion – Friday is Jam the Gym night with T-shirts for the first 300 fans. WSU faculty and staff get in free with their ID. Saturday is Lambo Night with a free fanny pack for the first 300 fans in honor of coach Chris Lamb’s fanny pack. Autographs after Sunday’s match. All that, plus promotions, ticket specials, Shocker trivia and Shocker history.
Wichita State volleyball assistant coaches Ashleigh Houlton and Katie Zimmerman visit to get fans prepared for the season, which starts this weekend with the Shocker Volleyball Classic. We discuss exhibition matches vs. Omaha and Kansas City, how running the 6-2 might fit and the benefits of Jordan Heatherly’s second season. We talk about Chris Lamb’s texting buddies, the importance of digging coal together, and lessons learned from polite disagreement. Houlton breaks down the liberos and Zimmerman dives into the middle blockers, both returners and newcomers. We wrap up by talking about Lamb’s fanny pack promotion and a sampling of items found in Lamb’s fanny pack/backpack.
WSU went 19-11 last season, 10-6 in the American. The Shockers are picked fourth in the preseason poll with Heatherly on the all-conference team at setter. At 6 p.m., Friday, WSU plays Stephen F. Austin. WSU plays Idaho State at 6 p.m., Saturday and Missouri State at noon on Sunday.
Denning Gerig, Voice of the Shockers, is back for the second day of previewing 2026-27 around Wichita State athletics. We draft compelling Shockers for fans to think about as the school year gets started. We offer Maddie Wilson in the middle for WSU volleyball, Dillon Battie’s rise on the basketball court and pitcher Caleb Reed, among others, for your consideration.
Welcome to the 2026-27 school year from the Roundhouse podcast. We open the athletic season with Voice of the Shockers Denning Gerig and a five-round draft of top storylines across Wichita State athletics. We dive into Will Berg’s potential and the enticing non-conference schedule for men’s basketball. We also discuss shortstop “rats” at Eck Stadium, bowling’s run at an NCAA title and returning softball stars. Come back Friday for a five-round draft of Shocker athletes.
Wichita State women’s basketball coach Terry Nooner details the book project that started his team’s summer workouts. We discuss how 12 newcomers are adjusting to Wichita State and how two new assistant coaches are fitting in. We also talk about strong summers for transfer Ma’Riya Vincent and freshman Mari Milton. Wichita State, 8-23 last season, scrimmages Newman on Oct. 28 and opens the season at Kansas State on Nov. 2. The Shockers open their home schedule against Missouri State on Nov. 10.
Wichita State director of athletics Kevin Saal gets us started on the 2026-27 school year with a look at basketball scheduling, retention of athletes and a discussion of coach Paul Mills’ contract extension. We discuss American Conference basketball coaching upgrades, the NCAA Tournament in Wichita, basketball season tickets and more. We also review successes of the past year, including bowling, women’s tennis and more.
Wichita State basketball coach Paul Mills, who recently signed a three-year contract extension, wraps up summer workouts with a look at the Shocker newcomers and how the offense is expected to look different this season with more creation on the menu. We discuss the importance of graduate assistants, Dillon Battie’s journal skills and how the arrival of new guards changes the role of Michael Gray Jr.
Melanie Balcomb joined the Wichita State women’s basketball coaching staff this spring as associate head coach. We discuss her desire to work for coach Terry Nooner and her role installing a new offense for the Shockers. We also talk about her coaching success at Xavier and Vanderbilt, how she identifies hidden gems while recruiting and her love for the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Balcomb brings 26 seasons of experience as a head coach, including 14 at Vanderbilt and seven at Xavier, to WSU. She coached teams to 19 NCAA Tournaments, highlighted by a 2001 trip to the Elite Eight with Xavier and 12 straight trips to the NCAA Tournament with Vanderbilt.
Wichita State women’s basketball assistant coach Rachel Swartz joined the staff earlier this summer. We discuss her journey into coaching, which was influenced by her playing career at Missouri State from 2013-17. She talks about how she learned to embrace her role as a post player who rebounded, set screens and tried to make the team work. She talks about her favorite NBA and WNBA players and the current Shockers who are making a good impression in summer workouts.
AfterShocks coach Zach Bush joins us to prepare for The Basketball Tournament starting Monday at Koch Arena. We talk about the memories of the 2025 title, roster returners and newcomers. We also discuss his first season as boys basketball coach at Maize High School, which ended in the Class 6A Tournament, and the addition of the 35-second shot clock.
The AfterShocks play The Enchantment (New Mexico alums) at 8 p.m., July 20 on FS1. It is a best of three series, all in Wichita, with games scheduled for July 23 and the if necessary game on July 24, both at 8 p.m. Prize money is $2 million.
Bush, from Goddard Eisenhower High School, played at Wichita State from 2012-17.
