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.
Wichita’s credentials as a basketball city and Wichita State’s hoop history paid off on Thursday in a major way. INTRUST Bank Arena will host the Opening Round of the NCAA Tournament in March 2027 and 2028. Wichita State senior associate athletic director Brad Pittman joins the podcast to discuss the timeline, the process and what this means for the city.
Wichita and Dayton will host three games each day on the Tuesday and Wednesday after Selection Sunday. The tournament expanded to 76 teams from 68 and Wichita is the beneficiary. The Opening Round of the 2027 championship will take place March 16 and 17 and will feature the 12 lowest-seeded automatic qualifiers and the 12 lowest-seeded at-large teams.
Jahari Long and Bryce Heard wrap up the series introducing Shocker basketball newcomers. We talk about uniform numbers – Heard got a prominent one – and Long’s 2017 visit to a packed Koch Arena. We discuss first impressions of Shocker basketball, the practice drill they disagree on and musical selections for warmups. Long is a 6-foot-5 guard from Houston. He averaged 12.2 points, 4 assists and 3.3 rebounds at George Mason last season. Heard is a 6-foot-6 guard from Chicago. He comes to Wichita State from Dayton, where he averaged 6.6 points and 2.4 rebounds for the Flyers.
We start the Shocker basketball newcomer series with guards Jordan Frison and NuNu Jones and center Cyr Malonga. We discuss how Wichita State coaches communicated their plan for the newcomers during the recruiting process, what Jones is learning from his experienced teammates and why Frison asks a lot of questions. Malonga describes his role as a lob threat and shot-blocker and reveals his affection for the TV show “Suits.”
