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 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’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.
The 2014-15 Wichita State basketball team hosted ESPN’s College GameDay, won the MVC title and advanced to the Sweet 16 with wins over Indiana and Kansas. Mike Kennedy and Bob Hull join the podcast to reminisce 10 years later. We discuss a rout of Memphis that set the tone for the early schedule, a dramatic win over Hawaii and a close loss at Utah. We also talk about the rivalry with Northern Iowa, contributions of freshmen Zach Brown and Rashard Kelly and how coach Gregg Marshall and a crew of top-notch assistant coaches led this era. We describe the Evan Wessel game in Omaha, the Zach Brown hustle play and how the feelings between KU and Wichita State differed from the 1981 NCAA meeting.
Former Shocker Toure Murry joins the podcast with an update on his NBA journey. Murry is a player development coach with the Philadelphia 76ers and he describes his job, what makes Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey special and how he is helping former Shocker Ricky Council IV build a career. We also talk about working with Sixers coach Nick Nurse, Murry’s appreciation for Fred VanVleet, and the veterans who helped him as a player. Then we reminisce about his days as a Shocker from 2008-12, highlighted by a turning point after a tough loss, facing Klay Thompson in the NIT and Joe Ragland’s big night against UNLV.
Get set for the week with the Roundhouse Rundown podcast, the fastest five minutes in collegiate promotions. The Shocker men’s basketball team plays at home on Wednesday (Alcorn State) and Saturday (East Tennessee State). Shocker volleyball plays at SMU in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday. All that, plus promotions, ticket specials, Shocker trivia and Shocker history.
Get set for the week with the Roundhouse Rundown podcast, the fastest five minutes in collegiate promotions. The Shocker basketball teams are in Florida this week. Shocker volleyball learns its NCAA destination on Dec. 1 after its AAC Championship on Sunday. All that, plus promotions, ticket specials, Shocker trivia and Shocker history.
On the anniversary of one of that season’s memorable wins, we look back on the 2014 Wichita State basketball season. The Shockers won 35 straight games and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Mike Kennedy and Bob Lutz discuss the NBA talent on that team, the team’s historical importance and the rally at Missouri State on Jan. 11, 2014. We talk about the joys of the regular season, why Tekele Cotton was one of the stars on this team and why Bob predicted an unbeaten season before anyone else. We break down the strength of schedule, the Saint Louis game that sparked a kerfuffle with Doug Gottlieb and hand out plenty of trivia questions.
Radio voice Mike Kennedy and former Wichita Eagle columnist Bob Lutz join us to reminisce about the 2012-13 Shockers basketball season, culminating at the Final Four. We talk about Cleanthony Early’s star turn on that team and his place in Shocker history, the importance of depth and the wacky win at Illinois State. We discuss the significance of the win over No. 1 Gonzaga, torment Bob with trivia questions and reveal some of our favorite moments. Many of those Shockers are in town this week for the alumni reunion at Friday’s AfterShocks game and dinner at Mark Arts on July 22.
Bob Powers and Robert Litan are the co-authors of a new book about Wichita State All-American basketball player Dave Stallworth. Powers was a teammate of Stallworth’s with the Shockers and a member of the 1965 Final Four team. Litan grew up in McPherson and Wichita as a Shocker fan watching the great teams of the early 1960s. All royalties from the book will be donated to the WSU Foundation for the David Stallworth Memorial Scholarship.
