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.

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.