Coach, athletic director weigh in on state of Wichita State baseball

The way coach Todd Butler sees it, the first phase of turning around the Wichita State baseball program has been completed.

He estimated he was two years behind in recruiting when he took over the program in 2014. His second recruiting class led to gems like Alec Bohm, who is expected to be a top-5 pick Monday in the June MLB Draft, and Greyson Jenista, who is also likely a high draft pick.

The first phase culminated this season — in Butler's fifth year — with the Shockers' 35-21-1 season, their best winning percentage since 2010. The good: WSU went 25-5 in non-conference play, beating several regional powers head-to-head. The bad: WSU didn't come close to a NCAA Regional for the fifth straight season thanks to a 9-14-1 record in AAC play.

"This season was a good season and our guys did a great job of turning it around, but the ultimate goal is to get to postseason and we fell short of that," Butler said. "We're hoping this winning season builds some more character and confidence and next year's team can take the torch.

"Now it's time for the second phase. It takes a little bit of time, but the credit that we're headed in the right direction is the winning season."

WSU has improved by seven wins each of the last two seasons (from 21 to 28 to 35), but Butler's critics are frustrated by how long it is taking to return to a NCAA Regional. The Shockers have 27 appearances in a NCAA Regional and appeared in nine of Gene Stephenson's final 13 seasons on the job.

WSU athletic director Darron Boatright can appreciate fans' fervor to returning to the postseason but also knows that it takes time and is confident in Butler. WSU confirmed that Butler, who is under a seven-year contract, will return for his sixth season in 2019.

"We took some steps forward in some areas, but there are other areas where we still need to get a lot better and a lot stronger and a lot more consistent in," Boatright said. "I wouldn't say the program as a whole took a step forward this season, but I do think we took a step forward in some areas."

The Shockers also had to adjust to a much tougher conference this season. They transitioned to their first year in the American Athletic Conference, which spent much of the season ranked anywhere between the second- and fourth-hardest in the country.

That didn't lessen the frustrations that the Shockers were able to win just two of eight series in conference play and finish seventh in a nine-team league.

"That's nowhere near where we expect it to be or want it to be," Boatright said. "That doesn't fit our program. No one is more upset about that than coach Butler or us. At the same time, we have to acknowledge the step up we took. It's just a good, solid league. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to compete near the top of the conference."

WSU will lose several of its top pieces from this season.

Gunnar Troutwine and Trey Vickers, mainstays in WSU's lineup, graduate, as do three of WSU's top relievers in Chandler Sanburn, Adam Keller, and Cody Tyler. Bohm and Jenista, the team's top two hitters, are almost certain to sign with MLB teams, and Luke Ritter is another possibility to sign.

Butler's top priority this offseason is to identify a Friday night starter, whether that's a returner like Liam Eddy, Tommy Barnhouse, Tyler Davis, or Keylan Kilgore or an incoming freshman.

"We're going to have to wait until after the draft and then start piecing our team together and figure out who's coming back," Butler said. "We have a lot of good guys coming in and then a lot of good ones coming back, too."

The goal is to restore WSU baseball as the attraction it once was.

The average attendance in 2018 dipped to 2,083 fans, the lowest its been since 1998. Some of that had to do with chilly weather for the weekend games, but also some of it has to do with fans waiting for a winner to return.

"These fans have a high expectation for Shocker baseball and so do we," Boatright said. "It's just taken us some time to get there. I do believe in the direction we're going, but we're not there yet. I don't have my head in the sand and think we've arrived because we had a winning record. We can still get a lot better."

This story was originally published June 2, 2018 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Coach, athletic director weigh in on state of Wichita State baseball."