The numbers that show Wichita State is home to two of the best NCAA softball players
Wichita State is home to two of the best players in the NCAA softball world.
Sydney McKinney and Addison Barnard are assaulting the Wichita State softball record books again this season, piling up the national accolades and leading the Shockers to a 24-13 record entering Wednesday’s 6 p.m. clash with the Kansas Jayhawks at Wilkins Stadium.
Both players were honored as preseason All-Americans by Softball America, while McKinney was on the Top 50 watch list for the USA Softball Player of the Year. This coming after McKinney was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and Barnard the conference tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
Even with opposing pitchers dialed in against them, McKinney and Barnard have found a way to elevate their games to a new level this season. McKinney leads the country in hits per game (1.75) and is fifth in batting average (.477), while Barnard leads the country in home runs per game (0.54) and is fourth nationally with 52 RBIs.
“Addy and I never really talk about that stuff,” McKinney said. “We don’t put too much pressure on ourselves because there’s already so much pressure. The two of us understand the same pressure and what we have to do. We’re always trying to get to the next level. It’s awesome having her on the team and knowing she is at the same level as me. We push each other in the most positive way.”
What makes the duo so special is how each player has reached elite status their own way as a hitter: McKinney is a maestro at contact, while Barnard wields one of the most swings in the country.
Together, they make one of the most dangerous 1-2 punches at the top of any lineup in the country.
“Just the power the ability and athleticism and speed, they’ve got it all,” WSU coach Kristi Bredbenner said. “When those two do well, our program is probably going to win that game.”
The duo benefits from playing together by studying film and watching how the other operates at the plate. It’s not likely a coincidence after playing a season together, McKinney has increased her power — hitting 11 home runs in 36 games compared to 10 home runs in her first 137 games at WSU — and Barnard has increased her batting average from .323 to .388.
“Sydney can hit just about every pitch there is,” Barnard said. “If it’s 10 feet in the air, she’ll find a way to tip it off. Just watching her battle at the plate is insane. I’m a different hitter, more of a power hitter, but she’s been hitting way more home runs this year. So I take away, I don’t have to swing for the fences every time. You’ve just got to meet it.”
It only took Barnard 37 games in her sophomore season to become the first player in program history to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases. In only 89 career games, Barnard is already second all-time in WSU history in home runs (42) and is on pace to shatter her own single-season program records in home runs (20) and RBIs (52), as well as break an 8-year-old record in slugging percentage (.917) and a 16-year-old record in stolen bases (24).
Meanwhile, McKinney (173 career games) is 10 hits away from becoming the program’s all-time hits leader (241) in nearly a full season less than current leader Britnee Barnett, who played 247 games from 2005-08. She also ranks fifth nationally with 114 total bases and fifth nationally with 45 runs scored.
With McKinney still eligible for one more season and Barnard having two more years left, there’s no doubt each player will have their name all over the WSU record books by the time their careers are over. They have each handled the pressure from those expectations in their own way.
“What’s been working for me is just trying not to put so much pressure on myself,” McKinney said. “It’s easy to when you see the big numbers and the end-of-year accolades. Not comparing myself to last year has been big for me.”
“The biggest change for me is that I just have to realize that I’m not going to get a lot of good pitches to hit,” Barnard said. “It’s hard because sometimes I get anxious and I want to hit the ball, but I have to realize this year is going to be a year where I have to be more selective. People know what I can hit and they’ve scouted me. I’m not a freshman anymore.”
Bredbenner suspects each player’s success and how they have each been able to stay humble while becoming college softball superstars can be attributed to their humble upbringings in small towns. McKinney played Class 1A softball in Norborne, Missouri (population: 858), while Barnard grew up working on a farm in Beatrice, Nebraska.
After playing just four home games in the first 37 games of the season, WSU has seven of its final 10 games at Wilkins Stadium. The Shockers host Memphis for a 3-game weekend series starting with Friday’s 6 p.m. first pitch, as WSU (7-2 AAC play) looks to stay within striking distance of first-place UCF (9-0 AAC play) before the two teams meet in the regular-season finale in Wichita.
“Looking at the stats is pretty cool, but most of those things I didn’t know were even possible or that I was doing them until I see them on Twitter,” Barnard said. “I take a moment and look at the numbers and say, ‘Wow, that’s awesome.’ But we have to keep moving forward and I have to do what’s best for the team and that’s to get base hits and continue to be a team player.”
This story was originally published April 20, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
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