Wichita State baseball rewards practice stars with red jersey

The best practice players each week at Eck Stadium are easy to see. He is the Wichita State baseball player wearing a red jersey amidst teammates in black and yellow. The player wears No. 26 each week, and that is where the motivational tactic becomes something special.

Each Sunday, WSU coaches select a position player and a pitcher who contributed the most during the week. The two players earn the right to wear a red shirt with WuShock’s familiar head of wheat perched on top of a Superman logo.

“It doesn’t necessarily mean that if you go 4 for 4 every day, you’re getting the jersey,” said director of operations Scott Gurss. “There’s a leadership component. Can you can call out a teammate if you see him dogging it down the line? If the shortstop didn’t see the (pickoff) play that was put on, can you hold him accountable?”

Outfielder Daniel Kihle and pitcher Sam Hilliard wore the jerseys last week. Red is turning into a coveted look.

“Isaac Anderson came up to me and said, ‘Don’t get used to it — I’m taking it from you next week,’” Hilliard said.

The inspiration is former Shocker outfielder Carl Hall, who wore No. 26 during a career that included Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors in 1994. Hall was paralyzed from the chest down in a 2010 car accident. WSU coaches wanted to recognize his playing style with the jersey, modeled after Under Armour’s Alter Ego clothes based on comic-book figures such as Batman and Captain America.

“I think it’s awesome,” Hilliard said. “A normal practice kind of turns into a different thing whenever I put this on. I think pretty much everyone on the team sees as it as an opportunity to challenge themselves and work hard.”

Gurss came up with the idea and coach Todd Butler, who coached Hall one summer in Alaska, OK’d it. The back of each shirt reads “Hall No. 26.”

“We want Carl Hall to be our alter ego,” Gurss said. “Coach Butler and Coach (Brent) Kemnitz both coached him. If you ask both of them, the guy went all out for nine innings. He went all out for everything and held his teammates accountable. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Gurss talked to Hall, who wanted one addition. Each jersey features “MC” on the left sleeve, memorializing former Shocker Mitch Caster, who died in a 2010 car accident.

The honor will continue through the regular season and players will wear the red jersey under their uniform.

“Coach (Butler) always says Carl Hall covers the outfield like morning dew, which means he’s everywhere,” Kihle said. “For me, as an outfielder, I want to try to be like Carl Hall and cover it like morning dew, not let a ball drop.”

Power of 10 — WSU’s women’s basketball coach Jody Adams has 10 eligible players on her roster. That is plenty for her, even if it doesn’t leave much room for injury.

Adams won a national title playing for Tennessee with a roster low on numbers. She’s coached teams in this situation. The use of male practice players also reduces the wear on her players.

“It’s managing your time,” she said. “Fortunately, we have upperclassmen and they really don’t need as many reps. We will practice two hours, max, and the newcomers that need more reps, they can do more after practice.”

While women’s basketball teams are allowed 15 scholarships, Adams usually coaches with a rotation of no more than 10 players. Last season’s team had 12 on the roster. The Shockers have 11, with sophomore guard Diamond Lockhart, a transfer from Texas Tech, sitting out this season but able to practice.

“It’s really hard to get into that rotation, unless there begins to be somebody that rotates themselves out of that 10,” she said. “My substitution patterns, I would love it if we’re a team of 10 always.”

The Shockers lost two players over the summer. Freshman Anna Khmelevskaya returned home to Russia after her half-sister was seriously injured in an August car accident. Butler Community College transfer Ashlee Ivy isn’t academically eligible.

WSU will hold walk-on tryouts on Wednesday, but not because Adams is desperate for practice bodies. With WSU’s recent success, interest in walking on increased over the past year.

“People are wanting to be a part of it,” Adams said. “People have called in and inquired about walking on.”

Tryouts begin at 5 p.m. at Koch Arena. Candidates must turn in their class schedule and a physical (within the past 12 months) by 5 p.m. Monday.

Hoops on the way — Shocker Madness is Thursday at Koch Arena and the doors open at 5 p.m.

At 6 p.m., WSU’s men’s team will receive its Missouri Valley Conference championship rings before a dunk contest and a 20-minute scrimmage. A ring ceremony for the women’s team and a scrimmage follow.

Admission is free.

This story was originally published October 11, 2014 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Wichita State baseball rewards practice stars with red jersey."