New-look Shockers to face rare back-to-back road test to start conference season
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- Shockers to open 2025 conference play with rare back-to-back road games.
- Twelve newcomers fill roster as head coach Paul Mills enters third season.
- Men’s and women’s teams both start conference season with road matchups.
Wichita State men’s basketball is gearing up for a season full of change, and learned on Thursday it will come with a conference schedule that immediately tests the team’s mettle.
The full American Conference slate was released Thursday, confirming a challenging start for the Shockers with back-to-back road games to open up conference season for the first time (outside of the disjointed COVID season in 2021) since WSU joined the league in 2017.
The Shockers open conference play at UAB on Wednesday, Dec. 31, before heading to Charlotte on Saturday, Jan. 3. Four of WSU’s first six American games are on the road, including a swing to the Sunshine state to play at Florida Atlantic (Thursday, Jan. 15) and South Florida (Sunday, Jan. 18).
Home games will mostly fall on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with the season concluding at Koch Arena against Florida Atlantic on Saturday, March 7 for senior day. Other home conference games for WSU include hosting Rice (Wednesday, Jan. 7), North Texas (Sunday, Jan. 11), East Carolina (Wednesday, Jan. 21), Memphis (Saturday, Jan. 24), Charlotte (Wednesday, Feb. 4), South Florida (Wednesday, Feb. 11), Tulsa (Saturday, Feb. 14), Temple (Saturday, Feb. 21) and Florida Atlantic (Saturday, March 7).
Coming off a 19-15 campaign that included a 6-game conference winning streak, an eighth-place finish and the program’s first postseason appearance since 2021, the Shockers enter the 2025-26 season almost entirely new. Twelve of 15 roster spots are filled with newcomers, leaving head coach Paul Mills with a blank slate entering his third season on the sidelines.
WSU officially began full-length practices on Tuesday and will host Shocker Madness on Saturday, Oct. 4 followed by an open scrimmage against Drake at Koch Arena on Saturday, Oct. 11. The season-opener for the Shockers is slated for Tuesday, Nov. 4 against UNC Asheville, while the team will learn their preseason poll position during the conference media day on Monday, Oct. 13 in Birmingham, Ala.
The Shockers’ women’s team also begins conference play on the road, opening at Tulsa on Thursday, Jan. 1, before hosting Tulane on Sunday, Jan. 4. Their home slate wraps against North Texas on Wednesday, March 4, with the regular-season finale at Memphis on Saturday, March 7.
This story was originally published September 25, 2025 at 10:59 AM.
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