Good morning! If you were wondering about when the AAC’s men’s and women’s basketball pairings were going to be released, wonder no more. The opponents for the 2023-24 season are official, and with the addition of six new schools to the conference, the Shockers will get the opportunity to face a lot of new foes.

What all are we mixing into today’s Brew?

🏀 AfterShocks Recap
🏆 Scholar of the Year
🌾 ​And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 AfterShocks. Game one of TBT is in the books, and the regional host AfterShocks came away with an opening round victory against the eight seeded B1 Ballers 66-54. Jordan Parks sealed the deal for the AfterShocks with a game-winning dunk to end the game with a bang.

🕺 Markis McDuffie is all of us after the win.

Charles Koch Arena was filled with 4,513 of the best fans in Wichita to come see the former Shockers, as well as the 2012-13 Final Four team, represent WSU in The Basketball Tournament. Next up is the Beale Street Boys later tonight at 8:00pm.

🔼 Win As A Team, Study As A Team. Our Shockers are more than athletes, and now, these two teams have the hardware to back it up.

🥎 The Shocker softball program earned its first-ever AAC Team Academic Excellence Award for their efforts in the classroom all year.

⛳️ The men’s golf team went 2010 Miami Heat on us when they said ‘not one, not two, not three’, and earned their four-peat with an AAC Team Academic Excellence Award selection.

🔼 Hometown Hero. The 5A State champ is coming home. Kansas transfer Zach Sokolosky will be joining the Shockers’ golf program this upcoming season as a redshirt junior to return to his hometown of Wichita.

Sokolosky won the 5A State Men’s Golf title in Kansas in 2017 and set a single-round score record for his high school after shooting 64. After four seasons with the Jayhawks, the former champ brings his experience to help boost the golf program to the next level.

🗣️ “Zach is going to come in here and help us immediately. I’m super excited to have him here.” - Head Coach Jacob Easterling

🔼 The Roundhouse Talks Final Four. After getting together for the 10 year reunion of the 2012-13 season where the Shockers found themselves in the Final Four, The Roundhouse team met up with some of the members of that team to talk about their journeys to get there, and the memories they made along the way.

🎧 Listen in to hear Ehimen Orukpe’s incredible story of what it meant for him to be a member of that team.

📚 Read about Trey Wade as they dive into his role in that Final Four run, and now, TBT and the AfterShocks.

🔼 Save the Date! The inaugural Black and Yellow Gala will be later this summer on August 19th at the Charles Koch Arena. The event will go directly toward the support of all Shocker student-athletes and teams. Join us for this fantastic fundraising event by purchasing tickets down below.

🤔 SHOCKER TRIVIA

Board Man. Former Shocker Ehimen Orukpe earned his time on the court every time he suited up. The big man could do a little bit of everything, but his specialty was blocking shots.

Our question today — during the 2012-13 season, how many shots do you think Orukpe blocked?

Think you got it? Scroll on down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

🌾 ONE BIG THING

From now on, he’s Brock Rodden: Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Rodden was awarded the 2022-23 AAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for both his outstanding play on the diamond this year, and in the classroom. On the field, he batted .371 from the plate, hit 17 home runs and drove in 64 runs in just 55 total games. In the classroom, he earned a 3.77 GPA as a health science major.

The American’s Player of the Year and fifth round MLB Draftee now has another award to put up on the wall.

📬 STICK WITH US

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🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 56!

Orukpe’s 56 blocks earned him a tie for fourth on the all-time blocks-in-a-season list. The 7-footer made his presence known every time out on the court.

Have a great weekend, y’all.