About Wichita State Shockers

When you think of unlikely runs to the NCAA Tournament Final Four, you have to think of the 2013 Wichita State Shockers. Under coach Gregg Marshall, the program made only its second run to college basketball’s mountaintop since 1965. On the way to a close national semifinals loss against eventual champions Louisville, the Shockers toppled two perennial powerhouses in No. 1 seed Gonzaga and No. 2 seed Ohio State.

That run might have been the most successful in Wichita State’s history, but the Shockers are in the middle of an astounding period of success. The program has made every NCAA tournament since 2012, a rare feat for a so-called “mid-major” school. Prior to this current period of prosperity, the Shockers had only qualified for consecutive NCAA tournaments twice: in 1964 and 1965, as well as in 1987 and 1988. 

Though they haven’t replicated their Final Four run, the Shockers are usually good for at least one win in the tournament, and they made the Sweet 16 in 2015. No matter what they were considered before this current streak started, the Shockers are now a national name and one that many teams would prefer not to play during March Madness.

Wichita State has done this without producing an abundance of NBA talent, which is even more impressive. The program only has two players in the pros right now, Landry Shamet of the Los Angeles Clippers and Fred VanVleet of the Toronto Raptors. 

Probably the most famous alum of Wichita State is Antoine Carr, who carved out a 16-year career in the 1980s and ‘90s, mainly with the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz. More recently, a couple of New York Knicks players started out as Shockers; Ron Baker and Cleanthony Early both had stints in the NBA that started at Madison Square Garden.