After spending summer nights under the light of Eck Stadium growing up, a familiar — yet unfamiliar — face ushered his way to the grounds of Gene Stephenson Park over the offseason. 

Senior infielder Drew Bugner transferred to Wichita State during the 31-man overhaul for Shocker baseball after two years at Pratt Community College and a year at Pittsburg State. Bugner had previously donned the black and yellow at Andale High School.

“I’ve always wanted to be black and yellow because my high school was black and yellow,” Bugner said. “I always looked up to past players at WSU, and I always pictured myself being in the uniform and playing here. In high school, I played probably 200 games in the stadium during the summers.”

Bugner has an athletic pedigree: his father ran track at Northwestern, the one in the Big 10, and his mother played softball at WSU. His oldest brother, Tyler, spent time in the Colorado Rockies minor league system, and his second-oldest brother, Hayden, was a pole vaulter at WSU under long-time coach Steve Rainbolt. His sister Bailey also played softball at cross-town Newman.

Needless to say, Bugner’s competitiveness runs deep.

“My oldest brother is nine years older than me,” Bugner said. “And then my second oldest (brother) is seven years older than me. I didn’t really grow up playing them in sports or competing against them, but they were always a lot bigger than me. So, it was always competitive in that aspect.”

As the youngest of four siblings, Bugner said he “always looked up to them.”

“Instead of being a close sibling, it was like another parent in some aspects,” Bugner said. “My oldest brother takes my dad’s place. … It irritates him if I’m not trying my best. My older brothers are a big inspiration to me, and I’ve just been trying to make them happy and make them proud. So, it’s kind of like the life story.”

Baseball has surrounded most parts of Bugner’s life ever since he could “swing a bat or walk.”

“I was always around baseball,” Bugner said. “Just because my older brothers played. … I was always watching their games and having to travel with them as they played travel ball.”

Bugner’s road to DI started in the JUCO ranks at Pratt, almost an hour-and-a-half from Wichita. It was the only chance he was given out of Andale.

“And I took it,” he said.

Bugner reflected that his time in Pratt was “boring,” but said “it really made me focus on baseball, because there wasn’t really anything else to do.” After spending his junior season at Pitt State, Bugner entered the transfer portal.

Almost immediately, assistant coach Marty Lees gave Bugner a ring. Those days thinking of wearing a different kind of black and yellow than Andale’s became real.

“He told me what my offer was, and I said ‘Yes’ on the phone,” Bugner remembered from the phone call with Lees. “I didn’t even have the chance to hear what any of the other schools would offer, because I just said ‘Yes’ right away.”

Lees praised Bugner for his athleticism and physical tools on the field. While listed as an infielder, Lees expects he could swing as an outfielder.

“He has one of the strongest arms on the team,” Lees said. “He’s one of the most athletic kids on the team right now. I’ve worked him between (shortstop), any outfield position and second base. And he’s excelled at all of them.”

Lees said the push to recruit Bugner was the need for 31 new players to fill the roster.

“We were looking for somebody that was old,” Lees said. “We were just hunting the best that was available. And then it comes that he’s in the portal from Pitt State and from Wichita. And then you start looking at his stats. You go, ‘We have a need for that.’ He’s played some infield; he’s played some outfield. He’s strong. He wants to be here.”

Bugner said that his dream was to be able to play at Wichita State in his dream stadium, close to home.

“My dad always told me,” Bugner said, “‘if somebody wants you, don’t try to go somewhere that you’re not wanted. The first school that calls you and offers you that means they want you, and you should just go someplace where you’re wanted.’ That’s how I’ve done it.”