Wichita State women’s bowling earns second NCAA Tournament berth

Wichita State women’s bowler Aleesha Oden holds up three fingers after rolling a turkey. (Photo courtesy of Bryan Chavez / Wichita State Athletics)

Mack Smith, Multimedia Reporter • March 25, 2026

It didn’t take long for the Wichita State women’s bowling team to make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

In just their second season as an NCAA program, the Shockers earned an at-large bid during Wednesday’s selection show, even after a 0-2 showing at the Conference USA Championship — a disappointing result for a team who escaped last season’s contender’s bracket to win the tournament.

Wichita State earned the No. 2 seed in the Arlington Region and will face cross-town rival Newman Friday, April 3, at the International Training and Research Center in Texas. The region’s top-seeded and tournament’s overall No. 4-seeded Louisiana Tech, a CUSA opponent, will play Bryant on the other side of the four-team bracket.

The Shockers fell to Newman Nov. 2 this season, 938-923, during the Track Kat Klash. They’ve also split 10 matches with Louisiana Tech this season and have yet to play Bryant.

Wichita State finished the regular season at 73-33 and was most recently ranked No. 5 nationally in the National Tenpin Committee’s March poll.

The Shockers won the Lansing Region a season ago to make the Final Four.

About the Contributor

Mack Smith, Multimedia Reporter

Mack Smith is a second-year reporter, photographer and videographer for The Sunflower. He’s a senior majoring in journalism and media production and hopes to land a job in journalism after graduation.