The question every Shocker fan has been asking since last summer is “Who will replace Madison Perrigan?”

Perrigan was one of the biggest threats for the Shockers last season. Due to COVID, she was granted an extra year of eligibility as a fifth year senior for  Shockers.  

“I think that (Perrigan) is probably one of the ones we miss the most,” head coach Kristi Bredbenner said. “Madison was behind the plate for five years. You just can’t replace, quickly, that type of leadership and experience, but the three girls are working hard.”

Perrigan started all five years behind the plate at catcher for the Shockers. She stacked career honors during her time in the softball program. Perrigan was named as the Wichita State All Time Home run and RBI leader last season. She also picked up three American Athletic Conference (AAC) honors and made five all teams.

Perrigan finished last season with .297 batting average and also launched 21 home runs, with three coming in the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s definitely an area where we are going to be working out some kinks and figuring out what is going to be the best for us back there,” Head Coach Kristi Bredbenner said. 

The Shockers will have options to replace Perrigan, with Bredbenner naming Lainee Brown, Jessica Garcia and Cassie Passwaters as possible replacements. Brown and Garcia were both on the roster last spring, while Passwater is fresh on the roster after graduating high school in December. She joined the Shockers early in January to add more depth to the lineup.

Garica brings the most experience to the lineup, after hitting .242 and starting five games last spring, while playing more in a utility role. 

“That’s probably going to be the biggest toss up spot that you’re probably going to see the most fluctuation,” Bredbenner said. “Laniee Brown, Jess Garcia, Cassie Passwaters, it’s a big one.” 

Bredbenner is yet to make a decision for the position but feels all three players can make an impact in different ways.

“They all kind of bring different elements to the field, so we have to figure out which one is really gonna be the most important and make the biggest impact,” Bredbenner said.