Kristi Bredbenner, Wichita State’s head softball coach, came to Wichita State from Emporia State a year ago in search of a challenge.

 “Not that [ESU] wasn’t challenging, because it always was,” she said. “It’s just a greater challenge for me, knowing in the back of mind, can I be a Division I head coach and be successful at it?” 

Bredbenner also said the size of Wichita was enticing, and WSU reminded her of ESU in a lot of ways.

“When you’ve got something good going, the town is going to be behind you and support you,” she said.

Bredbenner played her college ball at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., where she was a two-time All-American. She holds nearly all hitting records, including career and single-season records for games played, at-bats, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI’s, walks, batting average, and slugging percentage. She hit three home runs in one game to tie for fourth all-time on the Division II single games list.

She became coach at Truman State almost by accident.

 “Coach [Kristy Schroeder] left and I ended up being head coach, at an interim position,” Bredbenner said. “I got into coaching that way.” 

The team went 31-19 with a .620 winning percentage and made it to an NCAA regional tournament that year. She took the opportunity at the end of that season to become an assistant coach at the University of California-Santa Barbara and work alongside Schroeder once again.

After a couple years as a top assistant coach at UC-Santa Barbara, Bredbenner was named the head coach at ESU. During her six-year run at ESU, Bredbenner tallied 295 wins with a winning percentage of .782 and finished as the NCAA World Series runner-up twice. 

Finding her place in Wichita came naturally for Bredbenner, who has taken the wins with the losses and continues to build toward something to be proud of on the national stage. 

She has been balancing the move to a new program and city.

Bredbenner seems to love WSU and Wichita. She is getting comfortable and has found a new favorite restaurant and other good dining places.

“That might be a problem here—there’s so many good places to eat,” she said. “Right now one of my favorite places is Redrock Canyon Grill.”

Bredbenner and her staff are excited about another year at the Division I level of competition. The team went a disappointing 15-40 in her debut season, but there is optimism in the air with a second year of her system at work and new recruits on the way.