Wichita State Shockers baseball coach Eric Wedge steps away for health reasons

Wichita State baseball coach Eric Wedge has stepped away from his coaching duties with the Shockers to focus on “personal health-related matters,” the school announced in a news release Thursday afternoon.

The release did not specify the nature of the health matters that Wedge, 54, is confronting. The Shockers are holding their annual Fall World Series this week at Eck Stadium.

The release did, however, state that Loren “Scooter” Hibbs — the Shockers’ assistant athletic director for baseball operations and player development — would assume head-coaching responsibilities for WSU in Wedge’s absence.

Before joining the Shockers in 2019, Hibbs, 61, coached the UNC-Charlotte 49ers for 27 seasons.

“I have absolute confidence in Coach Hibbs and our coaching staff to lead our amazing group of student-athletes who have worked hard through a successful fall, culminating in the final Fall World Series games this week,” WSU athletic director Kevin Saal said in a statement.

It’s unclear whether Wedge, who is entering his fourth season with the Shockers, would return to the program ... and, if so, when.

“We have not made any decisions about the long-term leadership of our program at this time,” Saal said. “Our thoughts are with Coach Wedge while he takes this time during the offseason to address his health needs. Acknowledging the sensitivity of this matter, we have no further comment at this time on the circumstances surrounding his leave.”

Fall Series games were scheduled to continue Thursday afternoon (3 p.m.) and Saturday (1 p.m.) at Eck Stadium. Per the school’s website, admission to the games is a can of food or non-perishable food item to be donated to the Kansas Food Bank.

The Shockers were 31-23 in 2021 but dipped to 21-36 in 2022. Wedge has a career record of 64-61 at WSU, his alma mater, after playing and managing in the major leagues.

He managed the Cleveland and Seattle MLB franchises and then did a two-year stint with ESPN’s Baseball Tonight TV show before his hire by WSU in May 2019.