Take Me Out to the Ball Game :: A Sports Lovers Guide to Wichita

If you think you have to go north to Kansas City or south to Oklahoma City to see good sports you might be surprised to find all the different teams and sports represented right here in Wichita! There are several semi-professional teams in many different sports along with collegiate teams. Top that off with all the sporting events that INTRUST Bank Arena and Hartman Arena bring in and you are set!

Baseball


Wichita Wingnuts
 are a baseball team that plays at Lawrence Dumont Stadium. They are apart of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball and they play other teams across the country. Their games are a ton of fun and have all the same elements of a major league team!

JayhawkCollegiate League: Features collegiate baseball players competing in small towns around Kansas and Oklahoma. These players live with families in the town and most of the teams in this division play in the NBC Tournament at Lawrence Dumont Stadium. Derby Twins ,  Haysville Aviators,  El Dorado Broncos, and Wellington Heat are all local teams that participate in that league.

NBC World Series: Tournament hosted at Lawrence Dumont Stadium. It is a week-long tournament celebration of baseball. Teams from across the country come and try to win the title. In 2016 there was even an All-Star team that featured retired baseball greats including Jeremy Guthrie (former Royal) and Roger Clemens (former NY Yankee/Boston Red Sox). One 24-hour period of the tournament is called Baseball Around the Clock and if you can last the whole time you will win prizes! Tournament starts the end of July and finishes in first week of August.

Soccer

FC Wichita: A men’s team in the National Premier Soccer League with a schedule running March-July playing at Stryker Soccer Complex. In their 2015 inaugural season they won the NPSL South Central Conference Championship and earned a berth to the 2016 and 2017 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup which features teams from the MLS including Sporting Kansas City. 2017 will also mark the first season to have a team in the Women’s Premier Soccer League. FC Wichita Women’s will also play at the Stryker Soccer Complex.

Hockey

Wichita Thunder: Wichita Thunder is a minor league hockey team that plays in the EHCL as an affiliate with the Ottawa Senators. Their season runs October-April and games are played at INTRUST Bank Arena.

Football

Wichita Force: The Wichita Force is a football team in the CIF division and won it’s first title in 2016. Their season runs March-June and games are played at INTRUST Bank Arena.
There are also several local teams playing in smaller leagues throughout Kansas and surrounding areas. Kansas Cougars, Lady Cougars, Kansas Diamondbacks and Wichita Wolfpack are just a few.
 

Collegiate

Wichita State ShockersFriends FalconsNewman Jets are the 4-year colleges in the area with numerous athletic programs.

Other

81 Speedway is a dirt race track in Park City. During the season 81 Speedway hosts weekly auto racing events. It has been in operation since 1954.
Wichita Barbarians and Wichita Valkyries are men and women’s rugby teams. They both play their home games at Harrison Park. Each sport has a fall and spring season that they participate in.
ICT Roller Derby consists of 3 levels of teams comprised of over 40 skaters. They compete against other teams from around the country at The Cotillion.

No matter the sport you can probably find it in Wichita. Some of these teams employ local athletes who have played in or around Wichita growing up and they would love to hear that hometown cheering vibe as they take the field. And who knows, maybe you’ll get to see the next big thing and say, “Hey! I watched him when he was playing in Wichita!”

What is your favorite team to cheer on in Wichita?

Kendra Fernandez
Kendra lives in Derby with her husband Leonard and her two boys- Leo and Jacoby. She works in downtown Wichita but spends most of the rest of her waking hours wrangling two crazy boys. You will more than likely find them at a game or practice. Besides spending time with her family Kendra loves to read and watch Game of Thrones, HGTV marathons and the Royals! She is also very active in PTO at her sons' school and is always trying to find ways to interact with other parents.