Baton Rouge, La. – Hunter Sparks and Rafael Becker, the Missouri Valley Conference Golfer of the Year and MVC medalist, respectively, lead the Wichita State University men's golf team into the NCAA Regional, hosted by Louisiana State University. 

The Shockers are the 11-seed in the 13-team tournament and the top five schools advance to the NCAA Championship.  Wichita State is looking to advance to the championship round for the first time since 2004. 

The team has considerable momentum on its side, having won the MVC Championship by a league-record 32 strokes.  Becker was the medalist while Sparks finished second.  They were the only golfers in the field to score under par at Dalhousie Country Club in Cape Girardeau, Mo. 

Naturally the competition at University Club of Baton Rouge is stiff, and heavy on talent from the SEC.  Golfweek's No. 2-ranked school, Alabama, leads the list while Florida and LSU – playing its home course – figure to be heavy favorites to advance. 

Wichita State faced only two teams in the regional during the regular but bested them both.  The Shockers edged UAB by a single stroke at the Oregon Duck Invitational on March 25-26 and topped Southeastern Louisiana by 10 strokes at the UTSA/Oak Hills Invitational on Feb. 11-12. 

Becker and Sparks lead a squad heavy with post-season experience as the team has been to the regionals each of the last six seasons.  Texas Tech transfer Chandler Rusk will be competing in a regional for the first time at WSU. 

Unlike most regular season tournaments, the regional takes place over three days, beginning with 18 holes on Thursday.  Live scoring is available through golfstat.com.