BY BRETT MARSHALL
When it comes to Western Athletic Conference softball, Great Bend coach Carrie Minton has a keen sense of history.
When she was a junior and senior at Great Bend High School, the Lady Panthers claimed the first two of five consecutive WAC titles.
That legacy of excellence goes back to 1994 and 1995 for Minton. Since she became the head coach in 2011, the Panthers have captured WAC titles in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2023 and 2025. Great Bend has won 13 WAC softball titles.
This time, the Panthers, behind a standout underclassmen group, dominated the WAC by going unbeaten with a 12-0 record. In the conference match-ups, they outscored their opponents 153-36 or an average of 12.8 to 3.0.
“We were in a unique situation coming into the season,” Minton said. “Last year was good (19-7). We graduated a couple of seniors, so with as many returners as we had, you just pick up where you left off. We didn’t have to go through new learning and plans with this group.”
In the all-WAC voting by the conference coaches, the Panthers earned four first-team selections and three on the second team. Of those seven, outfielder DeShawna Bryant is the team's lone graduating senior.
Headlining the group is sophomore pitcher Chayla Prendergast, who was voted Player of the Year after an outstanding season on the mound for the Panthers.
“This group is special in a sense that they are super competitive,” Minton said.
In preparation for the WAC season, Minton's squad played 6A Manhattan, 4A state champion McPherson and Pratt. Then, in the middle of the season, in the Dodge City Classic, played 5A third-place Maize South, 6A state qualifier Derby and Goddard Eisenhower.
“Early on against those teams, we showed we could compete,” Minton said. “It bode well for our season. We hit a rough patch at Dodge City, but the girls showed their maturity and responded to finish the season strong.”
Minton knew her team had a chance in the WAC when they captured all three games against defending conference champion Hays 10-0, 11-5 and 13-7. Their domination continued against conference runner-up Garden City 5-0, 16-4, 9-2, as well as sweeps against Dodge City and Liberal, which had the closest game at 10-6.
"The maturity and experience we had along with the type of competitors they are, allowed us to gain confidence as the season progressed,” Minton said.
Minton said this year’s team handled that “hidden” pressure of ‘just needing to do this or that,’ which is a different kind of pressure.
“We didn’t focus on all the stats because we had such good pitching and good defense, that it allowed us to play relaxed most of the time,” Minton said.
The team was a powerhouse on offense, hitting for an overall batting average of .424 and .482 in the 12 WAC contests. They finished with a team slugging percentage of .632 and crushed 25 home runs.
Junior Katherine Mazouch (.455) and Bryant (.495) led the team in four-baggers with six each. Sophomore Kya Behr (.553) was the leader in average and RBIs (54), and Alyssa McCauley (.500) added 40 RBIs to the stat sheet. The team produced 122 extra base hits, including 91 doubles.
“It’s likely the best hitting team I’ve had,” Minton admitted. “They're aggressive hitters.
Prendergast, McCauley, Behr and Bryant were all first-team selections while Mazouch, Camdyn Post (.444) and Kamryn Koelsch (.371) were named to the second team. Mazouch and Koelsch are juniors while Post is a sophomore. Within that group — catcher, pitcher, infielders — all of them return for 2026.
“Certainly we are excited about what the future holds with this group,” Minton said. “We are fortunate in that our pitchers have confidence in the defense and the defense has confidence in our pitchers.”
Playing that highly competitive non-WAC schedule has benefited the Panthers, Minton said.
“The WAC schedule gives us 12 games, so we try to fill in the rest with teams that are competitive and that will make us better,” Minton said. “Getting a good seeding and playing at home in the regionals is important."
The Panthers' hopes of back-to-back 5A state tournaments ended with a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to Topeka Seaman to end with a 22-6 record.
“It’s a fine line between a good season and a really great season,” Minton said. “We’ll be back next year with the goal of getting to state and taking one more step in becoming the team that makes it.”
Other all-WAC first teamers included pitcher Kyleigh Whitehurst, first baseman Piper Harris and center fielder Yasmin Angeles of Garden City; and infielder Riley Dreher and catcher Avery Solida of Hays.
WAC FIRST TEAM
GREAT BEND—P Chayla Prendergast, 10; 1B-P Alyssa McCauley, 11; SS Kya Behr, 11; RF DeShawnna Bryant, 12
GARDEN CITY—P Kyleigh Whitehurst, 12; SS Piper Harris, 12; OF Yasmin Angeles, 10
HIGH HIGH—P-SS Riley Dreher, 12; C Avery Solida, 12
PLAYER OF YEAR—P Chayla Prendergast, Great Bend
COACH OF YEAR—Carrie Minton, Great Bend
WAC SECOND TEAM
GREAT BEND—IF Katherine Mazouch, 11; CF Camdyn Post, 10; C Kamryn Koelsch, 11
GARDEN CITY—IF Marisol Angeles, 9
HAYS HIGH—OF Alyse Zimmerman, 12; P Jaylee Summers, 11
LIBERAL—IF Taylor Harding, 12; C Haiden Lyon, 9
DODGE CITY—C Tatum Steiner, C
WAC SOFTBALL
Great Bend 12-0 22-6
Garden City 8-4 19-6
Hays High 7-5 17-11
Liberal 3-9 15-13
Dodge City 0-12 3-24
PANTHER PITCHING—Prendergast 14-4, 2.99, 52 ER-121.2 IP, 124K; McCauley 5-1, 5.67 ERA, 27 ER-33.1 IP; Turner 3-1, 4.10 ERA, 9 ER-152/3 IP; Umphres 0 ER-2.2 IP, 0.00 ERA
PANTHER BATTING—Behr .553, 57-103; 33 R, 54 RBI, 17-2B, 1-3B, 3 HR; McCauley, .500, 45-90; 18 R, 40 RBI, 11-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR; Bryant 495, 49-99; 32 R, 37 RBI, 13-2B, 1-3B, 6-HR; Mazouch .455, 45-99; 8-2B, 3-3B, 6-HR; Post .444, 40-90; 46 R, 22 RBI, 5-2B, 1-3B; 1-HR; Koelsch .371, 33-89; 13 RBI, 9-2B, 1-HR; Umphres .370, 30-81; 19 R, 15 RBI, 6-2B, 1-HR; Prendergast .314, 22-70; 14 RBI; 4-2B; 2-HR; Ringo .275, 22-80; 14 R, 9 RBI, 4-2B.
