By BRETT MARSHALL

When long-time Great Bend High School softball coach Carrie Minton decided during the 2025 spring season to call it a career, the Panther program and GBHS administration didn’t have to look far for a replacement.

Shawn Behr had been around the Great Bend program for many years, coaching future Panthers in summer travel ball and working with many of the youth in off-season camps and clinics.

Behr inherited a savvy, veteran team with tons of talent.

“That was one thing Carrie and I talked about when she decided to step down,” Behr said of the transition ease. “We wanted to get someone in there to drive it forward because the foundation had already been laid.”

In the final two years of the Minton era, the Lady Panthers had gone 41-11 overall and compiled a 22-2 record in the Western Athletic Conference.

Behr, who was voted WAC Coach of the Year, brought his own set of expertise and expectations to the diamond for the 2026 season.

The Panthers swept through unbeaten in the WAC for the second straight season and advanced to the Class 5A semifinals before having their best postseason run end with a 13-2 loss to runner-up St. Thomas Aquinas.

“If there were any changes, it’s that I’m probably not as nice a coach as Carrie,” Behr said with a laugh. “Carrie is pretty laid back so there was some difference in my approach. Maybe this group played with a little more fire, but they’ve always been competitive.”

This first edition of the Behr reign finished 26-2 overall. He credited the deep, talented and experienced players for the success this season. The Panthers ran roughshod over the Western Athletic Conference, going 12-0 for the second straight season while averaging 10 runs per game.

Behr enjoyed having a team that excelled in every area of the game – offense, pitching, defense.

“We were fortunate to have a strong lineup from one through nine,” Behr said. “Most teams if you get through your 3-4-5-6 hitters, a pitcher can figure it will be a little easier with your 7-8-9 batters. That was not the case with us.”

Behr’s daughter, Kya, hit .534 with eight home runs. Four more players batted over .400 and the team had a .363 batting average.

“We had innings where our 7-8-9 hitters got on base and scored when the top of our batting order came up,” Behr said. “We work a lot on taking short swings to be ahead of what pitch is coming and then make a strong swing to the ball. Our offense took a lot of pressure off our pitchers and coaches.”

The Panthers graduate six seniors, but Behr returns a solid core group of starters along with bringing up promising underclassmen from the junior varsity.

“We’ve worked on structuring our practices to ensure that every girl has a chance to compete for a spot on the team,” Behr said. “We have enough competition that if somebody isn’t getting the job done, there’s someone else ready to do it.”

While many high school programs are fortunate to have one standout pitcher, Behr and the Panthers enjoyed having a strong 1-2 punch in junior Chayla Prendergast, the WAC Softball Player of the Year, and senior Braelyn Turner.

Prendergast (12-2, 1.70 ERA) pitched 821/3 innings with 94 strikeouts while issuing 26 walks. She started 14 games and earned five saves.

Turner (13.0, 3.10 ERA) pitched 672/3 innings.

“They both bring different strengths to the mound,” Behr said. “If you throw strikes, hit your spots and let your defense play, that equation usually comes out successfully. They relied on their defense, and I believe were invaluable.”

Behr said he enjoyed seeing his team show a lot of resiliency especially when it came to postseason when he had to juggle his pitching staff.

“They displayed a lot of resolve, and some of our younger players got a chance to play which will be valuable to us next season,” Behr said.

Joining Prendergast on the all-WAC first team were teammates Behr at shortstop, Katherine Mazouch in the outfield and Denver Ringo at third base.

WAC FIRST TEAM

GREAT BEND—P Chayla Prendergast, 11; SS Kya Behr, 12; RF Katherine Mazouch, 12; 3B Denver Ringo, 12

GARDEN CITY—1B Ellie Konrade, 9; SS Marisol Angeles, 10; OF Yasmin Angeles, 12

HAYS 2B—Adalie Kippes, 12; SS Brynlee Rupp, 10

COACH OF YEAR—Shawn Behr, Great Bend

PLAYER OF YEAR—P Chayla Prendergast, Great Bend

WAC SECOND TEAM

GREAT BEND—1B Alyssa McCauley 12; C; CF Camdyn Post, 11; P Braelyn Turner, 12

GARDEN CITY—2B Anabelle Castillo, 12; P Brylee Hamblin, 9

HAYS—OF Lanie Becker, 12; Utility Jaylee Summers, 12

LIBERAL—P/C Haiden Lyon, 10

DODGE CITY—OF Karley Webb, 9

CHAYLA PRENDERGAST, GREAT BEND, Sr., Pitcher

Chayla Prendergast and her Great Bend Panther teammates had every expectation of experiencing a successful season.

In Chayla's first two years, the Panthers posted a 22-2 record in the Western Athletic Conference, winning the 2025 title with an unblemished 12-0 mark. They posted a 41-11 record.

When the final weekend of the season arrived, the Lady Panthers found themselves in the Class 5A state semifinals for the first time since the 1990s only to come up one game short of making the state championship game.

Prendergast, though, could only watch from the dugout after suffering an achilles injury in the final week of the regular season. She had, however, made her mark through April and May and was rewarded with being selected as the WAC Player of the Year by the peer coaches in the conference.

“There are so many great players in the WAC and I’ve got a bunch of great teammates," she said. "It’s an honor to represent them and the school.”

In her junior campaign, Prendergast was nearly unhittable, recording an 12-1 record and a 1.70 earned-run-average. In her 821/3 innings, she recorded 94 strikeouts while issuing just 26 walks. She never hit a batter all seas.

“My goal was to make good pitches and trust my defense because I had amazing players behind me,” Prendergast said. “I always knew there was someone behind me to take the pressure off me.”

Prendergast comes from a pitching family as her mother pitched collegiately. She also has three younger sisters and all three of them also pitch.

“I started around age 8 playing T-ball and then began pitching around age 10 to 12,” Prendergast said. “Before pitching I was a catcher, but I’m happy I made the switch.”

Prendergast hopes to extend her playing career, having already made a verbal commitment to Div. I Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

While she admits she doesn’t have a favorite or a best pitch, she has developed a wide repertoire that includes a fastball, dropball, riser, change-up, screwball and a curveball.

“I work on all of them. A lot of the pitches depend on the situation, the batter, how many outs, are there runners on base, is the batter right or left-handed,” Prendergast said. “It’s a lot of fun when I get a strikeout on my change.”

Prendergast ended a 20-day layoff against St. Thomas Aquinas May 28 after she sustained a strained Achilles in her left foot against McPherson May 8.

“I’m going to get it healed up and be ready for next season,” she said. “We have a great group of players. It’s like a big family. We all get along. I think everyone likes to have fun but we are also focused on winning.”