By BRETT MARSHALL
Western Athletic Conference
Great Bend’s Umphres voted Player of Year
It was by the slimmest of margins, but that’s all that matters when it comes to wins and losses to determine the Western Athletic Conference baseball champion.
This year, it was a razor-thin battle between the Hays Indians and Great Bend Panthers, the two most successful programs in the conference’s four decades of existence.
Hays prevailed, winning two of three in the newly formatted schedule in which teams play each other three times, one at home and two on the road or vice-versa.
In the early portion of the schedule, Hays won the first game on April 1, 5-4, then added a 4-2 triumph on April 15 as part of the doubleheader before Great Bend broke through and won the finale, 10-3.
At the end of the 12-game conference slate, it was Hays atop the standings at 11-1 and Great Bend a game behind at 10-2. Overall, Hays finished the regular season 16-8 and Great Bend 19-5.
“One of the main things for us this year was our solid senior class,” said Hays Coach Dustin Dreher. “Quite a few of them gained a lot of experience as juniors and some played varsity as sophomores.”
Another contributor to the team’s success was its collection of pitchers.
“We’re fortunate in that we have had a lot of good arms,” Dreher noted. “I don’t think we have a lot of high-powered arms, but they do a good job of keeping the ball over the plate and then let our defense do its job. I think we have one of the best defenses in the state.”
Since he became the head coach (2020), Dreher said he has tried to strengthen the team’s schedule outside the WAC.
That includes playing tournaments in DeSoto, Bonner Springs and other schools that are among the top Class 4-5-6A schools.
“It’s a measuring stick for us to see where we are,” Dreher said of the tough slate. “We want to be able to see what it’s like to compete against the best.”
“I think it shows that when we are playing at a high level, we can compete with the best teams,” Dreher said. “
Dreher likes his lineup in the 1 through 9 positions, citing that all of them make good contact when at the plate.
“We’ve got guys who compete, and our offense is exciting to watch,” Dreher said. “We put stress on other team’s defenses by running the bases. We do a lot bunting, hitting to the gaps and getting a lot of singles. We don’t have a lot of big innings, but we just keep trying to advance runners.
“When you do all of those little things, you find ways to win.”
Many of Dreher’s players have had him as the coach since they were in the second, third and fourth grade.
“It’s a close-knit team,” Dreher said. “They are friends, like family and teammates and they get together in the offseason. We have a nice indoor facility that they use in the offseason and that helps tremendously.”
This year’s Hays team split a doubleheader with 4A No. 5 Rock Creek; lost two games to No. 6 4A Clay Center; lost 2-0 to 5A No. 7 seed Kansas City-Piper and lost to No. 4 6A Manhattan and to No. 3 2-1A Thomas More Prep.
Perhaps Great Bend as the WAC runner-up complements the Hays squad by employing many of the same strategies especially when it comes to scheduling.
This year’s non-conference schedule included losses to 5A power Wichita-Bishop Carroll (10-5); a split with No. 1-seeded Class 4A McPherson (Won 15-0, Lost 5-0); wins over Lee’s Summit North, Mo. (5-4) and Gardner Edgerton (2-1) and a lost to Class 5A No. 1 seed St. Thomas Aquinas (2-0).
Both teams then swept through their respective Class 5A regional tournaments to win two games and advanced to the state tournament at Wichita State University’s Eck Stadium. Great Bend’s wins in regional came against Arkansas City, 10-0, and Wichita-Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 5-4. Hays’s victories were one-run thrillers – 6-5 over Salina South and 2-1 over Andover High.
Versatile Carson Umphres voted WAC Baseball Player of the Year
If there is one description of Carson Umphres when it comes to his role with the Great Bend Panthers’ baseball team, it could be that he likes to be in the middle of things.
Depending on the opponent and other factors, the senior can be found pitching the bulk of innings for his squad. When he’s not throwing on the mound, he will be either in centerfield or shortstop (when Daxton Minton is pitching – the usual shortstop).
“It’s been a great season, and everyone is competitive on the team,” said Umphres who was voted by the conference coaches as the 2025 Player of the Year. “I think we’ve got a great collection of athletes and it’s a real credit to the coaches. It says a lot about how they get people to come out and then develop them in all the sports we have at the school.”
The POY award was a bit of a surprise to Umphres when he was notified.
“It’s a great honor because there are many other outstanding players in the league,” he said.
Umphres finished the regular season and regionals with a 7-2 won-loss record, he saved two other wins for the Panthers in relief and pitched a team-high 58.2 innings. His earned-run-average was a miniscule 1.67, giving up only 14 earned runs all season. He recorded 61 strikeouts and walked just 15 batters.
“I think my velocity improved quite a lot this year,” Umphres said. “I was able to work on my arm strength (increasing fastball from 85 to 90mph).”
Umphres utilizes a variety of pitches, and the repertoire includes a slider, change-up, knuckle ball and fastball.
“I’ve been throwing the knuckle ball since I was 10, and it is my favorite pitch,” Umphres said. “Not too many hitters in high school see a knuckle ball and I think that’s why I like it so much. I don’t throw a curve because I couldn’t control it and I’ve got my change-up to throw to the other side (of the plate).”
When he is hitting, Umphres is in the lead-off spot with the goal of getting on base any way possible.
“Last year I didn’t hit a lot of hard balls for base hits and this year the ball got to the outfield a lot quicker, so I had to find ways of getting to second base,” Umphres said.
That translated into stealing bases, and he had 31 of those. He batted .450, had 36 hits including six doubles, three triples, five home runs that produced 31 RBIs, and 44 runs scored.
“I opened up my spray chart for hitting this year,” Umphres said. “I had a lot of hits to the gaps and had many more hits to the right side.”
Defensively, when he’s playing centerfield and shortstop, he’s usually in the middle of most plays.
“At shortstop you’re like the commander of the defense, making sure the ball gets where it needs to. You just put it all on the line.”
2025 WAC All-Conference Teams
FIRST TEAM
Carson Umphres - 12 - OF/P - Great Bend
Carter Graham - 12 - INF/P - Hays
Cooper Johnson - 12 - INF/P - Hays
Daxton Minton - 11 - INF/P - Great Bend
Jakobe Rathbun - 10 - INF/P - Garden City
Ian Premer - 11 - 1B - Great Bend
Max Gonzales - 10 - 1B/P - Dodge City
Koehn Ribordy - 11 - OF/P - Great Bend
Alex Schwindt - 12 - OF/P - Liberal
Player of the Year: Carson Umphres - Great Bend
Coach of the Year: Dustin Dreher - Hays
SECOND TEAM
Trace Jacobs - 12 - OF/P - Hays
Landon Martinez - 12 - OF - Liberal
Johnny Cano - 12 - INF/P -Hays
Hunter Herrman - 12 - OF/P - Great Bend
Jace Gifford - 11 - P - Dodge City
Kyler Metzen - 12 - UTL - Garden City
Culden Plankenhorn - 11 - UTL - Garden City
Ian McGuire - 12 - OF - Hays
Trenton Kern - 11 - INF - Great Bend