RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
The Grand Canyon softball program has started its season off with a bang. Currently 12-3 on the year, the Lopes are in their first season under the direction of head coach Shanon Hays.
When they arrived at GCU, Coach Hays and his coaching staff had their work cut out for them, including a small number of players returning to the program. “We wanted to start winning games right away and we were basically rebuilding from the ground up,” Coach Hays said. “Coming out of the pandemic, we were looking at very few returning players, which could have left us with a young and inexperienced team and a few tough years before we could see success.”
Coach Hays wanted to combat those obstacles, and one resource to overcome the inexperience of his players was the NCAA’s transfer portal. From the portal, GCU could seek out upperclassmen and graduate students who were looking for a change of scenery for the rest of their collegiate careers. “The decision to bring in so many new players and utilize the transfer portal was very strategic and thought-out,” Hays said.
Through the early part of the season, the players who became Lopes via the transfer portal have already made an impact. First baseman Denae Chatman earned her first WAC Hitter of the Week award after the first week of the season, when she hit .563 with two home runs. Following the season’s second week, transfer pitcher Ariel Thompson earned the WAC Pitcher of the Week award for her efforts.
A total of six players joined the Lopes via the portal last summer. In addition to Chatman and Thompson, who came from Arizona State and North Texas, respectively, the Lopes also added Kinsey Koeltzow (Oklahoma); Macee Barnes (Oklahoma State); Stephanie Reed (Utah State); and Katelyn Dunckel (Oklahoma Christian).
“There is definitely a lot of talent [that] we gained through the transfer portal,” Hays said. The transfer-heavy strategy didn’t stop with an immediate impact, though. “We knew he had to have a strong recruiting class coming up and I feel we did a great job finding the right players for both now and for the future of GCU softball,” the head coach added.
GCU announced a recruiting class of seven signees who will join the program this fall and for the 2023 season. That group includes middle infielder Torie Au, pitchers Taryn Batterton and Hailey Hudson, catcher Mikaela Payne, outfielders Emma Rodriguez and Brynn-Jordan Smythe and third baseman Caitlyn Wong.
Last summer, along with a new head coach and a group of transfer additions came a new coaching staff. Hays hired Sandra Wente and Maribeth Gorsuch to complete his inaugural staff at GCU, two coaches who boast very different resumes.
Wente and Hays have known each other for many years. When Hays started coaching, Wente was the head coach at Central Arizona College. She carries more than eighteen years of experience, including two junior college national championships and coached five All-Americans. “I was always impressed with how she handled her teams and how they played,” Hays said of Wente. “Recently, Sandra had moved back to the Phoenix area, so the timing was right to try to bring her on. I am very excited to have her [as] part of our staff.”
Gorsuch was newly out of school at LSU when she joined the Lopes’ coaching staff. She had gained coaching experience the previous summer, when she became the pitching coach for the Texas Glory 16U program. “Coach Gorsuch is very well known in the game of softball and she will be a great fit here at GCU. I expect her to do a great job developing our pitching staff” said Hays. “I feel very blessed to have such a great staff with so much experience.”
Asked ‘Why GCU, and why now?’ Hays’ response was simple. “Timing,” he replied. “It was the right time and right fit for me. I couldn’t be happier or [more] excited about the future of the program; it didn’t take long for it to feel like home… the beautiful campus and amazing weather was just icing on the cake.” And what’s the ultimate goal for his tenure at GCU?
“Of course, we want to create a winning culture but that is really secondary,” Hays said. “I want our program to attract players that already strive to be their best, know how to be great teammates and have character in all areas of their lives, not just on the ball field. When you have a culture where players are working hard, playing for one another, growing in their faith, and having fun in the process, winning is the natural end result. I’m excited to develop and foster that type of culture. With our current staff and players, we are well on our way.”
— Joy Roeder, Extra Inning Softball Correspondent