MaxPreps 2015 Kansas preseason softball Fab 5, presented by the Army National Guard

1. Bishop Carroll (Wichita)
2014 record: 25-0, Class 5A state champions
Head coach: Steve Harshberger

Bishop Carroll has won four straight Class 5A state championships, including an undefeated mark last spring. Ace Jessi Haffner, who won the title game each year of her career, graduated and is now at Oklahoma State. However, Carroll returns its other first team all-state pitcher, Brittany Finney, who can hit 70 mph on the radar gun and will play for Oklahoma. Finney transferred from nearby Maize to Carroll before her junior season. The 6-foot Finney went 12-0 with a 0.47 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 44 innings. A MaxPreps second team All-American honoree, she carried a .547 average with 11 homers, including two in the state championship. Senior catcher Lauren Buchanan, a Colorado State signee, collected first team all-state honors. She hit .562 with 11 doubles, eight homers and 31 RBIs and didn't commit an error. Sophomore third baseman Morgan Miller batted over .500 as a freshman. Steve Harshberger had served 24 years as a college coach, including 15 as head coach of Newman University in Wichita, before he took over the Carroll program for the 2014 season.

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2. Olathe East
2014 record: 24-1, Class 6A runner-up to Washburn Rural
Head coach: Jeff Hulse

First team all-state pitcher and three-time Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year Allison Stewart and first-team all-state outfielder McKenna Davis were among eight seniors who graduated, but Olathe East returns a bevy of talent from a squad that lost to Washburn Rural, 9-2, in the state championship. Olathe East defeated Olathe South, 2-1, in the state semifinals with two runs in the sixth. Olathe East has won eight state titles, finished runner-up three times, collected 17 regional crowns and 15 Sunflower League championships. The Hawks have won all their crowns since 1998, including '12 and '13 and four in a row from '04-07. Olathe East is 72-3 in the last three years, and a 19-4 year in 2010 marks the fewest victories since 2002.

Sophomore outfielder Hayley McGhee collected first team all-state Class 6A honors as a freshman, one of two freshmen named to the all-state team in Kansas' largest classification. McGhee, the No. 2 pitcher behind Stewart, finished 7-0 with a 1.36 ERA in 56.7 innings. She carried a .434 average with one homer and 30 RBIs. Senior outfielder Kennedy Poro was a second team all-state selection after she batted .453 with four homers and 29 RBIs. As a team, East batted .403 with a .410 mark with runners in scoring position. Hulse has been on staff since 1993 and the head coach since 2000.

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3. South (Olathe)
2014 record: 20-5, Class 6A third place
Head coach: Mike Allen

Star junior pitcher Lexie Storrer is back after she collected first team all-state honors for the Falcons. She tossed a shutout against Maize in the first round of the Class 6A state tournament and finished with a 17-2 record and 0.78 ERA with a 120/33 strikeout to walk rate with 108 innings pitched. Sammi Bates, a junior, was a first team designated player after she batted .506 with 24 RBIs. Junior catcher Kala Holder and junior infielder Abby Weber each had second team all-state seasons. Holder led the team in average (.560) and contributed two homers, 24 RBIs and 11 extra base hits. Weber carried a .437 average with team highs in runs (30) and steals (11) and 10 doubles. The Falcons, who opened 2014 7-0 and 14-1, lost a pair of regular season games to East (7-0, 3-1 on May 14) before the state defeat. Allen served as the team's assistant from 1998-2001 before he took over as head coach. South has made the state tournament seven times since 2004 and earned runner-up in 2010 and '12.

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4. Goddard
2014 record: 21-1
Head coach: Rita Smith

Junior shortstop Miranda Rohleder and junior outfielder Brianna Fuchs are back after they were first team all-state selections in 2014. Goddard returns a pair of second team all-state picks with senior pitcher Megan Graf and sophomore infielder Talli Shepherd. Graf finished 10-1 with a 0.62 ERA and batted .318 with two homers and 19 RBIs. Rohleder is a terrific shortstop who helped the Lions finish unbeaten in the regular season. She batted .585 with nine doubles, seven triples and 36 runs scored. Rohleder carried a .993 fielding percentage. Goddard had a perfect record heading into a regional championship home game against Maize South, which it had defeated 4-0, 11-1 earlier in the year. Maize South scored four unanswered runs in the final two innings for a 4-3 victory that kept Goddard a game away from the state tournament. Two years ago, Goddard was the No. 2 seed entering the state tournament, but eventually took fourth after a third-place loss to Maize South.

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5. Chase County (Cottonwood Falls)
2014 record: 26-0, Class 2-1A state champion
Head coach: Brian Potter

Chase County won its third-straight Class 2-1A state championship with a 5-1 victory against Hillsboro in the finals. It ended a 26-0 season that bumped the Bulldogs' winning streak to 72 straight. It ties the all-time Kansas record with Sacred Heart, which won 72 in a row from 2005-08. The Bulldogs collected MaxPreps Small School Team of the Year after the title. Brian Potter, 93-4 with the Bulldogs, earned Coach of the Year. Chase County trailed just three times all year, including 1-0 in the state semifinals and finals before comebacks. CCHS outscored opponents 309-14 and permitted more than one run in just one contest. Chase County batted .478 as a team.

The Bulldogs graduated just three seniors and return senior catcher Cassidy Kelsheimer, who earned MaxPreps Small Schools All-American second team honors. She led the team with a .618 batting average, and 12 homers, one each in the semifinals and finals, along with 50 RBIs and 48 runs scored. Senior pitchers Tori Burkhart and Brianna Potter return after they combined for a 0.40 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 121 innings. Senior third baseman Megan Jirak returns after a .582 average and seven homers in 2014. Senior infielder Mikala Potts carried a .500 average with a team-high 14 steals. Potter, Burkhart, Potts, Jirak and Kelsheimer all had first team all-state honors. Chase County last lost 2-1 on April 3, 2012.