by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Gary Shrader has a tough act to follow in his 15th season as Kansas City Kansas Community College golf coach but then he has no one else to blame but himself.
Last year, Shrader assembled the most successful Blue Devil golf team in history. With a team made up entirely of Kansas City, Kan., area players, the Blue Devils finished fifth in the NJCAA Division II national tournament. However, with success comes graduation and four of the five Blue Devils who played in the 2015 national tourney have departed for four-year schools.
Only Mark McClain, a sweet swinging southpaw from Bonner Springs returns. First team All-Region and All-Jayhawk Conference honorable mention, Shrader expects McClain to lead the way in 2015-16.
“Mark is capable of playing in the red (below par) every time he goes out,” Shrader said.
From there, it’s a real shootout for the other four starting berths.
“For a few of our practice rounds we’ve had 10 players shooting under 80,” Shrader said. “Getting those kinds of scores this early from new young players on courses they don’t know is exciting. I would say on any given day we have about six players who could play the No. 2 position.”
To break up the logjam of challengers, Shrader is taking 10 players to the opening meet of the year, the Allen County Quadrangular to be played at Emporia Golf Club.
“I’m going to take as many two five-man teams to tournaments as I can,” Shrader said.
While McClain is the only returning starter, sophomore Colton Allen of Shawnee Mission Northwest and UMKC mid-term transfer Evan Shartzer of Blue Valley North saw varsity action this past spring as did Zach Spencer, a transfer from Baker University. In addition, there are three candidates who red-shirted last year, sophomore Dalton Ayres of Newton and freshmen Jeremy Dunham and Matt Thayne of Hesston.
“It’s a pretty solid lineup of seasoned players,” Shrader said. “Allen and Shartzer played behind a pretty strong lineup.”
Heading the list of promising newcomers are Cody Foster of Shawnee Heights Tecumseh, Jack Barnhart of Hesston and Micah Morris of Guthrie, Okla., the team’s lone non-Kansas player, along with Blaine Smith of Piper and Zach Wurtz of Topeka Hayden.
“Some have been impressive with their work ethics,” Shrader said. “But until you get into tournament conditions at the college level you just never know. That’s why we will play as many players as we can.”
After the opening Allen County Quadrangular at Emporia Golf Club Sept. 2-3, the Blue Devils will compete in invitational tournaments held by William Woods April 11-13, Central Methodist Sept. 20-22 and Missouri Valley Oct. 6-8.The final two events are in the Kansas City area, the Avila Invitational at Swope Park Oct. 11-13 and the Park Invitational at The National’s two courses in Parkville Oct. 19-20.
Kansas City Kansas Community College
2015 Golf Schedule
Sept. 2-3 – Allen County Quadrangular Emporia GC
Sept. 11-13 – William Woods Invitational Fulton, Mo. (Tanglewood)
Sept. 20-22 – Central Methodist Invitational Boonville, Mo.
Oct. 6-8 – Missouri Valley Invitational Marshall, Mo.
Oct. 11-13 – Avila Invitational Swope Park
Oct. 19-20 – Park Invitational National, National II
2015-16 Golf Roster
Yr. Hometown (High School)
Colton Allen Soph. Overland Park, KS. (SM Northwest)
Dalton Ayres Soph. Newton, KS. (Newton)
Mark McClain Soph. Bonner Springs, KS. (Bonner Springs)
Evan Sharzer Soph. Leawood, KS. (Blue Valley North)
Blaine Smith Soph. Kansas City, Kan. (Piper)
Zach Spencer Soph. Olathe, KS. (Olathe East)
Jack Barnhart Fr. Hesston, KS. (Hesston)
Jeremy Dunham Fr. Derby , KS. (Derby)
Cody Foster Fr. Shawnee Heights, KS. (Tecumseh)
Micah Morris Fr. Guthrie, OK. (Guthrie)
Matt Thayne Fr. Hesston, KS. (Hesston)
Zach Wurtz Fr. Topeka, KS. (Hayden)
Head coach – Gary Shrader (15th season)