Game Photo courtesy of Tanner Colvin

It started a year ago with a transformational freshman class, combined with a group of talented sophomores and juniors looking for something, anything, to help push them over the top.

The result was a Salina Central softball season unlike any in school history, including a 21-8 record and first-ever trip to the Class 5A state tournament.

Fast forward to 2026, and the Mustangs are no longer learning how to win. It is expected.

“We definitely have the confidence,” said sophomore pitcher Sophia Johnson, a first team Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League Division II selection last year as part of that five-member freshman class. “I feel like it’s confidence over cockiness, but now we feel that we all work together and have that mentality that we really could beat almost anybody.”

Sophomore Sophia Johnson

So far that belief has been borne out with an 8-0 record heading into Friday’s conference doubleheader at Arkansas City. The most recent evidence came via a sweep Tuesday against rival Salina South in which the Mustangs won the first game, 2-0, then came from behind twice to take the second, 5-4.

Junior Lilly VanZant

“I was feeling like we were ready to start off really strong, just based off our team dynamic,” said junior left fielder Lilly VanZandt, who is enjoying a breakout season at the plate after playing a reserve role last year.

The fact that last year’s freshman class made an immediate impact was no accident. First-year head coach Brian Guyett, an assistant under AVCTL II coach of the year Alyssa Waldron in 2025, was well aware of the newcomers’ capabilities.

“It’s kind of cool,” said Guyett, whose sophomore daughter Joely started has at second base from day one. “There’s four or five of these girls I’ve actually coached since they were seven years old.”

Head coach Brian Guyett

“Believe it or not, they’ve played for me on my summer team that I’ve had for a while.”

Sophomore third baseman Charlotte Gordon, who joined Johnson on the AVCTL first team as a freshman, said that familiarity has been beneficial.

“He’s been my coach for pretty much my entire softball career,” Gordon said. “Just knowing he’s confident in me, that just makes me feel like I can do anything.”

Sophomore Charlotte Gordon

Two key members from those youth teams were Johnson and Joely Guyett, who transferred Central from South Middle School when Brian Guyett joined the Mustang coaching staff.

The Mustangs lost two seniors from last year’s state tournament team, including all-conference first team utility player Valerie VanZant, but the rest of the roster returns intact. Junior shortstop Katy Wagner and senior right fielder Ellie Riekhof both received AVCTL II second team honors, while senior catcher Brooke Banninger, junior first baseman Harper Turpin, second baseman Guyett and sophomore center fielder Paityn Berndt all were honorable mention.

Designated player Hannah Peckham rounded out the 2025 freshman class.

So far this season, Riekhof leads the team in batting with a .522 average, while Gordon is hitting .480, VanZant .462. Guyett .440 and Peckham .400. Val Zant leads is first with 13 RBIs and six doubles and Gordon No. 1 with 14 runs.

“The thing about our team is we’ve been manufacturing runs really well this year,” Brian Guyett said. “It’s a big staple of our season.”

“And we’re a resilient team. Anytime we’ve been down, it seems like that next inning we’ve come back and made sure the deficit doesn’t get too big.”

In the circle, Johnson is the top returning pitcher after compiling an earned run average of 1.99. The ERA so far this year is 1.19, including 10 shutout innings against South on Tuesday, where she threw a four-hitter in the first game and then relieved junior Bailey Bruce in the nightcap.

“I always say when I call pitches for her it’s like playing Nintendo, just putting the ball where I want it to go, and then it happens to go there more times than not,” Guyett said of Johnson. “It’s fun to watch. She just does such a great job.”

Johnson relies on her control to keep batters off balance.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a power pitcher, but I have a good defense behind me,” she said. “I feel like I can definitely hit my spots very well.”

“I feel like if my coach wants me to throw inside, I could probably throw inside nine out of 10 times. Same with outside, anywhere like that. And I would say that my changeup is also a game changer, too, when it’s on.”

Bruce, who pitched sparingly last year, has taken over as the Game Two starter for Valerie VanZant, who graduated.

The blend of last year’s freshmen with current seniors Riekhof and Banninger, plus juniors Wagner, Turpin and VanZant, has allowed the Mustangs to pick up this season right where they left off when they beat South in the sub-state finals to make it to state. Freshman Caylie Kvasnicka has joined the lineup as well, splitting time with Banninger at catcher.

“I think just the girls being able to play with each other so well, and the bond we have with each other on and off the field is very helpful,” Gordon said of the team chemistry. “It keeps us strong.”

Now that the Mustangs have tasted success, something that was missing through most of their softball history, Guyett is determined to keep the ball rolling.

“We’re trying to change the culture,” he said. “That’s a big deal for me, that our girls understand how to play the game and what matters, which sometimes is not getting a hit. Sometimes it’s just making a defensive play or doing the little things that matter at the end of the game.”

“We have a team that’s very unselfish. They play for each other, and it’s really nice to just have a group that there’s no drama.”

And with a lineup that still is young, there is no end in sight.

“We’re set for a few years, that’s for sure,” Guyett added with a smile.