Copan High School softball hopes to develop youth in 2023 season
Whether Randy Davis ignites another golden renaissance in Copan High School softball is too soon to predict.
The legendary Lady Hornet skipper is in the midst of his third stint with the program — but the roadmap to the Promised Land of state playoffs is still in its genesis of charting.
Following an exodus of talent and leadership from last year’s team, Davis seems to be mostly starting over for the third straight season. Play opens next Monday when the Lady Hornets host Foyil.
There are some bright spots comparatively for Copan, which welcomes back a third-year starting pitcher in Kamryn Van and brings back a veteran sophomore in Zoey Secondine to likely take on the main catching duties.
Copan also is blessed by the return of battle-honed seniors Addy Hunter and Kylee Cobb and junior Elizabeth Odum.
That’s the good news.
“It’s going to be a rough year,” Davis forecasted on the other hand. “We graduated three really good players last year.”
Although he welcomes back five worthy warriors in Hunter, Cobb, Van, Secondine and Odum, the experience factor takes a header off the Grand Canyon from that point.
“We’ve got five or six freshmen out,” he said. “We’re going to have a lot of inexperience out there. The girls we have returning, we have to move them around a little to find what is best for us.”
But, Van likely will be pretty much a mainstay at pitcher, Davis said.
“We’re going to have a pitcher that makes them put the ball in play,” he said.
Davis has sent teams into play for the past 35 or so years. He took charge in the early 1990s of the Lady Hornet softball program and guided them to four state titles (1990, 1991, 1997, 1998.) He was one of four Copan softball coaches to navigate the program to seven state crowns (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1998, 1999) in 12 seasons — Donna Morris, Bill Faulkenberry, Davis and Rick Martinez.
Davis made his first departure from Copan softball after the 1998 season, in order to be an assistant football coach and work with his son Kyle. Kyle would become a decorated police officer before being tragically killed in the line of duty in 2021.
Bartlesville-area softball: 2022 was the Silver Anniversary of Copan's Golden Season
After a handful of seasons, Martinez stepped away as head softball coach and Davis returned to the spot.
He remained in charge until 2013 or 2014, when he retired from Copan and headed to Kansas to coach and teach. Copan, meanwhile, canceled its softball program for a couple of seasons before returning it by popular demand in 2016.
Several different head coaches led it until 2021 when Davis accepted an invitation to try to build it back into a consistent competitive power.
His biggest challenge has been to develop talent with a good amount of raw softball material.
At the time of his return in 2021, his longtime assistant Ronda Williams, who also came back, said on Davis’ return: “This is a great thing for us.”
Copan schools superintendent Chris Smith, who had led the softball program one season prior to Davis’ return, commented “We are beyond excitement. … We know he’s going to be able to show these girls what it takes to create that … tradition.”
It hasn’t been an easy task with the lack of summer youth softball playing opportunities as compared to dozen years ago. But, with a nucleus of five proven veterans to build around, Davis could see his 2023 squad leap to a higher plateau on its climb toward excellence.
Bartlesville E-E area OSSAA state fast pitch softball champions
Copan (7): 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1998, 1999
Dewey (7): 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994
Bartlesville (2): 1982, 1984
Bartlesville Sooner (1): 1980
Caney Valley (1): 2009
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Copan High School softball hopes to develop youth in 2023 season
