To say Coach McCarty of the Klamath Union High School softball team is passionate about her role as head coach is an understatement.

As the saying goes — "energy never lies" — and her childlike smile that graces her face when talking about the players and the amazing season they are having as the winningest team in KU history — says it all.

A 14-Freshman Roster

The team is currently 7-11 with five games remaining in the season — and is a young group with 14 players out of the total 18 being freshmen.

You can say the sky is not the limit for this bunch.

Knowing this group of players will have a couple of years together to develop and learn the game is exciting to say the least.

That kind of young roster — where 14 freshmen play together through high school — produces something rare in high school athletics: multi-year continuity that lets a team grow into something exceptional by their junior and senior years.

Coach McCarty's Motivation

When asked where the source for her motivation comes, the head coach replied:

"I started doing this before I even stopped playing. I love this sport. It's a special feeling when you see a player grow on and off the field. You know as a coach you're giving skills that will help them for a lifetime." — Coach McCarty

That coaching philosophy — skills that help for a lifetime — captures exactly why high-school sports matter beyond the scoreboard.

A great example of making the experience applicable to life — so that the lessons learned and skills acquired add value to the student-athletes in their current and future lives.

Resilience as a Team Quality

One of the most noteworthy qualities and strengths of the team is their ability to demonstrate resilience — focusing on small attainable goals that, according to Coach McCarty, allow the players to build confidence.

This model keeps the team motivated — and even when there is a loss, they can find positive takeaways or areas where they demonstrated growth.

That kind of growth-mindset coaching — where every game has lessons regardless of outcome — produces players who:

  • Don't quit when they're behind
  • Show up to practice after losses
  • Develop year-over-year rather than peaking once
  • Carry the same approach into the rest of their lives

The Toughest Opponents

The team's toughest opponents — as reported by the coach — are those that have a similar playing style.

The age of the team and experience show that despite their lack of experience and youngness, their mere desire to win and display heart makes them a force to be reckoned with.

The 10th-Inning Win Over Phoenix

The headline 10th-inning win over Phoenix was exactly the kind of game that defines a young team's identity:

  • Extra innings — when fatigue and pressure mount
  • A team of mostly freshmen holding their composure against an experienced opponent
  • The kind of comeback that produces lasting confidence

For a 14-freshman roster, beating Phoenix in 10 innings is the kind of game players will remember in their senior year — when they're the experienced upperclassmen leading the next wave of freshmen.

Building the Pelicans' Future

This KU team has their sights set on big things in the future — and one can only imagine where their burning desire to improve and develop in a selfless team-focused way will take them.

When you're 7-11 with 14 freshmen, the question isn't whether you're winning state championships this year. The question is whether you're building the foundation for being a contender in two or three years.

By every measure of player growth, team culture, and resilience under pressure — Coach McCarty's Pelicans are building exactly that foundation.

What This Means for KU Sports

For Klamath Union athletic supporters, the KU softball program's trajectory is worth watching:

  • 2023 — 14 freshmen on roster building the foundation
  • 2024 — those players are sophomores with a year of varsity experience
  • 2025 — juniors with two seasons of varsity play, leading the team
  • 2026 — seniors — the original 14 (or however many remain) graduating as multi-year starters with deep team chemistry

That trajectory — if continued — produces the kind of senior-led, experienced, hungry team that wins league titles and competes for state.

What Coach McCarty Gets Right

The qualities of the team that Coach McCarty has nurtured:

Selfless team focus

A team that prioritizes the collective over individual statistics is a team that wins close games when individual heroics aren't enough.

Resilience after losses

In a 7-11 season, you lose more than you win. Players who show up the next day after a tough loss are players who grow.

Small attainable goals

Goals you can hit produce confidence. Confidence compounds.

Heart over experience

When you're outmatched on paper, heart is the equalizer.

Cheering On the Pelicans

For Klamath Union families, alumni, and basin community members:

  • Show up to games — these young players need the stands full
  • Support Coach McCarty and the program through whatever means available
  • Watch this team grow over the coming seasons — what they're building is real

Thank You

To Coach McCarty — for the energy, the smile, the philosophy, and the investment in 18 young women who are learning lessons that will serve them well beyond the softball diamond.

To the 14 freshmen and 4 upperclassmen — for showing up, working hard, and building something together. Two years from now, the basin will look back at this season as the foundation.

To KU Athletic supporters — keep showing up.

To the Pelicans of 2023 — and the Pelicans 2024, 2025, and 2026 you're becoming — go fight win.

Soar, Pelicans.