All five seniors — Bella Douglas, Kendyl Archibald, Bostyn Lish, Luci Roche and Aubree Fry — learned about state stardom first-hand two years ago, winning the program’s 11th title in Calvin Bingham’s final run as head coach.

Coaching jobs fluctuate, even among the winningest of traditions. But second-year Bear River head coach Jordan Theurer didn’t get involved to see that pattern dissolve in just a couple of seasons. It’s not in her DNA, as a coach or player.

Bear River is the 2025 Standard-Examiner All-Area Softball Team of the Year.

Playing for one of the state’s winningest coaches in Calvin Bingham, Theurer was part of three consecutive state titles from 2009 to 2011. As a coach, the Southern Utah alum assisted Taleas Nelson in winning another title at Box Elder in 2018; the duo replaced Bingham at Bear River in 2024.

Jared Lloyd, Standard-Examiner

Bingham tallied a state-high 11 titles at Bear River from 2001 to 2023, winning a state-high five consecutive titles from 2008 to 2012.

Needless to say, following up Bingham’s career 506 wins — second all-time to Spanish Fork’s Don Andrews — is a tall order in the Utah softball sphere.

“Going from Bingham’s staff, to having an entire new staff come in and having to learn everything we wanted with our culture, they just took it and ran with it,” Theurer said. “From the first day, it was, ‘What can I do? How can I help my teammates?’ That just goes to show what sort of players they are. They put the team above themselves and did whatever they could.”

In her first crack last year, Theurer led Bear River to an 18-10 finish as the No. 7 seed in the 4A postseason. The Bears challenged, and missed, eventual state runner-up Desert Hills by a single contest in the if-needed round of the state semifinals.

All the while, Theurer’s mantra — “Coach ’em hard, hug ’em after” — remained unchanged.

Jared Lloyd, Standard-Examiner

A senior-led squad returned with a 6-0 start this March, collecting two 10-plus hit victories with eight or more RBIs during a four-game tour of St. George. The return of junior ace Kate Wilson (1.83 ERA), delivering 31 wins and 303 total strikeouts (sixth all-time) anchored an already-deep lineup poised for a postseason run.

For a senior like Douglas, those early weeks made it clear just how much was on the table.

“We knew how much trust they had in us,” Douglas said. “I think that it accentuated this past season, pretty much in St. George. We started our five games off really strong and we kind of knew from there and had that gut feeling that this was a championship-winning team.”

The Bears returned home for an 11-1 win over Logan in their March 11 region opener but dropped a 7-5 non-region home matchup with Riverton a day later. They’d give up just one other regular-season loss, a 3-1 home defeat to eventual 5A semifinalist Bountiful, on April 23.

Region champs at 12-0, Bear River waltzed into the state playoffs as the No. 1 seed with a regional-round bye. Defending champs Ridgeline succumbed to the Bears 7-6 in bracket play, later falling victim to the timely hitting of Wilson and Lish in the waning frames of the semifinals.

CONNER BECKER, Standard-Examiner

Douglas arrived early in that semifinal contest, blasting a two-run home run in her first at-bat.

“I needed to take it very seriously,” Douglas said. “This is a winning program and a winning team, so I wanted nothing less than that. Neither did (Theurer), so we’re very grateful for the winning mentality they brought in and continued.”

Such dedication seemingly paid off, as Douglas and her teammates watched their home crowd numbers steadily rise during state games in Spanish Fork and Provo.

“Half the people don’t even know who we are,” Douglas said. “We just know their faces because they’ve been there since we were freshmen. The people, even those we’re not even related to or have a connection to, why they’re connected to Bear River softball is truly a special thing.”

A semifinal win set up a rematch with Desert Hills in the state championship, resulting in a Game 3 walkoff RBI from junior Marsley Tisdol. Tied 2-2 in the eighth, Tisdol’s timely hitting freed Fry for the game-winning run, bringing Bear River to a state-high 12 titles and the first of Theurer’s career as head coach.

Jared Lloyd, Standard-Examiner

Fry’s game-winning run came on the heels of a potentially game-saving diving out by Archibald in the top half of the eighth, stranding a baserunner and locking the scoreboard at 2-all.

The layers to Bear River’s postseason tale, and the finish at BYU, create what Theurer considers the pinnacle of her career thus far.

“We got put in so many pressure-filled situations that most kids would’ve just folded,” Theurer said. “It was fun to watch our kids lean into the pressure and just want it.

Theurer continued:

“This was the best state championship I’ve been a part of throughout my life. As proud as I am of them, I’m more proud of the leadership my five seniors showed. They, hands down, were the reason why we won. They led by their words, by their actions and that’s the reason those girls were able to attain that state championship.”

Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.