The Barton Community College men’s soccer team has added three players from Great Bend High School.
Sergio Montes, Kevin Morales and Oscar Torres have committed to place for the Cougars next season.
“I’ve known the guys for awhile now from them attending soccer camps and clinics at the college,” Barton head coach Oliver Twelvetrees said. “They have strength. I’ve seen their development through the years.”
The three seniors aided the Panthers in its 15-4 season. Great Bend made the Class 5A state tournament’s quarterfinals before losing 6-3 to Wichita Kapaun-Mt. Carmel.
Barton was eliminated in the second round of the NJCAA Region VI tournament 4-0 by Cloud County.
Torres was a scoring threat for the Panthers.
“Oscar is very quick,” Twelvetrees said. “He works very hard. I think he can be a scoring threat for us.”
Morales played defense for Great Bend. Montes played both midfielder and defense.
“Kevin is a solid defender,” Twelvetrees said. “He is very strong.
“Sergio has the ability to play in the back or midfield. He’s a strong athlete. He could be a center back if he works on his speed.”
Twelvetrees said that he looks forward to helping each of the players develop further as soccer players.
“I think they all have great potential to be great college players,” Twelvetrees said. “They will keep developing and I plan to help them continue to advance as players.”
The Barton coach said that he looks forward to bringing in more talent from Great Bend.
“I have a good relationship with coach Gus (Prieto),” Twelvetrees said. “These seniors had a great year, and there seems to be a good group of talented juniors coming in.
“I think there is a great opportunity for soccer players at Barton, and I hope to keep the pipeline open.”