By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
It's been 15 years since Jeff Langrehr last coached at Great Bend High School. And still, the recognition continues to come for what he did as a longtime baseball and basketball coach at the school. On Thursday, Langrehr will be inducted into the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in Manhattan.
"It's cool that I've gotten some recognition," he said. "I'm proud of it, but it's really not what I'm in it for. At times, it makes you feel a little foolish almost that you're getting these awards because there are so many people that go into it. It's kind of a shame that it's not just Great Bend High School baseball going into the Hall of Fame. I really wish it were that way. They were good before I got there, they've been good since I've been there. I was just a part of it for my 22 years. My assistants and all the youth coaches there, it really takes a whole community to have a good program at something, especially baseball."
Langrehr spent the 1987 season as an assistant coach for GBHS, then took over head coaching duties the following year. Over the next 22 seasons, he led the Panthers to a 345-143 record and won state championships in 1995 and 1998. He was the Panther basketball coach for 15 years, winning state titles in 2005 and 2006.
"I loved both sports, always," he said. "I felt blessed that Great Bend gave me a chance at a really young age. Sometimes I look back and wonder, 'What were they thinking?' to let me have a crack at being the head baseball coach at basically 23 years old at a proud program already."
Langrehr moved on to Gardner-Edgerton High School in 2009. He coached basketball there for nine seasons, leading the Trailblazers to a third-place finish at state in 2010. He then retired from coaching and teaching in Kansas, following his daughter to Colorado where he coached basketball for one year at Castle Rock High School. He's spent the last five years as head basketball coach at Harrisonville High School (Mo.) southeast of Kansas City. Last year, he took on the additional role of head baseball coach at the school.
"I have devoted a lot of time in my life to coaching," Langrehr said. "I sometimes feel like that's all I do is move from game to game. Some of my busiest years, I was teaching English, going to basketball practice with the high school kids, then bringing in my own kids to practice and coaching them after that, and coaching them on the weekends."
Rules are different in Missouri with more basketball games and off-season camps. Langrehr is currently sitting at 394 career basketball wins, and he hopes to reach 400 wins before the end of the season. Then it's back to baseball.
"It really adds to my ledger because I'm trying to coach basketball through the most important time, then you're trying to run a couple of off-season baseball deals," he said. "My son is playing college basketball, so when we're away from basketball, we go watch basketball."
Langrehr knew he wanted to be a coach and had "grandiose" ideas of what that might look like. Those ideals have largely played out - except for coaching baseball this late in his career.
"I remember thinking when I was young, maybe I'll coach baseball while I'm young," he said. "I can throw batting practice and hit ground balls and fly balls. Then, as I'm getting older, I can turn my attention to basketball where maybe you don't have to do some of the physical aspects."
He credits his baseball family for part of his success. He played high school and American Legion ball with Kurt Schaub, a longtime assistant coach at GBHS. He worked alongside guys like Terry Jordan, Kurt Wolf, Mike Minton, Jay Black, and current Panther coach Randy Beck. Several athletic directors also played a role in his success.
"Those are the guys; the players, the coaches, the volunteers that have made all this happen," Langrehr said. "The athletic directors who have seen me through my dumb moments and helped me grow, there are just a lot of people who are a part of this thing."
One of Langrehr's early baseball relationships played a direct role in his induction into the KABC Hall of Fame. Tony Brummer was one of Langrehr's first players. Langrehr ultimately invited Brummer to be part of the staff at GBHS.
"He was a guy who, if it rained, everybody else was hopeful we would call practice off," said Langrehr. "Tony was out with rakes and propane tanks trying to make sure we could practice."
Brummer, who nominated Langrehr for the Hall of Fame, is now the head coach at Paola. His Panthers finished fourth at state last year, and third in 2021 and 2022.
Langrehr was inducted into the Great Bend High School Hall of Fame in February 2022. Thursday's KABC Hall of Fame ceremony is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Manhattan.