CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Brad Shorter called it “odd” on Tuesday night to be back on the court inside Carl Junction High School’s gymnasium, but to be on the opposite side of the sideline.
He guided McDonald County High School past Carl Junction that night in a girls basketball contest, something he hadn’t done since the 2013-2014 season when he coached at Webb City. The next year he was a Bulldog, and he stayed with Carl Junction for nine straight seasons. He coached at the school a total of 12 years, as he was also head coach from 2005-2008 prior to spending six years at Webb City.
Tuesday night’s game saw the Mustangs outlast the Bulldogs 41-32. The game was tight almost all night long. The largest lead was 12 points for Shorter and his team but CJ closed the gap late to cut it to 5 points before ultimately losing by 9.
“I hope no one plays well against McDonald County except for maybe Carl Junction. You know? ’Cause I love those kids and the ones that I got to coach,” Shorter said.
After 12 seasons and notching the majority of his now 504 career wins at CJ, it’s hard to not be OK with that team playing well against him. The win over the Bulldogs marked 503 in Shorter’s career as a head coach and he notched 504 on Wednesday against Aurora. He earned 275 of those wins as a Bulldog and posted a 275-72 overall record.
So, being back there Tuesday was simply “cool,” even if it was as a coach of a different team. Part of that is because of an individual or two.
Reunion
Shorter’s 2022-23 squad at CJHS made a run to a state championship game, finishing runner-up after a close loss to Lutheran St. Charles. His daughter, Hali, was a senior on that team and was a key part of his final Bulldog journey.
On Tuesday, there was one player from that special season still wearing a Bulldog uniform — Jadyn Howard.
“It was cool. It was really good to see Jadyn (Howard) play her senior game because she was on our team in ’23 and just a great kid,” Shorter said.
He wasn’t the only one that evening remembering that season and that team. During the senior night festivities, the master of ceremonies at Carl Junction read that Howard said, “Thank you to coach Shorter and the rest of the 2023 team” for helping her to become who she is today and to be confident in herself as a basketball player.
“That’s pretty cool, man,” Shorter said about hearing Howard’s thanks.
Shorter only coached his former athlete one season at the high school level, so why did she feel the need to give him thanks?
It all began before she got to high school. She recalls playing basketball for the first time and being on the same team as the coach’s son, Maddox, who is a junior at CJ this year. Coach Shorter also coached that youth team.
“Being a little girl, having a dream of playing for him at the high school level one day because they were always successful — once I finally got that opportunity freshman year — it was a whole whirlwind of emotions knowing that I’ve worked up to that my whole life. He’s been a big impact on my basketball career,” Howard said.
That season benefited Howard as an athlete because, she says, the players were helpful in boosting her confidence as a nervous freshman.
“Coming in and feeling adopted by a group of upperclassmen was really special to me,” Howard said. “You come in with a lot of fear, and they instilled a lot of confidence in me.”
Shorter even met with Howard in the school prior to Tuesday’s game starting and gifted her flowers and words she could keep with her.
“He hasn’t been my coach since my freshman year, but there’s still that relationship there that he’ll always care for me as a person and a player,” Howard said. “I went into the locker room and read it, and it brought tears to my eyes understanding that he saw my whole story unfold and he’ll always be there for me no matter where I go after high school.”
“She’s always going to have a special place in my heart. All these kids do, every kid that plays for me. … That’s why we (coaches) get into it — to help kids. She’s going to be very successful whatever she does,” Shorter said.
Shorter noted that a big part of the excitement for Tuesday night was also getting to watch his son play as well.
2026 Mustangs
Shorter and the Mustangs are 19-4 with three regular season games remaining next Monday, Thursday and Friday. They’re 7-0 in Big 8 Conference play and could be facing Nevada (18-3, 6-0 Big 8) for a conference title at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Nevada. If the Tigers beat Cassville on Friday night, next week’s contest will be for the Big 8 title.
McDonald County is ranked No. 2 in Class 5; Nevada is unranked in Class 4.