PARKERSBURG — If a first-year head coach only has one senior on his roster, it sure doesn’t hurt if that name is Molly McLean.

McLean, who won two events on the Callaway Junior Tour this summer and captured the third annual WVSSAC Girls State golf championship in 2020 at Mingo Bottom, will help lead the way for the young Parkersburg High School golf team of head man Vince Guice,

Guice, who took over for Don Snider and is being assisted by Hayden Plummer, has just three juniors on the team in Hayden Leavitt, Eli Stull, and Anna Earl.

Additionally, the Big Reds also feature just a pair of sophomores in Dylan Bond and Brielle Milhoan, who had one victory this summer on the Callaway Junior Tour.

The new head man said he expects McLean, Leavitt and Milhoan to most likely occupy the top three spots for the red and white.

“Those three are the top three locked down. The fourth spot, there will be four or five kids in the mix. It could be different every week,” admitted the coach, who also has seven freshmen on the squad.

Like rival Parkersburg South, the Big Reds will open the season on Thursday at Edgewood Country Club in the first Callaway Series event.

“Luckily, the first match I can play eight kids,” Guice noted. “It’s really going to be who has the hot hand at the time, especially when we play Greenhills. That’s where the regional is going to be.

“My number four has to be who plays Greenhills the best, who I think is going to help me the best to win regionals or place in the top two to get to the state tournament.”

The newcomers are Parker Atkinson, Skylar Hutchinson, Sam Offenberger, Braden Williams, Bryce Willis, Aiden Cremeans and Vinnie Guice, who shared Wood County medalist honors last summer.

One of the aspects Guice loves about McLean isn’t just that she’s a great golfer, but is also a leader.

“She has been in these practices,” Guice said of his senior. “She’s helping the freshmen, cheering them on when they do good. She’s been wonderful. She’s really stepped up and embraces the role of being the only senior and being a leader. She’s really looking forward to it.

“I’ve been friends with her dad for a long time. I’ve known Molly since she was a little girl. She’s good. I wish all my players were like her. She’s level headed on the golf course. She doesn’t get high. She doesn’t get low. She stays level.”

The biggest preseason hurdle for Guice, along with making his schedule, was taking care of all the administration work that comes along with the job.

“Scott Davidson at the (Parkersburg) Country Club has been wonderful helping me out,” coach Guice added. “I talked with Don Snider a couple times and he helped me out, and Chris Way has helped me out tremendously. It will be good once the golf starts and we can just be out there coaching and playing.”

With basically two months of practice before the regional tournament at the end of September, the head man just wants his players to progress as the season goes along.

“That’s the goal, for sure, to take the whole team to Oglebay,” Guice said. “That’s the number one goal, to get the whole team there.

“We want four Big Reds representing Parkersburg at the state tournament. Obviously, we want as many qualifiers as we can get.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com