Minco Softball Team ‘Happy to Be Alive’ Following Scary Bus Crash

Two weeks ago, an Oklahoma high school softball team was almost home when the unthinkable happened.

Minco High School's head coach, Cody Schmidt, was driving the team bus when he swerved to avoid hitting a deer. The bus rolled, ejected four, and left seven others injured.

Several members of the team appeared in studio on KWTV News 9 on Monday and recounted some harrowing details from that scary night.

While wearing pink shirts that read, "We got that Dawg," players gathered around couches on set, with some wearing neck braces, and answered questions.

Thank you @NEWS9 for sharing our @Minco_Bulldogs softball team story. God showed up and spared these beautiful young ladies. Robyn and Lacey were wonderful. Thank you very much!! pic.twitter.com/uWeG3KQktf
— Kevin Sims (@SuptSims) September 23, 2025

Senior Ava Russell expressed her gratitude for the Minco community.

"The support has been really overwhelming, but it is greatly appreciated. it wouldn't be as easy to get through this without the amount of support we've gotten."

The community has shown in various ways, from a prayer vigil on the softball field to fundraisers to being honored at a football game. All of the efforts haven't gone unnoticed, and Schmidt took a few minutes to express his gratitude.

"It's definitely helped us heal, and it's continuing to help us heal because, I mean, that football game that Friday night, that was really tough," Schmidt said. "But seeing the amount of people who showed up, and just strangers coming up and talking to us, I don't know how to thank [them]. I mean, we want to thank everybody, but it's hard to individually thank everybody who's been there for us. But it truly does help."

Lexi Woodruff, who has been in a wheelchair since the accident, recalled how sunny it was outside before everything went black. She can't remember the exact details, but the lessons learned from the aftermath have also impacted her.

"Don't take it (life) for granted," Woodruff said. "You never know."

"Just live every moment to the fullest and you never know when it can end," Russell added.

The Bulldogs chose to cancel the rest of their season, finishing 8-11 and winning their final game before the wreck.

"We just talked about (the decision to cancel), it puts everything into perspective," Schmidt said. "And obviously, we would love to be playing, but we're happy to be alive."

There are no hard feelings about the decision either.

"It's upsetting," Russell said about losing her senior season, "but like the most important thing is that we're all still here and we all like have each other."

Assistant coach Jordan Benge is still recovering and has injuries far worse than anyone else. According to Schmidt, he is still in need of some extra support.

"He's getting better every day," Schmidt added. "Just got to keep praying for him. He's a tough guy and stubborn, but we miss him a lot. I mean, they talk about him every day and how they're ready to lay eyes on him and see him and just talk to him. I think this softball team is stubborn. You can't hold us down, right?"