Cherry Creek head coach Marc Johnson announced to his team Wednesday that 2024 will be his last season on the bench.

Johnson, 78, has been the Bruins’ head coach since 1973. In that span, he built Cherry Creek into Colorado’s preeminent big-school baseball power, with eight state titles, six runner-ups, 32 Centennial League championships and a record 846 wins.

“I didn’t want to leave the cupboard bare,” Johnson said of the timing of his decision. “I knew I had a really strong junior and senior class coming back, so I thought this was the right time, because we’re going to be a very talented team this year.

“I’m humbled at what we’ve accomplished, and it’s been an amazing run. There’s no guarantees for next spring, but I wanted to leave this program in great hands for whoever comes next.”

The Bruins first won their first title in 1983, a Class 3A crown, and added a Class 6A title in 1992, then five-peated as Class 5A champions from 1995 to ’99 before adding another title in 2012.

Johnson broke the all-time wins record in 2021 via a dramatic extra-innings win over Grandview, giving the coach victory No. 808 and surpassing Eaton’s Jim Danley.

Before Cherry Creek, Johnson’s first coaching job came as a 22-year-old in 1969, when he managed the 2nd Armored Division for two years on a base in Fort Hood, Texas. The Norfolk, Neb., native was also an accomplished soccer coach in his tenure in Greenwood Village, winning five state titles from 1971 to ’99.

In his 51 years as the Bruins’ head baseball coach, Cherry Creek’s had only two losing seasons — 4-14 in 1973 and 9-14 in 2022. Last spring, Cherry Creek was 18-7 and lost to Mountain Vista in the regional championship.

“Do I think I could still do it? Yes,” Johnson said. “But it’s time to turn the reins over, and I’ve got a couple of grandsons playing at Chandler High School in Arizona, and I’m going to go watch them play. If I can’t handle not coaching, I’ll volunteer to be a bench coach for somebody.”

Next spring, the Bruins will feature a roster loaded with talented upperclassmen, including a handful of juniors who are Division I prospects plus senior college commits in center fielder Eddie Esquivel (University of San Francisco), right-hander Cameron Larson (Wofford), right-hander Paul Hughes (Miami of Ohio) and catcher Brayden Yasuzawa (Villanova).

But Johnson said he doesn’t want the Bruins’ 2024 campaign to be focused on him, or the pursuit of a final title.

“Contrary to what people think, I’ve never coached for wins and championships,” Johnson said. “Those are byproducts of trying to develop teams that love each other, believe in each other, play for each other… The most rewarding part is seeing what the kids become. The type of fathers and people they are. I always use an old Pat Summitt line: ‘Winning isn’t everything. Wanting to win is.'”

In addition to team success, the Bruins have produced more than 420 college players and approximately 80 MLB draft picks under Johnson, including six first-rounders and nine big-leaguers. And Johnson’s staff has had remarkable continuity in Greenwood Village, too, with six assistants who have coached with him for over three decades.

Considering that legacy, Matt Darr was standing in Johnson’s driveway when Johnson got home on Wednesday evening, the Regis Jesuit coach’s way of paying homage to “the best high school baseball coach in Colorado history. Period.”

“Not only his coaching, but his influence on so many players and coaches has put Colorado high school baseball on the map,” Darr said. “Despite the fierce rivalry between Cherry Creek and Regis Jesuit, he has always been a mentor to me and a major factor in where I am today. It was always about helping baseball become better, never about Cherry Creek.”

Now the big question that looms for the Bruins next summer is who will fill Johnson’s Connie Mack-sized shoes. Johnson, who remains in good health and has been “kept young by hanging out with 17- and 18-year-olds all the time,” said there is currently no successor in mind.

“That will be a decision made by the school and the school district,” Johnson said. “They’ll certainly take my input, but it will be a decision made by a committee.”

Cherry Creek’s 2024 opening day is March 11 against Chatfield, and the Bruins’ home opener is March 26 against Legend. Johnson’s final home game is set for April 30 against Cherokee Trail at Tom McCollum Field.

The first was the mother of a senior who demanded her daughter be placed back on the team after getting cut. When Hanson did, because he says he was under pressure from athletic director Jill Schrader, that uncorked turmoil with another parent.

Hanson says that second parent, Reggie Sanchez, was so infuriated by the re-addition of the cut player to the team that he “made it his mission” to get Hanson removed as coach. Sanchez wrote numerous emails to the Heritage and Littleton Public Schools administration throughout the season calling for Hanson’s termination.

Sanchez’s emails accused Hanson of verbal abuse, intimidation and, ultimately, grooming — claims the coach says are “completely unsubstantiated and fabricated,” but led to his resignation “to save face for the district” on Feb. 6, with five games left.

Hanson’s situation at Heritage epitomizes the power parents hold in today’s prep sports world, where fathers and mothers of players can create leverage to get a coach removed.

While parent pressure on coaches has long been a staple of high school athletics — and can lead to positive change in the case of abusive coaches — The Post interviewed more than 15 coaches and administrators who said it has been amplified over the past several years, and often has nothing to do with tamping down an out-of-control coach.

As part of the reporting for this story, The Post uncovered at least 12 other high school coaching exits in the metro area over the last two years alone that were, in some way or another, caused by parents.

It’s an issue coaches and administrators say looms over every prep sports season in Colorado.

“You empower parents an inch, they’re going to take a mile, and it’s clear they’ve figured out school districts do not stand up for coaches,” Hanson said. “As a parent, if you decide you want a coach out for whatever reason… you can go as far as you want and there’s no penalty.”

The power shift

Hanson says the issues with parent influence on his program began Nov. 14, when he decided to cut the daughter of Amanda Hurley, a former Heritage administrator and the current principal at LPS’ Euclid Middle School.

That decision backfired on Hanson, who subsequently became a target of what he called a “conspiracy” by Sanchez. Hanson said Sanchez, who was briefly a volunteer assistant coach with the program, “started pretty light” with his accusations after becoming angry when Hanson reinstated Hurley’s daughter on the team.

Hanson says Heritage administration told him he was not allowed to see Sanchez’s emails about him, but The Denver Post obtained them via a public records request. Those emails reveal that Sanchez grew increasingly frustrated throughout the season with both Hanson and the administration’s handling of his complaints.

In a letter sent to HHS principal Stacey Riendeau, Sanchez wrote that Hurley and Schrader showed “shameless cronyism, and the pressure tactics, the bullying, the shaming, and the guilting of Chad Hanson for this (roster) decision was a great sin.”

But Sanchez saved most of his ire for Hanson. After quitting the staff in November, Sanchez followed a playbook that’s becoming the norm for parents who want a high school coach removed: He escalated his claims until they became a headache the district couldn’t ignore.

“He was using big-time buzzwords — he started with ‘Chad’s playing mind-games with the kids,’” Hanson said. “Then it escalated to, I’m promising things and not delivering. Then it was verbal abuse. He wasn’t getting what he wanted, and my assistants refuted all his accusations, so finally he wrote a letter saying I was grooming three of the girls on the team to have sex. I went home that day and got a lawyer.”

The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office and Littleton Police Department said they have no record of an investigation into Hanson.

Sanchez, Schrader, Hurley, Riendeau and Littleton Public Schools all declined interview requests when contacted by The Post. In a statement, Sanchez cited “progressively abusive ways” employed by the coach throughout the season as the reason for his actions.

Hanson said Schrader and Riendeau supported him internally throughout the controversy, until “it became politically smart for them not to anymore.”

In text messages from Riendeau to Hanson that the coach provided to The Post, the principal told him to be “patient,” and that the school was undergoing a review that was “the proper process for clearing your name.” That was Saturday, Feb. 4. Two days later, Hanson says the district told him to resign or be fired. He chose the former.

Hanson’s story parallels the type of pressure coaches say parents campaigning against them can successfully apply. Eventually, even the most loyal administrators tend to pivot under prolonged pressure.

Coaches say they need administrators who are willing to take a stand in an uncomfortable situation with parents, but that because of the political nature of administrative positions, that support can be tough to come by.

“The majority of parents I’ve encountered have been great, but all of us coaches too often have to deal with out-of-control, unreasonable parental expectations,” Cherry Creek football coach Dave Logan said. “And when it becomes personal, and parents try to get coaches fired, I think administrations need to be supportive of the coaches that they’ve hired.”

One Class 5A athletic director admitted it’s “not ideal” for an AD or principal’s career to put themselves at the center of a parent/coach controversy.

That AD also acknowledged the lines of communication between coach, parent and administration can quickly break down because “parents are naturally seeing things through a different lens.”

“It’s important the parents have a voice, and they’re entitled to that voice,” said the AD, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of professional backlash. “But how does that empowerment carry onto the field or court and affect the philosophy and culture of a program? It’s not always done the right way or in a way that helps the kid, the coach, the team, the school or the community.”

At Heritage, Hanson said Hurley interrupted a post-tryout meeting with another player to complain about her daughter getting cut. Then, she demanded a meeting with Hanson the next morning, when the coach, his staff, Hurley and Schrader all convened at the school.

In that meeting, Hanson says Schrader, Heritage’s athletic director, implied he needed to put Hurley’s daughter back on the team.

“For all the right reasons, I cut her,” Hanson said. “For all the wrong reasons, (Schrader) wanted me to put her back on the team. She made it seem like I made a mistake by cutting a girl the entire coaching staff agreed didn’t deserve a spot.”

Local coaches say the monetization of youth sports, the rise of club sports and a more individualist mindset by families following the COVID shutdowns is fueling the tactics used by Hurley and Sanchez.

“Why do parents feel like they have so much pull? It’s because administrators at the highest level give them too much pull,” Rocky Mountain baseball coach Scott Bullock said. “In the club sports world we live in, parents feel like they have the right to have a say and make decisions when it comes to coaching, and that’s trickled into high school.”

In Colorado Springs, Air Academy girls basketball coach Chris Gunn was fired following a months-long conflict between one family in the program and himself.

The parents accused Gunn of using divide-and-conquer tactics among his players, creating and sponsoring a bullying/hazing environment and using inappropriate language, among other complaints. The school officially dismissed him March 22. Two days later, more than 30 Air Academy students held a walk-out to protest his firing.

In an interview with The Post, Gunn called the accusations “false and defamatory, and just made-up embellishments.”

Gunn filed a civil lawsuit against the family in response. And in a rebuttal letter to Air Academy administration following his firing, Gunn said the family’s complaints are “all about playing time” and that the district “dropped the ball” in regards to properly addressing the mental health of the player at the center of the controversy.

Air Academy athletic director Kali Maxwell and principal Dan Olson declined to comment when contacted by The Post. The parents who brought the allegations forward and are named in Gunn’s lawsuit in El Paso County Court did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

According to emails, documents and letters obtained by The Post, drama engulfed Gunn’s team for the majority of the season as the Kadets made a run to the Class 5A Great 8.

Gunn said Air Academy administrators supported him during the season until an official complaint was filed by the player’s parents with the district on March 3, the day following the final game. After that, Gunn said the school’s administration refused to back him as a coach, but like Hanson, permitted him to keep teaching at the school.

In a statement to The Post, Academy School District 20 said, “team performance, team/coach interaction, interpersonal communication skills, team member character development, team member skills development (and) team morale” were all considered in Gunn’s termination.

“I asked (Maxwell) how to handle the family, no answers. I asked what about the mental health of the other players, no answer, and as soon as I take (the player) off the team, all hell breaks loose,” Gunn wrote in his rebuttal letter to the school, which addressed each allegation against him.

“This child was spiraling out of control due to playing time… Their child is having (mental health issues) and (the parents’) main concern is why her position and minutes changed.”

The parent-led issues that engulfed Hanson and Gunn is often more pronounced in high school basketball programs in particular, due to the popularity of the sport, its high profile and the fact that there’s only five starting varsity spots.

“It’s getting a little insane out here (with parent pressure on basketball coaches),” ThunderRidge boys basketball coach Joe Ortiz said. “The parents are absolutely feeling power all over the place. We’re talking about a $5,000 job here. This isn’t the head coach of the Broncos.”

Coach vulnerability, fallout on athletes

With a year-to-year, easily voidable coaching contract, both Hanson and Gunn had little ground to stand on and fight for their jobs when their respective districts decided to get rid of them.

“As my lawyer explained to me, if this was my teaching job, it would be different because there’s a (true) contract and a collective bargaining agreement,” Hanson said. “But because it’s just a coaching contract, I pretty much have no power. I could sue (Sanchez), I could write a cease-and-desist order — but it’s not going to get me my job back.”

Gunn, whose civil lawsuit is ongoing, feels the same way.

“What I’m confused about is, (Maxwell) even told me, ‘Hey next year, just cut (the player whose family complained),’” Gunn said. “She knew it was a headache we didn’t need; she knew (the player’s) family was telling lies to try to take me down. But it’s me who doesn’t have a coaching job now.”

Former boys basketball coach Troy Pachner, who was subjected to what he claimed was an “orchestrated parent campaign” at Arapahoe that resulted in him and his entire staff resigning just before the season began last November, believes “coaches need more of the protection that we afford teachers.”

“Maybe there needs to be a coaches’ union of some type, or those contracts need to be made much more in the manner of teachers’ contracts,” Pachner said. “Because the truth is, why would people invest their lives in coaching when they can be removed at the whims of parents who complain, almost always, about (coaching) style, playing time, winning or roles within a program?”

In the Douglas County School District, both Mountain Vista girls basketball coach Mike Willahan and Castle View boys basketball coach David Johnston stepped away from their positions after the season largely due to parental pressure.

Willahan, who spent 11 seasons leading the Golden Eagles, coached the last two winters on district-implemented performance improvement plans that were the result of a group of parents reporting him to the administration during the 2021-22 season. The heat trickled into this past season, when the coach said being labeled a “mental abuser” for his intense approach ate at him.

“The pressures did have an effect on me,” Willahan said. “(This past season) I played kids who probably didn’t deserve to play because I was trying to make people happy. I knew it was time for me to get out when I started to do that, and not what was truly best for the team.”

Willahan also said he had some “good conversations” with the parent group that pressured him, despite the fact he feels unfairly maligned by a process that included an array of meetings between the parents and district administration that did not include Willahan.

“I was made uncomfortable, and I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t grow during this process, because I did,” Willahan said. “It made me a better coach, a more reflective coach, probably a more sensitive coach.”

Meanwhile, parents at Castle View took issue with a perceived lack of investment from Johnston, who has two young kids, and the program’s record.

The Sabercats had four losing seasons under Johnston playing in the Continental League, including an 11-12 mark last year, after which Johnston said a parent group led by a member of the booster club presented a performance improvement plan to then-Castle View athletic director Derek Cordes. It was not the only parent-driven coaching departure at Castle View this past school year, according to multiple prep coaching sources.

The plan outlined a number of requirements the parents wanted Johnston to abide by in order to be renewed as a coach each year, including guaranteeing winning a certain amount of league games and input on all coaching hires.

Even with support from their respective athletic directors, both Willahan and Johnston, now an assistant at Legend, decided the ongoing controversy surrounding their situations wasn’t worth continuing to lead a program. Johnston declined to comment further for this story. Cordes did not return a request for comment.

“The parents are getting more brazen over the past few years, and especially since COVID,” Willahan said. “I’ve been physically bumped, I’ve been stared down, I’ve had people waiting for me outside my office… There has to be a zero tolerance for that, but there’s not, and then it becomes a headache for (administration) at the district level. The coach is always put through the ringer and it’s extremely draining, even if you come out the other side.”

For Hanson, walking the halls of Heritage last spring with rumors swirling was “really tough.”

HHS administration did not let him play in the student-staff basketball game, with Riendeau citing Hanson’s “safety” as the reason. Riendeau also advised him to stop coming to girls basketball games as a fan after his resignation, a directive Hanson ignored. HHS administration then sent Schrader and a school resource officer to the senior night game, specifically to supervise Hanson.

Eventually, Riendeau issued Hanson a formal letter of direction on March 8, ordering the coach to cease all interactions with players and families in the girls basketball program.

The letter cited multiple complaints that Hanson continued to interact with Heritage players at school. At the center of the letter was the allegation that Hanson “aggressively yelled” at Sanchez’s daughter in the locker room after the Eagles’ home loss to Chaparral on Jan. 31, for what Hanson perceived as her dad coaching her from the stands.

It was the most intense point in the season and gave Sanchez leverage, especially after Hanson was overheard telling his assistant he was going to “whoop (Sanchez’s) (expletive),” a comment that made its way back to Riendeau.

Hanson admits he made the remark, but denies threatening Sanchez’s daughter. Riendeau’s letter of direction says that the coach said to Sanchez’s daughter in the locker room, “If you do that again (look to your dad in the stands), I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

The evening of Feb. 1, Sanchez emailed Schrader with the subject line “Report of Chad Hanson’s Abusive Behavior on 1/31/23 and Request that He Be Removed Immediately.”

That was the start of an email blitz by Sanchez, who emailed HHS administration at least seven more times over the next two days, leading to Schrader’s email to the Eagles basketball community on Feb. 2 announcing that Hanson was being put on leave from coaching.

“(Hanson’s) abusive outbursts towards our daughter that night (of Jan. 31) were a concern for us,” Sanchez wrote in his statement to The Post. “We, as well as many others, reported our concerns to the school officials.”

At this time, Riendeau also decided to pull Hanson from his basketball weight training class, abruptly switching him with the teacher for the team sports class.

Then, on Feb. 6., Schrader emailed the community again, letting them know of Hanson’s resignation. That email contained a two-sentence statement by Hanson that the coach says HHS administration wrote for him.

Hanson said he was never interviewed by the district for a formal investigation. He said he encouraged Riendeau and Schrader to review the gym’s Hudl taps, recordings of practices that contain audio, but is unsure if they did.

And Hanson said the recent situation involving Blair Hubbard at Broomfield — where the well-supported football coach was criminally investigated and accused of grooming, costing him his coaching and teaching positions — lent legitimacy to Sanchez’s “false claims.”

“This goes back to the whole rumor mill. How does it look to take a class away from me? To tell me I can’t interact with female students?” Hanson said. “Like the entire second half of last (school) year, it looked horrible and made me look worse and worse. And I was given no recourse to defend my character, just as they never showed me any of (Sanchez’s) letters and Stacey kept most of her communication with me verbal, for an obvious reason.”

The Post spoke with two since-graduated Heritage players who were senior captains on the team, Addie Shipley and Emma Texel.

Both said all of the allegations against Hanson are false and that Sanchez repeatedly approached families and athletes throughout the season “asking them whether they would support the ousting of Hanson,” as Schrader wrote in a Feb. 7 email to Sanchez outlining the school’s concerns against him.

“For (Riendeau and Schrader) to let the rumors continue and not directly come out against them, but still have him employed as a high school teacher, that just seems completely inappropriate and confusing and wrong,” Shipley said. “Our peers all thought (the grooming accusation) was true, because that rumor had spread, when it wasn’t true at all. It had no merit.”

Texel acknowledged Hanson was much more intense than the previous coach, Terry Nickels, whom sources say was also run off by parent pressure following the 2022 season.

But Texel said nothing Hanson did was outside the normal bounds of coaching, including Hanson yelling at the team during the Jan. 31 locker room incident, and that the school’s administration “was definitely trying to sweep his forced resignation under the rug and make sure no one heard about (Hanson’s side of the story).”

Future of parent/coach disputes

If three things are clear, it’s this:

Coaches are fed up with what they see as habitual parent interference.

Administrators, bound by privacy concerns and a fear of legal action, are usually not in a position to support embattled coaches.

And dissatisfied parents aren’t going away.

So with parent/coach conflicts “part of the future of high school sports,” Pachner argues, coaches and districts need to account for those potential scenarios in their program handbooks and bottom lines.

“Districts need to have a legitimate plan, or designated person (beyond the district athletic director), or extra money set aside to fight these recurring battles with parents,” said Pachner, who won two state titles as Valor Christian’s boys basketball coach. “Otherwise, we’re going to continue to see a process that is going to chase out a lot of good coaches, even if they’re not perfect coaches, who are basically donating their time to kids.”

Coaches need to have a plan, too, says Valor Christian’s Bret McGatlin. As the Eagles’ first-year football coach last year, McGatlin held in-home meetings with every senior on his roster, and planned to do so again in his second season.

That sort of outreach is critical in maintaining positive relationships with families, McGatlin says. It’s all the more important in a high-profile, program like Valor Christian, which is on its fourth head football coach since 2017.

“If you don’t have a gameplan for interacting with parents, it’s going to bite you,” McGatlin said. “It’s part of the culture today, so if you don’t embrace it, (chaos) will happen.”

That’s what’s taken root at Legend, where over the past couple of seasons a small group of parents came together and hired a lawyer to try to get baseball coach Scott Boyd fired.

Following the 2022 season, those parents filed a complaint with the Douglas County School District outlining a long list of allegations against Boyd, including fostering a bullying environment, financial improprieties with booster club money, player favoritism and manipulating statistics.

A district investigation cleared Boyd of policy violations regarding bullying and improper use of funds, and noted there was “not a definitive determination as to whether Mr. Boyd violated the District policy on staff conduct.” Boyd was allowed to return as Legend’s coach this past spring “under certain conditions.”

The parent group was dissatisfied with that conclusion and emailed Legend and DCSD administration again during the Titans’ season this April. The group’s lawyer, Dale Pugh, wrote he was “going to ensure that every parent and player in the program are fully aware of the allegations of misconduct against Coach Boyd and the improper accounting of monies raised for the program.”

Boyd, Legend athletic director Dan Simington and DCSD athletic director Derek Cheney all declined to comment, citing potential litigation in the case.

But Boyd, with district support, was able to withstand the pressure. Others, like Hanson and Gunn, could not.

Coaching futures for Hanson, Dunn

Hanson is back teaching at Heritage this fall, but isn’t coaching for the first time in 22 years. There is palpable tension between him and the HHS administration, fueled by Riendeau’s letter of direction in March and what Hanson says were continued mixed signals from his bosses.

He said he’s been treated “like he was found guilty of grooming,” even though he’s been allowed to remain in the classroom and said he was also verbally offered another coaching job at the school. Heritage told Hanson he was not permitted to make an emailed statement to the community after his resignation, and the coach, fearing for his teaching job, followed the order.

“(Schrader) was having a tough day with parents of our girls golf team, our coach quit and she informally said, ‘You want to be our girls golf coach?’” Hanson recalled. “This was two days after losing my basketball job. It was such an upsetting moment for me I just walked out of the office.”

Hanson doesn’t know if he’ll coach again. Dunn wants to at some point. He’s teaching in Denver Public Schools this fall because he couldn’t stomach staying at Air Academy, where the Kadets will be a preseason title contender this year — with someone else on the bench.

“I didn’t want to see another coach in there, and my office (was) 125 steps from the gym — I could almost see it from my classroom,” Gunn said. “Too tough. But that’s what coaching is these days — tough. And it’s not because of the players. It’s because of some parents, or in my case just one family, taking things way, way too far.”

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.

But when it finally did happen — this summer, the 55-year-old became the oldest winning pitcher in Pecos League history — the Castle Rock resident became cleated proof that it’s never too late to realize your dreams.

“There’s some validation relating to my age, and to my journey to get here,” Clemens said. “No, I can’t do the things I did when I was 18. But I still have that love for the game, and there’s satisfaction in that (older me) has learned how to do things different to be competitive. I was able to finally find a way to do it my way, and at my age.

“We always talk about giving back to the game — well, (the Pecos League win) was the game’s small way of giving me a little nugget back.”

Clemens initially made his pro ball debut in the Pecos League in 2019 at the age of 51, one year after undergoing open heart surgery and long after washing out as a once-promising All-Colorado right-hander out of Douglas County High School in the mid-1980s. Clemens got a Division I scholarship to Colorado State, but multiple labrum tears derailed his career.

Fast forward, and on July 16 of this year, Clemens spun seven innings of four-run ball for the Marysville Drakes to get the W and make history in the 13-year-old independent league at the bottom rung of unaffiliated pro ball. He followed that up with a complete game a couple weeks later, making him 2-0 on the summer.

This year’s success, in addition to Clemens’ sublime Pecos League experience with the Tucson Saguaros in 2019, allowed him to finally “make peace with the game” after seeing his baseball dreams torn up along with his shoulder.

Clemens threw in the high-80s coming out of Douglas County, but he never recovered the life on his fastball after his injuries. The game pulled him back in about 10 years after college, when he started playing men’s league baseball around Denver.

And once Clemens was back in, he was in for good — playing Sundays throughout the spring and summer, each fall in the National Adult Baseball Association World Series, and moonlighting with seven total outings in the Pecos League.

“Some of my friends just kind of shake their head when I tell them I’m taking two weeks (of) vacation from work to go play in Arizona for the World Series, or when I fly out to Bakersfield or Sacramento on my own dime to pitch,” said Clemens, who earned $15 for each of his Pecos League appearances. “But this is what I live for. It’s my passion.”

The aging hurler got his chance in the Pecos League thanks to Bill Rogan, a longtime Denver broadcaster turned independent league skipper, and Clemens’ former men’s league teammate.

In 2019, Rogan, then the manager in Tucson, called Clemens for a brief relief appearance at the beginning of the season. Clemens didn’t embarrass himself, yielding one run in one inning, and Rogan told Clemens to “stay by his phone” for a possible chance to start.

That call came 10 days later — one Rogan emphasizes “wasn’t made out of charity.”

“There are times Dan can will himself to get outs, because he just bears down,” Rogan said. “And Dan knows how to pitch. I wouldn’t have had him pitch for me if he couldn’t. This year, the same thought was not to get a 55-year-old guy out here to be a novelty act. No, I had him pitch because I thought he could win and do well for the team.”

In the Pecos League, the average player is in his early 20s and the average pitcher throws in the upper-80s. Rogan’s fastest arm hit 94 mph this year.

Thus Clemens, a late-middle-aged outlier among young men, relies on his own deception and the hitter’s over-aggression to be effective. His arsenal features a fastball that hovers around 73, plus a knuckle-curve, changeup and slider, offspeed that’s all in the 60s. In his record-setting win July 16, Clemens threw about 50% changeups, 35% curveballs and 15% fastballs, with a few sliders mixed in.

“Hopefully the lesson for all the younger pitchers is, you pitch with your brain just as much as you do with your arm,” Rogan said. “When you mix speeds, locations and have very good control, you can get guys out, and it doesn’t matter how hard you throw.

“Young pitchers are throwing harder and harder, and when you throw harder than you’re capable of, you lose command and you end up getting injured. So Dan sets a good example: You can get a guy out on a 62-mph curveball, then throw a 74-mph fastball in the right spot to get guys out, too.”

Rogan says Clemens used his Pecos League opportunity “to erase some demons for him” from earlier in his career, but he also joined a relatively short list of professional pitchers in their 50’s. Pitching is the one position a baseball player can theoretically be effective at well beyond their physical prime, and though Clemens’ achievement came on the fringe of pro ball, he’s now part of the tradition of old hurlers nonetheless.

Hall of Famer Satchel Paige is the oldest player to appear in MLB, coming out of retirement to pitch one game for the Kansas City Athletics at age 58 in 1965. The oldest player to regularly compete in the majors was pitcher Jack Quinn, who ended his last season at age 50 in 1933. And the oldest active player in MLB is Padres’ 43-year-old journeyman right-hander Rich Hill.

Clemens remains the oldest iron arm in his Sunday men’s league. Bob Mahoney, the Ponderosa baseball coach who grew up playing with Clemens, said the right-hander brings the same approach to the mound now as he did as a promising, wiry high school prospect who was one of the top arms in the state.

“What stood out then, and still does, is his intensity,” Mahoney said. “When he got the baseball as our No. 1, he was totally focused and he was driven to go to the next level. He was always dialed in and he was a vocal leader on the team as well. I don’t think that’s changed, even as an old-timer in men’s league.”

How long can Clemens’ diamond dream last?

A communications consultant by day, Clemens is determined to pitch as long as he’s giving his team a chance to win.

He’s already turned his journey into an award-winning indie movie script, “The Dude is Legit!”, which documents the baseball gods’ determination to make good on Clemens’ derailed career. Clemens is currently trying to turn the script into a fan-owned baseball movie.

“If he stays relatively healthy, I could see him pitching some games in the Pecos League for the next couple years, at least,” Rogan said. “He can put the ball where he wants, he doesn’t overthrow and he has a plan every pitch. In (the velocity revolution), those guys are becoming harder to find, so more power to the guy who is doing it at 55.”

What he saw was a perfectly manicured baseball field carved out of a hill, with views of the Rocky Mountains to the west and downtown Denver to the north.

The diamond would be “the best playing surface in Colorado behind Coors Field” — his own “Field of Dreams” on the Front Range, where he and his sons could foster their unbreakable bond with the game.

What he built was LeMonds Field, which features the same sod, dirt and warning-track mix as the Rockies’ stadium, plus several other cherished baseball artifacts that make the diamond seem straight out of Universal Studios.

“My favorite parts are mornings and nights on the field,” LeMonds said. “Coming out and hitting fungos to the boys, throwing batting practice to them and whoever else wants to come up and join.

“They say the game never leaves you. It definitely doesn’t out here.”

LeMonds built the field in 2012, shortly after purchasing the 20-acre property in southeast Parker. This was after he got kicked out of a nearby park by a police officer, who told the coach that he and his squad of 5-year-olds needed a permit to use to field — even if no other team was booked at that time.

Thus sparked LeMonds’ motivation to create his own bucolic slice of Americana, which he spared no expense in constructing over a sixth-month period.

LeMonds won’t estimate how much the field cost in total, but he paid $65,000 at an auction just for the tractor that appeared in “Field of Dreams.” Based off the quality of the materials used, and large-scale effort it took to build the diamond, the bill is surely well into six-figures.

“I don’t even want to add it up,” LeMonds said with a laugh. “It’s not a money thing — it’s a for-the-love-of-the-game thing. Luckily, I still have pennies in the bank to keep paying for it.”

The field features immaculate grass and edges coupled with a perfectly level infield.

The bases were used in a Rockies game. The home plate in the infield is from Yankee Stadium, while another in a flat-ground area off right field is from Fenway Park. The netting behind the field is from Coors Field, and there’s about 100 seats from the stadium installed around the diamond.

More than 5,000 yards of dirt were moved or trucked in during construction. And to keep his grass verdant, LeMonds installed a 10,000-gallon water-storage tank beyond center-field.

“When we were building it, a lot of people were wondering why we were moving all this dirt,” LeMonds recalled. “They thought we were putting a gas station in. They thought we were building a church.”

Well, sort of.

The man who dreamed it

While LeMonds relishes every moment with his kids on his field, and every homer he gives up in batting practice, the 47-year-old calls the hours he puts into groundskeeping each week his “meditation time.”

“It’s a hobby for me, and I get out and mow it as much as I can,” LeMonds said. “Some people have a garden; I have this. I do a lot of the mowing and all the edging myself. And I do it because in the end, there’s nothing like coming out here and playing catch with your kids.”

LeMonds’ four boys — Gavin, 15; Jett, 13; Maverick, 11; and Bentley, 5 — are all seamheads just like their dad, who pitched at Eastern Arizona before finishing his college career as an All-American at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. A Division-III coach once described him to reporters as “not the second coming of Nolan Ryan, but he’s a smarter pitcher.”

The heady right-hander then went into coaching, serving two seasons as an assistant at the University of Richmond. There, then-Spiders head coach Ron Atkins recalled LeMonds — who worked with hitters, catchers and outfielders and was the team’s batting-practice pitcher — as a key behind-the-scenes cog in the program’s record-setting 53-win season in 2002 that fell just short of Omaha.

“I could tell immediately he was a serious baseball man — and in time, I’ve come to understand he’s a baseball nut,” Atkins said. “He loves the game and he’s never minded working at it. And the one thing about Dale, when he goes about something, he goes about it the right way. He’s going to follow through on it and do it right, and that pretty well sums up the field that he’s built there and the (youth) program that he’s running there.”

In addition to family use, LeMonds Field is the home of the Colorado Jets, the youth baseball program LeMonds founded. All of his boys came up through the program. Bentley is about to begin his first season with the “Little Jets.” Jett and Maverick are still Jets, and Gavin is a freshman shortstop/right-hander at IMG Academy in Florida, where he was the middle school MVP and Gold Glove Award winner last year.

It’s all part of LeMonds passing down his passion, just like his dad did for him growing up in Mukwonago, Wisc., where Robert LeMonds threw batting practice to his sons every night at a makeshift sandlot behind their house.

In Parker, LeMonds also put up a cage in the basement and the family built a dance studio into the house — the latter catering to daughters Lucy, 18, who will soon dance at Florida Atlantic, and Chloe, 16. Outside the garage, a graffiti mural depicts the boys playing ball and the girls dancing.

Gavin LeMonds knows the property he’s growing up on is… special.

“Taking B.P. every night on the field is still sort of like a dream,” he said.

By day, Dale is the owner/CEO of multiple Aveda Institutes. Getting out of coaching, and into owning beauty schools and destination spas/salons, gave him the time and financial freedom to pursue his own Field of Dreams.

That all of it came after Dale and his wife, Lisa, pulled up stakes in Richmond 21 years ago with a few $20 bills and a beat-up pickup truck makes it all the more rewarding.

“I use his (post-baseball) success in a lot of my talks and presentations to coaches and so forth,” Atkins said. “He just went after it with the beauty schools and the field, and he’s very successful at what he does. The field is sort a reflection (of his career).”

The LeMonds Field centerpiece

LeMonds’ emphasis on making his diamond feel like “Field of Dreams” came to a head three years ago, when he purchased the 1977 John Deere 2640 tractor featured in the classic 1989 film starring Kevin Costner.

Lisa’s father fixed up the radio on it, so LeMonds takes it for rides around the property while listening to Rockies games. He also recently built a gazebo to display it.

“I keep that tractor close to my heart because it is a special piece,” LeMonds said. “We stayed at the Field of Dreams property (in Dyersville, Iowa), and man, it gave me goosebumps. When you flip the light switch to the field, you’re like Kevin Costner. It’s incredible. We were out there playing whiffle ball until past midnight.”

After buying the tractor, LeMonds became friends with Becky and Don Lansing, the former owners of the 193-acre farm that includes the field. The property, which hosted MLB games the past two Augusts in a stadium constructed adjacent to the movie set, is now owned by a group headlined by Frank Thomas. The former White Sox slugger and his associates have plans for further developing the rural tourist attraction, though it’s not hosting an MLB game this summer.

The Lansings, who sold the property in 2011, appreciate that their tractor (which was original to the farm) “has now found a proper second home where it will continue to serve in the capacity that’s most befitting to its true nature,” Becky explained.

Of course, the Lansings’ movie-made circumstances were much different than LeMonds’, whom Becky cracked has “way too much time and way too much discretionary income on his hands.”

“The Dubuque Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with the Iowa Film Board, asked for volunteers in a number of counties to go out and scout the country roads of Iowa,” Becky Lansing said. “Many other states became involved and (Universal Studios) looked at over 250 farms from Georgia all the way to Canada when they came to settle on our farm. So no, we didn’t build the field. We weren’t as crazy as Dale.”

LeMonds is not the only individual to emulate Costner’s Ray Kinsella character. From her time living on the farm that still draws thousands of fans annually, Becky said she knows of around a dozen home-built baseball fields around the country. There are likely many more than that.

Here in Colorado, there is the Bigfoot Turf Farm field in La Salle, which hosts games for youth, high school and collegiate summer teams. There’s also the saga of the homebuilt field in Arvada, where resident David Brown’s effort to turn a horse pasture into a diamond was met with stiff resistance from a neighbor and eventually presented legal issues.

Neither of those diamonds has the combination of privacy and resplendence of LeMonds Field, which Dale doesn’t allow the public to use due to liability reasons.

“There are many people who have built these kinds of venues in their own backyards, or in their sandlots down the street,” Becky said. “And it never surprises us that people do this, because of the pull of the game… But Dale, there’s no question he’s in (the 0.1 percent) of those people.”

A second Field of Dreams?

It should also be of no surprise to Becky, then, that LeMonds is considering building a second diamond — this one full-sized — on a 20-acre plot he bought in 2015 that sits beneath the current field.

While the fences at LeMonds Field were originally 180 feet, with a 46-foot mound and 60-foot bases, LeMonds has since expanded the diamond to its current size. The field now runs 280 feet to left- and right-center, 260 feet down the left-field line, and 250 feet down the right-field line to the house, which serves as the far right-field fence. The bases are now 80 feet. And LeMonds took out the original mound, replacing it with a portable one for flexibility.

But eventually, LeMonds knows all of his sons will outgrow his mid-sized diamond. With a metal bat, Gavin is already routinely cranking pitches over the 15-foot raised left-field fence, over the road, and onto the neighbor’s property. The neighbor’s house is about a 450-foot shot to left, but that could be in bombing range soon for Gavin, whose power on the field can be somewhat equalized with a wood bat.

“If Gavin comes back here in the summer (during high school and college) to train, I’ll need to do it,” LeMonds said. “He’s outgrown this field. I’ll still have Bentley, who’s five now, and still needs this field for a while. But the need for another field will become (more pressing).

“And if I did that second field, I could rent it out to high schools and men’s leagues and other teams. And in doing that, it could be a really fun place for the community to soak in the game. You’d have great views at a pristine field.”

At night, the lights from the traffic on nearby Hilltop Road already look like the cars streaming into the Iowa farm in the final scene of “Field of Dreams.” That tableau could be a reality for LeMonds: If he builds it, they will certainly come in a town with a dearth of quality ballfields.

In the meantime, he’s still got plenty of upgrades in mind for the current field.

LeMonds plans to build a barn in right-center, which would house cages, a clubhouse and become part of the fence. He’s looking into lights. He has plans to re-install a new dugout, put in a new outfield fence made of reclaimed wood to increase the diamond’s vintage feel, hang a scoreboard on the back of the house, and construct a true bullpen area.

Plus, there’s the matter of the critical finishing detail, beyond the fence. LeMonds’ baseball brain won’t rest until it’s figured out.

“Every year there’s something else to do,” LeMonds said. “But I won’t be done until my corn’s in.”

Rockies draft preview: Colorado’s options at No. 9 overall as pitching-needy club enters critical weekend

Day 1 Recap: Rockies add two arms to start draft, selecting right-hander Chase Dollander at No. 9 and southpaw Sean Sullivan in second round

Day 2 Recap: Rockies continue to add arms on Day 2 of draft, selecting college pitchers with five of eight picks

Day 3 Picks

Round 11, No. 322 — Washington LHP Stu Flesland III

The Rockies took college pitchers with seven of their first 11 picks over the first couple days of the draft, and continued that trend to begin Day 3 by taking the 6-foot-5 southpaw. Flesland was 7-2 with a 4.12 ERA in 16 starts this spring; a projectable mid-rotation starter.

Round 12, No. 352 — Dallas Baptist LHP Bryson Hammer

After starting at Clemson, Hammer transferred to Catawba College and then DBU, where he made 14 appearances (eight starts) and posted a 5.16 ERA. He’s another high-strikeout guy: He had 48 Ks in 45 innings this year, and 116 Ks in 66 innings at Catawba College.

Round 13, No. 382 — Tennessee-Martin OF Caleb Hobson

Hobson was a two-year standout at Northwest Mississippi Community College before transferring to UTM, where he hit .318 in 56 games this spring. There’s some sneaky power in his swing (six homers) and he has undeniable speed, as he racked up 36 steals in 2023.

Round 14, No. 412 — Tennessee Tech RHP Hunter Mann

The 6-foot-7 Mann spent his first two seasons at Columbia State Community College before landing at Tennessee Tech, where he posted a 6.17 ERA in 18 games (13 starts). Continuing with the trend of this draft, Mann has starting experience and a high K rate (91 this year).

Round 15, No. 442 — UCLA C Darius Perry

A two-year starter at UCLA, Perry made the Pac-12 all-conference team in consecutive years and is a plus defender. He has a strong arm (he threw out a Pac-12 best 42% of runners in 2023) and slashed .278/.385/.361 over three seasons with the Bruins.

Round 16, No. 472 — East Tennessee State LHP Austin Emener

Emener started his career at University of North Alabama before landing at ETSU. The southpaw had a 5.40 ERA in 15 games (eight starts) with 62 strikeouts and 40 walks. He’s capable of racking up Ks, but will need to hone his command in the minors.

Round 17, No. 502 — Kent State 1B Aidan Longwell

A two-year starter at first base for the Golden Flashes, Longwell also pitched with a 1.45 ERA in five games (four starts). But he forecasts as a hitter with gap power in the pros, as Longwell batted .409 this year with 10 homers, 23 doubles, 75 RBIs and a .657 slugging.

Round 18, No. 532 — International Baseball Academy (Puerto Rico) RHP Yanzel Correa

Correa’s the first and only high school player taken by Colorado in this year’s draft, though he’s more of an international prospect than a traditional prep pick. He features a projectable 6-foot-4 frame with a fastball that runs in the low-90s, plus a mid-70s breaking ball.

Round 19, No. 562 — Colorado Mesa LHP Kannon Handy

The Utah native threw a no-hitter against Mines in 2022 while posting a 4.47 ERA; he had a 5.57 ERA this year in 15 games (14 starts) but despite that high number he has a projectable 6-foot-3 frame. There’s some K in his delivery, too: 263 in college.

Round 20, No. 592 — Herkimer County RHP Troy Butler

Butler had a 4.84 ERA in 11 games this year for Herkimer, helping lead the Generals to the Division III World Series. The 6-foot-2 Butler has a compact and repeatable delivery with a fastball in the mid-90s. Prior to the draft, he committed to North Carolina-Charlotte.

Local players selected

A look at the seven locals picked on Day 3 after Eaton shortstop Walker Martin was the only Colorado player selected on Day 1 (52nd overall by the Giants) and five locals were drafted on Day 2.

Texas A&M 1B Jack Moss (Cherry Creek) — Reds, Round 11, No. 318

After emerging as a freshman at Arizona State, Moss transfer to College Station, where he continued to establish himself as one of college baseball’s best hitters. In 112 Division I games, Moss batted .351 with 27 doubles, 12 homers and a .407 on-base percentage.

Dallas Baptist LHP Brady Rose (Standley Lake) — Yankees, Round 12, No. 372

The first Colorado pitcher off the board on Day 3, Rose pitched two years at McLennan College before transferring to DBU. The reliever had a 4.15 ERA in 2022 and then a 2.93 ERA with 74 strikeouts across 23 appearances in 2023, significantly boosting his draft stock.

San Jacinto College RHP Cale Lansville (ThunderRidge) — Giants, Round 14, No. 420

Lansville began his career at LSU before undergoing shoulder surgery and then heading the JuCo route in search of more innings. For San Jacinto this year he was 5-3 in 15 games (14 starts) with a 3.62 ERA. Prior to the draft, he committed to Florida State.

Air Force 1B Sam Kulasingam — Blue Jays, Round 17, No. 514

The North Carolina native and two-time Mountain West Player of the Year is coming off one of the best seasons in Air Force history, slashing .426/.537/.655. In 2021, he set the program record with 109 hits, batting .411. He projects as a third baseman/corner outfielder.

Hawaii LHP Harry Gustin (Smoky Hill) — Padres, Round 18, No. 551

A draft-eligible sophomore, Gustin pitched 17 1/3 innings as a freshman before emerging as the Rainbow Warriors’ Friday night starter this spring. Gustin had a 3.14 ERA and team-leading 79 Ks in 2023 as he saw his draft stock skyrocket.

Golden RHP Laif Palmer — Rangers, Round 20, No. 591

The Demons’ ace is the most projectable arm in this year’s crop of Colorado pitchers, as he went 9-0 with a 1.86 ERA in 12 starts while helping lead Golden to the Class 4A title game. The Oregon State pledge features a mid-90s fastball, plus a slider and changeup.

Douglas County RHP Max Stanley — Rays, Round 20, No. 603

Stanley is a premier high school talent with a mid-90s fastball and above-grade offspeed. That didn’t necessarily show up this spring, when he scuffled to a 3.65 ERA in 10 starts. The BYU commit had 67 Ks to 33 walks, so there’s room for improvement.

Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.

Round 3, No. 77 — RHP Jack Mahoney, South Carolina

Mahoney burst onto the college scene for the Gamecocks in 2021 with a 1.62 ERA in 14 games (five starts) as a freshman, but blew out his elbow and underwent Tommy John surgery. He didn’t pitch in 2022, then returned to the mound this spring and was 7-4 with a 4.16 ERA in 17 games; his fastball velocity returned and he features a strong three-pitch mix of fastball, slider, changeup.

Round 4, No. 109 — LHP Isaiah Coupet, Ohio State

The Rockies’ stockpiling of arms continued with the selection of Coupet; Colorado took four college pitchers within its first five picks. Coupet saw action in the bullpen and rotation with the Buckeyes, but he most likely profiles as a major-league reliever with plus spin: he can generate over 3,000 rpm on both his slider and curveball. His fastball runs in the low-90s and requires location.

Round 5, No. 145 — 3B Kyle Karros, UCLA

The son of longtime Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros, Kyle has a high-contact approach in the box and posted a strong junior season despite being hobbled by an ankle injury. Over 142 career games as a three-year starter for the Bruins, Karros slashed .276/.342/.407 with 14 homers and 101 RBIs. He has a plus arm at the hot corner and the athleticism to forecast at that position in the majors.

Round 6, No. 172 — RHP Cade Denton, Oral Roberts

Denton was unhittable in 24 relief appearances as a sophomore, recording a 0.41 ERA and 0.78 WHIP. He followed that with an All-American performance, earning Summit League pitcher of the year honors and tying for the Division I lead with an ORU-record 15 saves. He’s mostly fastball/slider; the Rockies are likely hoping to see him hold down the back end of the bullpen at Coors Field in a few years.

Round 7, No. 202 — RHP Seth Halvorsen, Tennessee

Halvorsen’s been drafted twice before and has experience as a starter and reliever. He pitched his first three seasons at Missouri, coming back from Tommy John surgery as a freshman and also overcoming another elbow injury (broken olecranon bone) that cost him all of 2022. There’s significant injury history, but also a lot of upside after a strong 2023 in which he posted a 3.81 ERA in 25 games.

Round 8, No. 232 — SS Braylen Wimmer, South Carolina

Wimmer started 56 games for the Gamecocks in 2023, hitting .304 with 11 doubles, 14 homers and 43 RBIs. He also started every game for South Carolina as a junior, after which he was drafted by the Phillies in the 18th round. Moderate power offensively and athletic defensively, he has smooth hands and a strong arm; another viable shortstop prospect to stock the system with.

Round 9, No. 262 — C Ben McCabe, Central Florida

McCabe returned from Tommy John surgery to become UCF’s all-time leader in career homers with 49, so there’s plenty of pure power in his right-handed swing. He’s the second catcher the Rockies selected in this draft (also: San Diego State’s Cole Carrigg at No. 65 overall) as they continue to add to their depth at a position where prospects outside of Drew Romo are sparse.

Round 10, No. 292 — RHP Jace Kaminska, Nebraska

Colorado’s pitching-focused draft continued to play out with the selection of Kaminska, who turned in two standout seasons at Wichita State before transferring to Nebraska. He profiles as a starter, having made 22 starts for the Shockers and then 14 this year for the Huskers, over which he went 7-3 with a 4.13 ERA. There’s strikeouts in there, and command, too, with 57 Ks to 15 walks this year.

Local players selected

A look at the trio of locals were picked on Day 2 after Eaton shortstop Walker Martin was the only Colorado player selected on Day 1 (52nd overall by the Giants).

Rock Canyon SS Chase Jaworsky — Astros, Round 5, No. 164

The All-Colorado shortstop was the heart and soul of the Jaguars team that advanced to the Class 5A Final Four this year. A strong defender with a plus arm, Jaworsky can hit for average (.444) and power (12 homers), and also has speed (13 steals).

Oral Roberts OF Jonah Cox (Flatirons Academy) — Athletics, Round 6, No. 166

Cox bootstrapped his way from Class 1A, to two JuCo stops, and finally to Division I ORU, where he emerged as a star amid a 47-game hit streak. A former shortstop who just started playing center, he has room to grow with already built-in speed and bat-to-ball skills.

Virginia OF Ethan O’Donnell (Regis Jesuit) — Reds, Round 6, No. 168

The winner of a Rawlings Division I Gold Glove award this year, O’Donnell has plus speed and range in center. He spent his first two seasons at Northwestern before solidifying his status as a consistent hitter this spring, when he slashed .354/.448/.587 with 13 homers.

Oregon OF Colby Shade (Fort Collins) — Marlins, Round 9, No. 263

Shade bounced back from offseason shoulder surgery, making 55 starts in center field for the Ducks. He hit .336 with six homers and 31 RBIs, and his elite play in the outfield earned him a spot on the Pac-12 all-defensive team; tallied 40 career multi-hit games at Oregon.

Long Beach State LHP Graham Osman (Colorado Academy) — Reds, Round 10, No. 288

In 15 starts this year, Osman went 6-2 with a 4.60 ERA, with six quality starts. He struck out 89 to just 33 walks. He started his college career at Arizona State, where made the team as a walk-on; breakout came in the California Collegiate League when he had a 0.29 ERA.

Over a hundred people packed into Martin’s house in Eaton to watch the draft, and erupted into deafening cheers when his name was announced as the No. 52 overall pick in the second round by the San Francisco Giants.

The pick made Martin the 10th-highest pick ever out of a Colorado high school — a place in local baseball history not lost on the 19-year-old.

“It’s great to get on this stage as a Colorado hitter,” Martin said. “We don’t see many of them come through here and go straight to the draft, so being able to do that is really special to me.”

The call at No. 52 overall made up for the disappointment from earlier in the night, when the Giants passed on Martin at No. 16 overall and the air went out of the room. Heading into the draft, San Francisco was closely tied to Martin at that pick, but selected two-way player Bryce Eldridge out of Madison High School in Virginia instead.

“I went through all the emotions,” Martin said. “At the beginning, I thought I was going to go first round, but it didn’t work out that way. But the Giants came back with some good money, and it’s going to be a good fit. I’m more than happy to be with the Giants. They’re a good organization that’s going to develop me well.”

Sources said the Giants offered the shortstop a $3 million signing bonus, well over the $1,620,800 slot value of the No. 52 pick. Obviously, Martin will forgo his commitment to Arkansas to begin his professional career, which will likely begin with the Low-A San Jose Giants. His $3 million bonus is more in line with the slot value of late first-round picks.

The shortstop and the Giants reached a verbal deal late in the first round. While some forecasted a potential position switch in the minors, Martin said San Francisco sees him as a pure shortstop.

“They have full belief in me at that position,” Martin said. “I’m pumped to be a shortstop there and someday be the next franchise guy.”

Martin’s selection by the Giants is the crowning moment in the upbringing of a northern Colorado baseball wunderkind. Martin has been a known commodity around Eaton since he was in elementary school.

“We were throwing B.P. to him one day when he was about nine years old, and (another coach) said, ‘It just sounds different off his bat,'” said Brian Stone, one of Martin’s youth coaches. “We knew it from that day that he has a chance to be a professional player, and here we are.”

Martin led the entire country (all classes, all states) with 20 homers this year while helping the Reds to a perfect 29-0 season and third straight Class 3A state title. He had a .633 average, .722 on-base percentage and a 1.632 slugging to pair with 75 RBIs.

Martin wants to be in the majors by 2028, at the latest. He would be the fourth Eaton player to make the majors, joining Shane Dyer, Kyle Ottoson and Bennett Pickar.

“In three to five years, I’m going to be in the majors,” Martin said. “I’m confident in myself and I’m going to work hard to get there.”

Colorado’s Highest-Drafted Prep Players

The Giants drafted the Eaton star shortstop at No. 52 overall on Sunday, making Martin the 10th-highest player ever picked out of a Colorado high school. A look at the nine players who were drafted higher.

• Matt Brunson, Cherry Creek SS, No. 9, Tigers, 1993
• Jay Peterson, Denver East RHP, No. 15, Cubs, 1994
• Craig Holthus, Fruita Monument OF, No. 16, Cleveland, January 1982
• Roy Halladay, Arvada West RHP, No. 17, Blue Jays, 1995
• Scott Elarton, Lamar RHP, No. 24, Astros, 1994
• Darnell McDonald, Cherry Creek OF, No. 26, Orioles, 1997
• Brian Fisher, Hinkley RHP, No. 29, Braves, 1980
• Paul Zobeck, Pueblo Central P, No. 49, White Sox, 1971
• Jeff Seale, Fairview P, No. 51, Mets, 1988

So Cox, without fanfare or hype, entered the junior college circuit. All he’s done since is hit, and hit some more, while bootstrapping his way into a college baseball star and likely pick in the upcoming MLB Draft.

Cox dominated at Butler Community College as a freshman and Eastern Oklahoma State College as a sophomore before transferring to Oral Roberts. There, the 21-year-old rattled off a 47-game hit streak and won Summit League Player of the Year while helping the Golden Eagles back to the College World Series for the first time since 1978.

“To (bootstrap) like that, you have to have a desire to get better, to develop, and to know that you’re not a finished product and that you need to improve,” ORU coach Ryan Folmar said. “(Cox) was open to coaching, open to people helping him. And it takes a lot of work to do what he just did.

“That work ethic and that desire to improve is what is behind this kind of jump. And what’s most impressive is he’s still not a finished product — he still has room to develop and he has a strong work ethic to get him there (as a pro).”

Along the way to his meteoric college baseball rise, Cox played three different positions — shortstop at Butler, second base at Eastern Oklahoma and center field at ORU, the latter position being where he’s expected to play professionally.

At Butler in El Dorado, Kansas, Cox hit .397 with 10 homers and 49 steals in 53 games. The production didn’t slow down at Eastern Oklahoma in Wilburton, where he slashed .431/.502/.631 with 43 steals in 56 games. Those two stellar JuCo seasons set the stage for the third-longest hitting streak in NCAA history this year, when Cox batted .412 with 28 steals as an All-American.

Cox credited his three college baseball stops for molding him from a raw, small-school prep standout — at Flatirons Academy, Cox had only 10 other players in his program, and four other students in his graduating class — into one of the best batters in the country. In 2023 he led Division I with 114 hits.

“I’m blessed to have three separate coaching staffs that really took me in and taught me everything about baseball,” Cox said. “I’ve evolved as a player so much because I’ve had a lot of people in my life over the past few years who have taught me a ton, and I’ve listened. … I’m nothing without all those coaches who helped me to get to this stage.”

Cox has the athletic lineage, too, to suggest he can continue his ascent in minor-league baseball later this summer.

His dad, Darron Cox, was a catcher who was a fifth-round pick by the Reds out of the University of Oklahoma in 1989. The OU Hall of Famer played 14 seasons as a pro, including a stint in the majors with the Expos in 1999, when he batted .240 in 15 games with one homer. Darron Cox also spent four seasons coaching in the Rockies organization.

Cox’s mom, Karen Cox (nee Spicer), was a softball standout at OU; older brothers Caleb (the head coach at Garden City) and Joshua (who recently graduated from ORU) both played Division I baseball, and youngest sibling Emma is committed to play softball at Oregon.

Growing up, Cox would saunter into his father’s office to look at the elder Cox’s framed home run ball, among other MLB memorabilia that lit a fire in the young ballplayer — and gave him perspective when the accolades and attention started to pile up over the past three seasons as his plus-speed, advanced bat-to-ball skills and defensively versatility boosted his draft stock.

“The biggest thing my dad taught me was how to keep my head where my feet are,” Cox said. “I’ve never been thinking if there’s scouts in the stands, or the effect of this (hype) or that or the other — my mindset this whole year was, I’m at Oral Roberts and how can I help my team win today? How can I get better today? I had to keep my head where my feet are and I did.”

Texas A&M Corpus Christi assistant coach Noe Ruiz, who was Cox’s hitting coach at Eastern Oklahoma, sees Cox as a player with “a different baseball mind that most.”

“He’s a different student about hitting than I’ve ever been around,” Ruiz said. “He’s at the field all the time. It would be a two-o-clock doubleheader and we don’t have to be there until 11 a.m. for B.P., and Jonah will be out there with his little speaker and hitting off the tee at 8 a.m., going through his routine. It’s his meditation time.”

Cox is drawing serious interest from a handful of teams leading into the draft, set for July 9-11 in Seattle, including the Rockies, Padres, Dodgers, Cubs and Pirates. No matter where he lands, he wants to keep the momentum going with his bat at the next level.

“In my head, even after everything that’s happened this year, I’m still just the kid from Colorado, just playing baseball,” Cox said. “My next goal is to hear my name called, and hopefully make a lifelong dream come true. From there, the focus and work doesn’t stop.”

Coloradans To Watch in MLB Draft

With the MLB Draft approaching July 9-11, a large number of players with local ties could get picked. Here’s a look at local draft hopefuls coming out of Colorado high schools, Colorado colleges or out-of-state college players with in-state ties.

Walker Martin, Sr. SS, Eaton (Arkansas) — Colorado’s next great homegrown hope, Martin led the nation with 20 homers this year; a first-round talent who could be the state’s highest-picked position player ever.

Ethan O’Donnell, Jr. OF, Virginia (Regis Jesuit) — The fleet-footed and athletic O’Donnell won a Rawlings Division I Gold Glove Award and hit .354 with 13 homers, 18 steals and a .448 on-base percentage.

Jonah Cox, Jr. OF, Oral Roberts (Flatirons Academy) — After bootstrapping his way from Butler to Eastern Oklahoma State to ORU, Cox hit .412, was an All-American, Summit League player of the year and had a 47-game hit streak.

Jack Moss, Jr. INF, Texas A&M (Cherry Creek) — Moss broke out as a freshman at Arizona State before transferring to A&M, where he was the Aggies’ best hitter two seasons running; evolving power with high-contact approach.

Harry Gustin, Soph. LHP, Hawaii (Smoky Hill) — A projectable, fast-rising southpaw who made a name for himself at Hawaii, Gustin was 5-3 with a 3.14 ERA in 15 games (14 starts) with a team-leading 79 strikeouts.

Colby Shade, Jr. OF, Oregon (Fort Collins) — After bouncing back from offseason shoulder surgery, Shade batted .336 with six homers and a .422 on-base percentage while helping lead the Ducks to the Pac-12 title.

Brady Rose, Jr. LHP, Dallas Baptist (Standley Lake) — Pitched two seasons at McLennan College, leading them to the JuCo World Series title in his second year; 2.93 ERA in 23 games out of the bullpen this year for DBU.

Graham Osman, Jr. LHP, Long Beach State (Colorado Academy) — The southpaw walked on at Arizona State and played two years there; posted a 4.60 ERA in 15 starts this year for Long Beach State.

Grant McGill, Jr. C, Indiana State (Mountain Vista) — McGill batted .262 with two homers and 38 RBIs in 60 games this year, when the elite backstop with a strong arm won the Rawlings Division I Gold Glove Award.

Simon Baumgardt, Jr. UTL, Tulane (Lakewood) — A three-year starter for the Green Wave, Baumgardt’s defensive versatility gives him upside in the pros; batted .277 in 59 games, with 12 doubles and 13 homers.

Laif Palmer, RHP Golden (Oregon State) — The most projectable prep arm coming out of Colorado this year, Palmer dominated (9-0 and 1.86 ERA) while leading the Demons to the Class 4A title game.

Max Stanley, RHP Douglas County (BYU) — One of two draftable arms on DCHS this year, Stanley wasn’t invincible, going 1-3 with a 3.65 ERA in 10 games. But the talent, frame and upside are all still there.

Tate Smith, RHP Eaton (Oklahoma State) — Martin got most of the headlines for the Reds, but Smith also made a mockery of Class 3A competition: 9-0 with a 1.52 ERA, with 54 K’s and no extra-base hits.

Carson Jasa, RHP Faith Christian (Nebraska) — At 6-foot-7, teams are going to take a long look at the projectable Jasa, who has the frame and the tools despite posting a 6.65 ERA in 11 games this spring.

Hunter Gotschall, RHP Douglas County (Hawaii) — Gotschall saw his draft stock shoot up this spring as he dominated the Continental League and posted a 1.69 ERA in 10 outings, with 69 strikeouts.

Julian Boyd, Sr. OF, Colorado Mesa — The Los Angeles native earned Division II National Player of the Year honors after batting .436 with 24 doubles, six triples and 10 homers, plus a Mavericks-record 38 steals.

Kannon Handy, Jr. LHP, Colorado Mesa — After emerging over the past couple of seasons, including a no-hitter in 2022, the Utah native was 6-2 with a 5.57 ERA in 15 games (14 starts) this year.

Ross Smith, Soph. OF, Metro State (Legacy) — Smith started his college career at GateWay in Phoenix before transferring to Metro; he hit .395 in 56 games this year, flashing power with 17 homers and 77 RBIs.

Colin Stone, Sr. C, Metro State (Faith Christian) — The Roadrunners’ backstop began his college career at Garden City in Kansas; a good defender with a plus arm, he hit .317 this year with 14 homers.

Ethan Sloan, Jr. LHP, Regis (Cherokee Trail) — As Regis’ most projectable player this year, Sloan converted to a full-time reliever in ’23 and posted a 6.41 ERA in 25 appearances, with 62 K’s and two homers allowed.

Want more Rockies news? Sign up for the Rockies Insider to get all our MLB analysis.

Because that ringer was here all along.

Lifelong Severance resident Kevin Johnson, who still lives in his childhood home on a 400-acre farm just a few miles from the school, coached the Silver Knights to the Class 4A championship this spring. The feat of leading Severance to the school’s first team title in only the program’s third true season earned “KJ” the honor of 2023 Denver Post All-Colorado coach of the year.

“It still doesn’t quite feel like something that’s actually happened,” Johnson said. “But it did, and it all comes back to culture, and I owe a lot of that to these kids. The coach can talk about culture all he wants. But our kids were determined to make this program good, quickly, and they did.”

Johnson certainly had talent to work with.

The Silver Knights were headlined by a pair of All-Colorado players in senior center fielder/right-hander Mason Bright (Northern Colorado) and senior third baseman/right-hander Nolan Hertzke (Kansas City Kansas Community College). The duo pitched Severance past Discovery Canyon and Thomas Jefferson in close games in regionals before carrying the team to a 4-0 record in the state tournament.

Severance (23-6, Longs Peak League champions) had five other future college athletes while finishing the season on a 12-game winning streak and beating Golden in a 1-0 title-game thriller on June 3 in Pueblo.

Bright threw a complete-game shutout to lift Severance to the championship at Rawlings Field, an instant classic that ended on a double play. After Bright gave up a leadoff triple in the seventh, he struck the next batter out. Then Golden’s Daine Hart hit a fly ball to left that appeared adequate enough to bring the runner at third home via sacrifice fly and force extra innings.

“(The triple) was the best swing they put on Mason all day,” Johnson said. “I went out to talk to him and Mason was so casual. He said, ‘I got this.’ He struck out the next kid on three straight sliders. Then, the first pitch (Hart) hits to left field, I’m thinking they’ll tie it up and we’ll go to the eighth. I pretty much mentally conceded that run.”

But Severance senior Brycen Farris, who will play golf at South Dakota School of Mines, had other ideas. He caught the ball and gunned it to relay man Hertzke — who else? — who fired “an absolute dart to home plate. It took a perfect throw to to get the runner.”

“It took a second to sink in that was the third out, because of the double-play,” Johnson recalled with a laugh. “Like, it was a moment before (the coaches) realized that we had just won the championship.”

Going forward, the former Thompson Valley and Windsor boss will have to work his magic to keep the magic going at SHS, where the 51-year-old also teaches. Severance graduated eight seniors, most notably workhorses Bright and Hertzke, though the coach believes the Silver Knights have adequate young talent to reload next year.

In the meantime, Johnson will stay busy on his farm, where he grows corn and alfalfa, looking forward to the next season — which is always “bound to get a little crazy.”

“Spring gets interesting for me, because we have practice and then I come home and get straight on the tractor and plant corn,” Johnson said. “Then we’ll play on Saturday afternoon, and I’ll go home, sit on the tractor some more and plant 100 more acres of corn. But it’s actually very de-stressing for me to come out and work on the farm, and get out there and remember what life’s really about.”

Coach of the Year Finalists

Travis Cruz, Valor Christian — After spending a decade as an Eagles assistant, Cruz led VCHS to the program’s first Class 5A title as his team got red-hot at the right time en route to going 4-0 in the state tournament with a plus-29 run differential.

Jackie McBroom, Golden — The Demons’ boss led his team to the doorstep of the program’s first title since 2003 before falling to buzzsaw Severance; pressed all the right buttons to get to the championship from the consolation side of the bracket.

Jonathan DiGiorgio, Cherokee Trail — DiGiorgio had the Cougars peaking at the perfect time as No. 25-seed Cherokee Trail upset its way through the Class 5A state tournament all the way into the championship before finally falling to Valor Christian.

Mr. Colorado Baseball

Walker Martin, Eaton, Sr SS — The most hyped Colorado prep position player since Grandview’s Greg Bird, Martin led the nation with 20 homers and posted a 1.632 slugging as Eaton ran the table to the Class 3A title.

Coach of the Year

Kevin Johnson, Severance — The former boss at Thompson Valley and Windsor led Severance to the Class 4A title in the school’s fourth year and the program’s third season; the Silver Knights were 4-0 in the state tournament.

Pitchers

Tate Smith, Eaton Sr RHP (Oklahoma State) — One of two dominant arms for the undefeated Reds this spring, Smith was 9-0 with a 1.52 ERA, with 54 strikeouts and no extra-base hits given up.

Hunter Smith, Valor Christian Sr RHP (South Mountain) — Smith (5-1, 2.02 ERA) threw a complete-game shutout in the Class 5A semis and then 6 2/3 shutout innings in the title win over Cherokee Trail.

Laif Palmer, Golden Sr RHP (Oregon State) — As the Colorado prep pitcher with the most interest leading into next month’s MLB draft, Palmer lived up to the hype with a 9-0 record and 1.86 ERA.

Hunter Gotschall, Douglas County Sr RHP (Hawaii) — The Huskies’ best pitcher this year had a 1.69 ERA in 10 games and also contributed on offense, hitting .302 with eight homers.

Jake Syverson, Holy Family Sr RHP (Montana State) — The Tigers’ ace was 10-1 with a 1.41 ERA while helping lead them to the Class 4A Final Four; he also hit .392 with a team-leading four homers.

Brayden Epperhart, Denver Christian Jr RHP (uncommitted) — Epperhart led the entire state (min. 40 innings) with a sparkling 0.40 ERA and was 9-1 while pitching DCHS to the Class 2A title.

Mitch Haythorn, Eaton Jr RHP (Oklahoma) — The righty was 10-0 with a 0.82 ERA and 113 strikeouts this year, with no extra-base hits given up, and got the win in the title victory over University.

Mason Bright, Severance Sr RHP (Northern Colorado) — Bright threw six shutout innings in the regional title and a complete-game shutout in the Class 4A state title win over Golden; 12-3, 1.81 ERA.

Ben Leikham, Valor Christian Sr LHP (Wichita State) — One of three aces on a deep Valor Christian staff, Leikham was 6-1 with a 1.59 ERA, 77 strikeouts and no extra-base hits given up.

Ethan Dillinger, Erie Sr LHP (Air Force) — He was 7-2 with a 2.13 ERA, including four complete games, 81 K’s and no extra-base hits given up; Dillinger set an Erie record with 193 career K’s.

Will Niles, Mountain Vista Jr RHP (uncommitted) — The Continental League pitcher of the year helped the Golden Eagles back to the Class 5A state tourney; he was 3-1 with a 1.17 ERA in 11 games.

Jax Pfister, Grandview Soph RHP (uncommitted) — The Wolves’ ace was 5-2 with a 1.84 ERA to earn Centennial League pitcher of the year; had 46 K’s and two complete games.

Catchers

Cashel Dugger, Valor Christian Sr (UCLA) — The heart and soul of the Eagles’ first Class 5A title team, Dugger led his team with a .493 average and .598 on-base percentage; only one error defensively.

Noah Wicks, Golden Sr (Hutchinson CC) — Wick was solid behind the dish and a homer waiting to happen at the plate with 16 bombs, tops in Class 4A, in addition to his 7-0 mark and 1.78 ERA on the mound.

Campbell Framke, Denver South Sr (Johns Hopkins) — The Denver Prep League star hit .519 with 27 RBIs and 12 doubles, plus a .600 on-base percentage and 1.350 OPS; elite defensively with a strong arm.

Bowen Tabola, Cherokee Trail Sr (Western Carolina) — Tabola was a pillar on the No. 25-seeded Cougars team that upset its way into the state title game; Tabola batted .338 with six homers and a 1.124 OPS.

Infielders

Chase Jaworsky, Rock Canyon Sr SS (Utah Valley) — Smooth in the field and at the plate, Jaworsky batted a team-best .444 with a .595 on-base percentage, 12 homers, 30 RBIs and a 1.644 OPS.

Matt Rhoades, Lewis Palmer Sr 1B (Concordia Nebraska) — The Rangers’ slugger ranked third in the state in homers with 15, behind only Martin and Wicks; Rhoades hit .569, too, with 52 RBIs.

Andrew Bell, Regis Jesuit Jr SS (uncommitted) — The Raiders’ star hit .436 with 44 RBIs, 11 doubles and eight homers to help propel them to the Class 5A Final Four; .829 slugging, 1.344 OPS.

Carson Tinney, Valor Christian Sr 3B (Notre Dame) — Another one of the Eagles’ Division I studs, Tinney mashed all season to the tune of a .400 average, four homers and a .591 on-base percentage.

JT Shank, Rock Canyon Sr 1B (Pacific) — Another big reason the Jaguars made the Class 5A Final Four, Shank hit .383 with seven doubles, two triples and six homers; elite scooper on defense.

Eze Rojas, Lakewood Sr SS (Gulf Coast State) — The Jeffco League star batted .507 with six doubles, three triples and 10 homers, plus a 1.134 slugging and 1.734 OPS.

Finley Bates, Douglas County Sr SS (San Diego State) — The son of former Rockies infielder Jason Bates lived up to his lineage this season, with plus defense, a .433 average and four homers.

Outfielders

Sean Barta, Rock Canyon Sr (Pima) — The Jaguars’ Mr. Do-Everything was a rock this year, batting .442 with 44 RBIs and 10 homers, plus going 8-2 with a 1.73 ERA on the hill.

Athan Kroll, Valor Christian Jr (Dallas Baptist) — The Eagles standout batted .387 with 21 RBIs; also 5-0 with a 3.47 ERA, and went 2 for 3 with a triple in the state title game despite playing with a slipped disc.

Eli Morgan, Lutheran Jr (uncommitted) — The centerpiece of the 4A Final Four team in the Lions’ first year in the classification, Morgan batted .453 with 11 homers and also pitched in 16 games.

Nathan Hopkins, Legend Sr (Seward County) — The Continental League player of the year led the Titans with a .551 average, including nine doubles, two triples, six homers and a .604 on-base percentage.

Christian Wood, Rocky Mountain Sr (uncommitted) — The Lobos’ star hit .538 with 28 RBIs to help Rocky Mountain back to the Class 5A state tournament; .615 on-base percentage.

Eddie Esquivel, Cherry Creek Jr (uncommitted) — The speedy Bruins center fielder hit .324 with 24 RBIs, five triples, five homers and a .433 on-base percentage, in addition to playing elite defense.

Brayden Munroe, Chaparral Sr (Northern Colorado football) — The Wolverines’ catalyst led them back to the Class 5A state tournament; Munroe ranked first in Class 5A with 26 steals and hit .385 with seven homers.

Christian Lopez, Regis Jesuit Soph (uncommitted) — Perhaps the fastest player in the state, the Raiders center fielder had 25 steals, led his team with a .448 average and made chasing down gappers a habit.

Marcus Romero, Legacy Sr (South Mountain) — One of several potent hitters in the Lightning lineup, Romero batted .405 with five homers, a .494 on-base percentage and a 1.183 OPS.

Utility

Hunter Smolinski, Fruita Monument Jr INF (uncommitted) — The Western Slope star hit .606 with ten doubles, six triples and four homers, including a 1.084 slugging and 1.752 OPS.

Nolan Hertzke, Severance Sr 3B/RHP (Kansas City Kansas) — Severance’s other stud besides Bright, Hertzke batted .423 with 10 doubles and five homers; also 8-0 with a 2.91 ERA on the mound.

Ashtin Gilio, Dawson School Sr SS/OF (Georgetown) — The Class 2A switch-hitting superstar was second in the nation with a .784 average; he led Colorado with an .889 on-base percentage and 1.811 slugging.

Matt Hansen, Air Academy Jr SS/RHP (BYU) — The Kadets’ star batted .574 with 10 doubles, four triples, eight homers, 37 RBIs and a 1.865 OPS; smooth with the glove, strong arm.

Tommy Marsh, Cherry Creek Sr 3B/RHP (Tulane) — The Centennial League player of the year batted .375 with a 1.414 OPS and a team-best seven homers, playing lockdown D at the hot corner.

Brok Eddy, Brighton Sr RHP/CF (Arizona State) — The Bulldogs’ star batted .484 with eight doubles and five homers and was also 4-1 with a 2.58 ERA and 71 strikeouts on the mound.

Noah Scott, Broomfield Sr RHP/UTL (Iowa Western) — The Front Range League player of the year helped lead the Eagles back to the Class 5A state tournament with a .453 average and 23 RBIs, in addition to a 12-1 record and 1.16 ERA.