Colorado’s winningest baseball coach is calling it a career.
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.
