Dynasties are not particularly rare in high school sports.
Even though rosters are always changing as classes graduate and others come in, if there’s a consistent and well-supported coaching staff that can teach the game and effectively motivate payers, it just takes a couple winning seasons for a culture of success to take root.
However, there are dynasties, and then there’s what the Elk Grove High School baseball program produced from 2002-2017.
In a 16-year span, the Thundering Herd appeared in 10 Sac-Joaquin Section Division I finals. They won 8 of them. And eight players from that era became Major League Baseball players. The 2013 team alone had five future Big Leaguers on its roster.
What coach Jeff Carlson accomplished at Elk Grove seems unlikely to be matched in Northern California anytime soon — certainly not by a public school.
What did it take to fuel such an incredible run of success? What was it like playing for a program with such a mind-bending pool of talent? What was it like viewing it from the other dugout?
Grab some peanuts or sunflower seeds, kick back and listen for memories and anecdotes of a true baseball juggernaut.
GUESTS:
JEFF CARLSON: Head Coach, Elk Grove Baseball 2000-2018
TANNER CARLSON: Elk Grove Baseball 2015-2018, Long Beach State Baseball 2019-present
DAN ARIOLA: Head Coach, Davis Baseball 1996-2019
MARK KREIDLER: Former National MLB Writer, Sacramento Bee + Radio Host; Father Of Detroit Tigers Minor Leaguer, Ryan Kreidler
JOE DAVIDSON: Sacramento Bee High School Sports Reporter, 1989-present
