The Summit High School boys baseball team is far from satisfied with how last season ended. 

After making it to the state baseball championship tournament in 2023, the Tigers came up a game or two short of making the regional tournament last spring.

With longtime assistant coach Coley Thompkins taking over the reins of the program from Patrick Stehler over the offseason, Summit is determined to return to the regional tournament and secure its second state-tournament berth in the last three years.

“We made it to the final eight in states in 2023, which was a bar not a lot of people expected us to see,” Thompkins said. “Last year we came one game short of making the playoffs. Coming that close has left a really sour taste in everybody’s mouth. We have carried that with us.”

Thompkins is a former Campbell University baseball player who has served as an assistant within the Summit boys baseball program for the last seven years. After working to establish a well-rounded and respected program alongside Stehler, Thompkins is excited to be head coach.

“I knew that we had a strong foundation because of the work that Coach Stehler did, and I knew the program was in a good place,” Thompkins said. “For me to have the opportunity to live in Summit County and be a head coach — I couldn’t describe it as anything less than a dream come true.”

With experience playing at the Division I level, Thompkins has been shaped by several talented coaches who continue to influence him to this day.

“I played four years, and I played for some really good coaches,” Thompkins said. “I really learned a lot along the way — both playing and how to coach the right way. I try to take a little bit of everyone that I played for and combine that all together.”

In his first year as head coach of the Tigers, Thompkins will be tasked with coaching his squad of players to their collective goal of returning to the regional and state tournaments later this spring. The fact that the team came so close last season is something Thompkins has used as a coaching point and a source of inspiration in the lead up to the team’s first game of the spring season.

“It has really been a point of emphasis this year,” Thompkins said. “To keep that in mind of how close we were and what extra effort we can give every day to make sure we are in the right position at the end of this season.”

One of the major things Thompkins would like to see is a win streak early on in the season. Over the last couple of years, Summit has typically started a little slow and then picked up speed throughout the remainder of the season. 

The lack of wins is most likely tied to the team’s inability to get out on a baseball diamond until late in the spring season. With the town of Breckenridge putting in a turf baseball field at Kingdom Park, Summit is expected to have more field time than previous seasons, and Thompkins hopes that access leads to more wins at the front of the team’s schedule.

“It will always be a challenge, and we will always understand that the more we get grass under our feet, the better we are going to play,” Thompkins said. “We are also going to get a chance to practice outside — and that is thanks to the town of Breckenridge. As soon as the snow melts, we will be able to practice outside.”

Summit will also rely on the experience of its returners who know what it takes to produce a state-tournament caliber team while primarily practicing indoors and playing only a handful of home games.

Perhaps Summit’s most impressive returner from both a performance and leadership perspective is junior Sam Eldredge. Eldredge — who has already committed to California Polytechnic State University — led the team with a total of 74 strikeouts and five home runs last season.

“He is, without a doubt, one of the best players in the state at his age group,” Thompkins said. “We are going to lean on him for his emotional leadership and for his play on both sides of the ball.”

Thompkins will look to Eldredge as well as junior Jojo Gambino as the team’s two main leaders this season. Both players are looking forward to beginning the team’s pursuit for the state tournament.

“With pretty much a new staff, we are really looking forward to getting back out there and finishing the season in a better way than we did — coming out stronger than we did last year,” Eldredge said. “It is important for us to have a stronger start.”

“We just have to come together and play as a team,” Gambino said. “I think we have good chemistry this year. We all work together well as a group. I am pretty excited to see how that works out in a game.”

After putting in hours of work in the offseason and over the first few weeks of the spring season, Summit will get its first test of the season at the Montrose Tournament from Thursday, March 13, through Friday, March 14.

Summit will take on Alamosa High School and 4A Western Slope league opponent — Eagle Valley High School — on Thursday before taking on Montrose on Friday.

“If we are able to get that first win down in Montrose, it will be a good start,” Eldredge said. “I am looking forward to just getting back out there with my teammates. … I am looking forward to starting a new year with what feels like a really fresh start for the program.”

Weather permitting, Summit is slated to play seven home games at Kingdom Park this season. After playing zero home games last season, Summit is hopeful to play its first home game of the season on April 1 against Northfield High School.