2 decades, 400 wins later: Carroll, Maize baseball coaches achieve milestone together
They started coaching high school baseball one year apart and began building what would become dynasties less than 10 miles apart on the west side of Wichita more than two decades ago.
It felt like kismet that Charlie Ebright and Rocky Helm each won their 400th career game on the same exact night Tuesday, as Ebright’s Bishop Carroll team swept Wichita East and Helm’s Maize Eagles rallied for an 11-6 extra-inning win at Campus.
“It was really special and kind of wild that it ended up working out like that,” Helm said.
Together they have won a combined six state championships and built their respective programs into annual contenders in Kansas high school baseball. Helm has led Maize to eight state title games and 16 appearances at the state tournament, while Ebright has become the City League’s winningest coach with 12 league titles and 13 state trips on his resume.
Not bad for a pair who spent most of the 1990s waiting their turn as assistant coaches: Helm was hired in 1999 after seven seasons as an assistant coach at Maize, while Ebright was hired in 2000 after five seasons as an assistant coach.
“I had no idea what life was going to bring me back then, but I felt like God had a plan and put me in the right place,” Ebright said. “I’ve been really blessed. I try not to take any of this for granted.”
Here is the story of how Ebright and Helm built their own dynasty, how their friendship has grown over the past two decades and why neither of them plan on stopping any time soon.
Charlie Ebright finds his dream at Bishop Carroll
All Charlie Ebright wanted to ever be was a high school baseball coach and a history teacher.
That was his mindset when he packed his bags for Wichita, a place the Florida Gulf Coast native had never heard of, to follow his wife, Jean Ann, who was hired out of college to be an engineer at Koch Industries in December 1995.
Coincidentally, the first baseball field he ever stepped foot on in Wichita was at Bishop Carroll during a try-out for a men’s adult baseball team. That’s where Ebright built connections in the Wichita baseball community and was hired by Derik Dukes as an assistant coach with a $100 salary at Friends University.
After a year as an assistant at Friends, Ebright followed Dukes to Carroll as an assistant coach and eventually took over when Dukes stepped down. Ebright hasn’t looked back since, as he has also fulfilled his dream of becoming a history teacher at Carroll.
“Baseball has been a passion my whole life,” said Ebright, who was a standout outfielder for Georgia Southwestern State in college. “And I just love teaching, both in the classroom and on the field. There haven’t been too many days over the last 22 years where I wake up and don’t want to go to work. I’m really glad (Bishop Carroll) gave me this opportunity because it’s allowed me to achieve my goals.”
Carroll’s baseball program was in good shape when Ebright took over, but the Golden Eagles didn’t have a track record of success at the state tournament.
That didn’t take long to change under Ebright, who led Carroll to the program’s first state championship and the City League’s first title in 25 years by capturing the Class 5A title in 2005.
That title will always be special to Ebright, not just because it was his first, but because of how far that team came from its early-season struggles. Carroll lost 23-3 to Maize and was swept by East, but players like Ryan Jones, Josh Bird, Sasha Bouska and Gage Stephen helped rally the Golden Eagles to win 15 of their final 16 games, including a 6-0 victory over Shawnee Heights in the championship game.
“I tell people all the time that I’ve had at least 10 teams that were more talented than that 2005 team,” Ebright said. “We weren’t that great, but we played well at the right time and they gelled so well together. Winning that first championship is something you can never replicate.”
Ebright claimed his second title at Carroll in 2012 with a 4-3 victory over Blue Valley in the championship game. That provided another special memory, as the sons of long-time assistant coaches Paul Sanagorski and Brent Holman were the battery (catcher Taylor Sanagorski and pitcher Seth Holman) for Carroll in the final inning to secure the title.
But every program that wins at such a high level for so long is sure to have its fair share of heartbreak. Ebright has plenty of his own, as Carroll has three losses in the state championship game -- in 2010, 2013 and 2018. And that doesn’t include devastating endings to some of his most talented teams early in his tenure, like in 2002 and 2006, that didn’t reach the finals.
“The high expectations are tough and sometimes our guys put pressure on themselves, but I think those high expectations are who we are at Bishop Carroll,” Ebright said. “Our kids are used to having high expectations in the classroom and on the athletic field. They expect to win, but they know they can’t just show up and win. It’s been a fun journey and one that I think I’m going to keep doing for a while.”
Maize baseball was the only place Rocky Helm wanted to be
Rocky Helm is synonymous with Maize baseball, a reputation that’s well-earned after 31 years with the same program.
It’s the only place he’s ever wanted to be since joining his alma mater as an assistant coach in 1992 in the program’s infancy.
“I wanted to give back and help in whatever way I could,” said Helm, who has been the head coach since 1999. “Hopefully I’ve done that in some capacity. Maize is just a special place for me to be.”
It didn’t take long for Helm to make an impact: he led Maize to the state championship game in his second season and won the program’s first championship in 2003.
Before the Maize school district branched off to open a second high school, Helm had one of the most dominant runs in Kansas high school baseball history. From 2000 to 2011, Maize played in six state championship games, winning three of them (2003, 2005, 2011) and appearing in all but one state tournament.
Helm has since appeared in two more state titles, finishing runner-up in 2014 and adding the program’s fourth title in 2017.
“Obviously the titles jump out and really all of our state championship games since we’ve had eight of them,” Helm said. “But what I love most about my job is watching the kids improve throughout the season. We always felt like if we fundamentally do things the right way, everything else will take care of itself. We don’t go into a season trying to pursue a state championship, even though it’s nice.”
Maize has had three players win the Kansas Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year award under Helm in Brent Milleville (2004, 2005), Garrett Gould (2009) and Conner Knight (2011).
The Eagles also have a strong claim for one of the greatest high school baseball teams in Kansas history with their 2011 team that finished a perfect 25-0 with a Class 6A state championship, led by standouts like Knight, Ryan McBroom, Gage Byers and Tory Bell.
Aside from its dominant run in 2011, Maize has always won its titles in the most dramatic fashion.
The 2003 title was won on a walk-off from Kyle Riffel in the ninth inning of a 5-4 win over Hutchinson. The 2005 title was tied going into the final inning before Luis Lopez finally broke open the scoring with a RBI hit and Justin Mohr finished off a complete game shutout in a 3-0 win over Manhattan. And the 2017 title featured a 4-0 comeback in the final two innings, as Jacob Taylor delivered the two-out, walk-off hit in a 5-4 win over St. Thomas Aquinas.
“Winning is nice, but probably the thing I enjoy the most in the long run is watching the kids after they graduate come back and holler at me,” Helm said. “Seeing them come back and catching up with them, that probably means more to me than anything.
400 wins and counting for the coaching legends
The friendship between Charlie Ebright and Rocky Helm began as a mutual respect when they were early in their tenures.
“I think both of us liked what the other’s program did and what they represented,” Helm said.
That’s why the Maize-Carroll west-side rivalry game has been going on 22 years strong — it’s a staple on each team’s schedule and sometimes they even play twice.
“It’s a great game because it shows the west side of Wichita has some great baseball and we know we’re guaranteed to have good competition,” Ebright said. “In the City League, I’ve only got four games outside of our league, so I’ve got to go big there. Rocky is someone I’ve gotten to know really well over the years and I have a ton of respect for him and his coaching staff. It just makes sense.”
The series has fluctuated back and forth over the years: Maize had a stranglehold on the rivalry, then the two sides started trading wins back and forth before Carroll won six straight over Maize from 2018-21. Maize claimed Game 1 of the rivalry this season, 5-1, with Game 2 scheduled at Carroll on May 12.
“It’s kind of a measuring stick to see where we’re at and where we need to be,” Helm said. “Playing Carroll lets us know real quick where we’re at and what we need to improve on.”
Over time, the mutual respect grew into a friendship. Even though both coaches are competing for the Class 5A state title, Ebright and Helm have no problem sharing coaching tips and tricks with each other. They have even traveled together to the state’s coaches clinic, bouncing ideas off one another for the entire car ride.
They have felt even closer in recent years as their sons have wound up playing for the same junior college team at Neosho County Community College, where Jordon Helm is the team’s starting second baseman and Jack Ebright is a starting pitcher.
They shared a laugh on Tuesday night when they found out they had each secured win No. 400.
“The friendship has continued to grow every year,” Helm said. “We both just want what’s best for both of our programs and for our kids.”
Even after more than two decades and 400 victories, Ebright and Helm both feel as motivated as ever in coaching.
“Obviously I’m a little older now, but it’s still a burning passion for me to try to get things done for our school and for our kids,” Helm said. “The biggest thing for me is that I feel like I don’t know everything. And if I ever do get to that point, I’ll probably be done. But I still think I can offer things to our kids and hopefully they’re willing to learn and take it and run with it.”
Maize is once again in title contention, off to a 6-1 start and ranked No. 4 in Class 5A. Meanwhile, Ebright feels like Carroll is more in rebuilding mode with a 7-3 record and no state ranking at this point.
If anything, the challenge in Year 22 has lit a fire under Ebright to keep going well past the 400-win milestone.
“This has been one of my tougher coaching jobs this year, but I’m still having a blast and I’m having to work hard,” Ebright said. “I love the challenge and the fact that I get to do this at Bishop Carroll is such a joy. I’m not done yet. I still see myself doing this for a few more years.”
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
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