BY STEVE KRAH
At 27, Christopher “C.J.” Shelton is one of the younger high school head baseball coaches in Indiana.
As the 2024 season approaches, Shelton has already has logged a season of leading the program at his alma mater — Eastern Greene near Bloomfield — behind him after serving as a Thunderbirds assistant in 2021-22.
A large wave of freshmen that had been playing travel ball together entered the school that year and Eastern Greene won nine games. That group are now juniors and the majority are probable starters this spring.
Among those in the Class of 2025 are utility player Jacob Bellman, second baseman Kasen Cullison, returning all-Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference performer Will Inman, slugger Peyton Lewis, catcher Jack Rees and third baseman Gavin Whitfield.
Representing the Class of 2024 are Jonas Hawk, Jarret Inman, Ty McKnight and Rylin Patton.
“These kids have gotten a lot of experience under their belts,” says Shelton. “The training wheels are off. They’re in their primetime right now.
“(The seniors) are all influential players this year and are very important.”
Eastern Greene (enrollment around 350) is in the SWIAC with Bloomfield, Clay City, Linton-Stockton, North Central of Farmersburg, North Daviess, Shakamak and White River Valley.
The Thunderbirds are part of an IHSAA Class 2A sectional grouping in 2024 with Linton-Stockton, Mitchell, North Knox, South Knox and Sullivan. Eastern Greene has won five sectional crowns — the last in 2013.
While some are involved in basketball, IHSAA Limited Contact Period sessions on Mondays (defense) and Wednesdays (hitting) have drawn between 10 and 20 participants. Shelton says there are about 25 in the program for varsity and junior varsity squads.
Todd Inman returns as Thunderbirds pitching coach. Assistant moving up from the middle school to the high school are Aaron Norris (who looks to coach first base for the varsity) and Mickey Jackson (who looks to be JV coach).
Middle school baseball is run by the community and usually fields an A and B team with mostly seventh and eighth graders playing on the diamond used by the high school located at Eastern Greene Middle School.
“It’s been pretty good for us,” says Shelton of the field.
On the youth side, Shelton says there’s also Thunder baseball that plays primarily on weekends and Eastern Greene Youth Baseball which tends to play and practice on weekdays.
A 2015 EG graduate, Shelton played two years each for Trevor McConnell (now head coach at Barr-Reeve, the 2023 IHSAA Class 1A state runner-up) and Randy Frye.
“(McConnell) made practices interesting everyday,” says Shelton.
At Indiana State University, Shelton majored in Sport Management and minored in Coaching.
Shelton took a class taught by Sycamores head baseball coach Mitch Hannahs.
“I learned a lot of stuff from him,” says Shelton. “I learned what it takes (at the college level). My main goal is to get these kids into college programs.
“As a 2A school, we don’t get that much recognition.”
Many Eastern Greene baseball graduates head into the work force or the family farm rather than going to college.
As an internship, Shelton was an assistant at Terre Haute South Vigo High School to long-time Braves head coach Kyle Kraemer (who retired after the 2023 season).
Living near family on the outskirts of Salisbury, Ind., Shelton’s full-time job is with Cook Medical, a manufacturer of health products in Bloomington, Ind. He is the father of a 3-year-old daughter.
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