Kenan Elarton fell in love with baseball in Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., where his father, former major leaguer Scott Elarton, coached.
It was there the younger Elarton planted the seeds for his own budding career, which he believes can take him to heights beyond what his father accomplished. That’s saying something as his dad played 10 seasons in the major leagues, including three with the Rockies.
Kenan, a University of Arizona commit, is a senior pitcher at Valor Christian, and a central player to the Eagles’ pursuit of their first Class 5A title.
“As a kid he was at the field with me every day, watching and testing out every pitching delivery, every swing, every defensive habit he saw,” said Scott Elarton, a special assistant in player development for the Pirates. “He experimented, and as long as it didn’t get too wild, I’d let him do that.”
That experimentation created a “huge influence” on Kenan, who has dreamed of playing in the major leagues since childhood.
“From a very young age, I got to see how the best ballplayers in the world carry themselves, on and off the field,” Kenan said. “Now I’m motivated to be better than him, too, because I don’t want to just be someone that lives in his shadow. I hope and believe I can be better than him someday, so it’s a friendly father-son competition.”
Before Kenan could dream of besting his dad on the diamond, he had to overcome a serious health hurdle. When the right-hander was a freshman in high school he was diagnosed with a osteochondritis dissecans lesion, which is a hole at the bottom of the femur bone. Doctors surgically micro-fractured the bone in order to repair Kenan’s right knee, and a lengthy rehabilitation followed. By the time the 6-foot-5 pitcher arrived at Valor Christian as a sophomore, he hadn’t played baseball for over a year-and-a-half.
“I had some bumps in the road and some times where I didn’t know if I’d ever be 100% again,” Kenan said. “But I kept my head up and I’ve always kept the goal of playing in the MLB eventually — trying to be like my dad and even better. That was my motivation to push myself every day.”
The 17-year-old has been back to full strength since arriving at Valor Christian. Kenan, who sits in the upper-80s with his fastball and also has a plus changeup and curveball, chose Arizona over Kansas, Pepperdine, Grand Canyon and Wichita State. He is one of three aces for Valor Christian, alongside fellow right-handers Brant Kragel (Walters State commit) and Athan Kroll (Dallas Baptist).
“Kenan is a beast out there,” said catcher Cashel Dugger, the son of Rockies head athletic trainer Keith Dugger. “He has one of the best changeups in the nation, has command and he goes out there and makes kids look silly. And we’ve got two more arms who can be just as dominant.”
That trio gives Valor Christian the pitching depth necessary to make another deep run in the state tournament. The Eagles won three consecutive 4A titles from 2016-18 and came up just short of their first 5A championship last year, when they fell 3-2 to Mountain Vista in the state final.
Even without senior outfielder Keenan Proctor (UCLA commit), who is lost for the season due to an ACL tear sustained near the end of football season, Valor Christian’s lineup is loaded with nine total college commits, five of whom are headed to Division I. Elarton and Kragel are both slugging first basemen, while junior catchers/third basemen Dugger and Carson Tinney (Michigan and Notre Dame pledges, respectively) provide depth, as does senior outfielder Campbell Credeur (Tyler Junior College).
“Coming up short last year definitely factors into our motivation this year,” Kenan said. “We were so close and had a really good team last year, but I think we can still make a run at it this spring. We have great team chemistry, and a great group of guys that pushes each other to be better every day.”
That chemistry has already been strengthened thanks to the Eagles’ annual trip to ex-major leaguer Mike Timlin’s property in rural Westcliffe. The Eagles have been going there as a varsity team since 2012, a ranch where they play poker, go hiking and build team unity.
“We have a lot of young guys, but of us returners, we know that feeling of coming so close last year and how bad that felt to lose,” Dugger said. “We also know how much work it takes to get there, so that’s what we’re trying to feed into the younger guys, to show them that sort of success doesn’t come easy. We have to work hard for it, and most importantly we have to play for each other.”
The servant leadership and faith-based approach that underscores the Eagles’ program comes to a head on a hill on Timlin’s property. That’s where coach Keith Wahl has had the Eagles build a rock altar over the past 11 years, with one rock from each varsity player each season. The altar’s location has transformed into a sacred spot for the team, and a genesis point for a still-young but highly successful program.
“It’s all about the open, trusting and loving relationships we’re cultivating with each other, where everybody knows they can make mistakes and take risks and we’re still a team,” Wahl said. “Winning is a byproduct of all the things we do in building our brotherhood here.”
