The story of the Coal Ridge Titans baseball dominance in the early 2020’s can’t be told without the incredible legacy built by both head coach Dan Larsen and recent graduate southpaw pitcher Ben Simons — two New Castle locals who helped bring home the program’s first-ever 3A state championship.

Following their historic postseason run, Larsen was named 3A Coach of the Year and Simons was named 3A Player of the Year. It’s the second time the duo has received the recognition, earning conference honors following a 25-0 regular season in 2023. 

“I’ve never appreciated a coach as much as Dan,” Simons said. “He deserves as many accolades as he could possibly get. He is a great coach and a better person.”

For Larsen, the recognition is touching, though he pointed out the work of the community to help fill out the entire roster. 

“It’s an honor, but it’s really a team award,” Larsen said humbly. “It’s not just me, it’s all the assistant and little league coaches. It’s the families and fathers for their love for the game. It’s all these amazing players and kids for buying-in.”

Both of their love and knowledge of baseball was passed down genetically through their fathers, and the emotions were high after Simons secured the final out of the 2025 season on May 31.

“My dad has been my coach since I was six. He was the first person I tossed a ball with,” Simons said. “It was incredible to make that run alongside my dad. We’ve never been very physical, but the first person I went to hug was my dad. It was just an incredible moment of all the hard work of us hitting in the cage, or off the tee, or pitching to him pay off.”

Larsen had his own emotional journey during the post season. Just two weeks prior to the state championship game, his father passed away. But before the semifinal matchup against University High School, he said he felt something more.

“I was able to visit my dad on his birthday, and even though he wasn’t a very emotional guy, we talked about how proud he was about how I was dealing with the kids and the community, and passing down our shared knowledge of the game,” he said before going on to explain a moment he shared with his father before the first game against the University Bulldogs. 

“I was telling him about how we were building up for a state championship, and he went ‘well, go get it.’ So when we finally got to Greely and were knocking on the door, it got really emotional for me. Before the games, I just sat on the bench and reached out to him. I think I prayed and talked to him longer than I ever had before, and it really helped clear the pressure and the nerves. It felt as if it was really just meant to be.”

The awards followed an unfathomable season from Simons and the entire Coal Ridge Titans baseball team, who were on a mission to secure the 3A state championship title in their last chance as a group. The Titans finished the 2025 season 27-3-1, 12–0 in 3A Western Slope League, due in large part to Simons’ leadership and play on the field. 

Simons was playing a different game than the rest of the competition throughout the final day of the season. He started the first game at 10 a.m., throwing 110 pitches and striking out 13 through eight innings, then flipping around and going 5-10 with a run and RBI at the plate during the doubleheader finale. 

“He’s a great leader, and a great player — which shows on the list,” Titans junior pitcher and First Team All-State teammate John Luke Houston said. 

Simons couldn’t be stopped in his senior campaign on the diamond. Just days after helping lead the Titans basketball team to their first final four appearance in the program’s history, he switched focuses and immediately began both tearing the cover off the ball, and dominating on the bump.

He finished the season leading the Titans in nearly every major offensive and pitching category. His 51 RBIs topped all high school players in Colorado, while his 55 runs scored ranked second statewide across all classifications. In the 3A Western Slope League, he led the way in batting average (.565), on-base percentage (.672) and stolen bases (30).

Simons was just as dominant on the mound. He posted a 1.11 ERA — third-best in 3A — and racked up 85 strikeouts, ranking 10th. The southpaw’s dominance was on full display during an April matchup against the Aspen Skiers in which he struck out 11 through five innings, no-hitting the Skiers and only allowing a baserunner through a sole error. 

“There is so much hard work and dedication that can go unrewarded in baseball, so for all the work to get rewarded with the banner, and being named Player of the Year is really special,” Simons said. “It was just so much fun to share the diamond with the boys this season.”

The Titans senior core, who have been finding success as a group since nearly reaching the fabled Little League World Series as pre-teens, knew that the 2025 season would be their last chance to bring a banner back to Coal Ridge, but that wasn’t at the forefront of Simons’ mind during his senior season. 

“I like to say I’m not having fun unless I’m winning, but man, it just wasn’t the case with that team,” he said. 

When the competition gets whittled down to the best of the best during high school state playoffs, team chemistry can prove to be the difference, especially in a game built on failure like baseball. The Titans battled for over seven hours, playing 21 innings, under the blazing sun in Greely against University on the last day of May to decide the 2025 3A champion, something that Larsen contributes directly to the community and camaraderie. 

“These kids have been playing together their entire lives,” he said moments after securing the school’s first baseball state championship. “I think we may have just had a little more sense of family, a little more sense of community.”

Larsen, who has been facing the music after taking the Coal Ridge head coach job and hearing about the lack of talent throughout the Western Slope for years, is relishing in the silence, but is far prouder of the bond and culture created in the Titans locker room. 

“I am so honored to have been a part of this 2025 team,” he said. “These kids bought-in, and loved each other through and through. It didn’t matter if it was a role-player, someone who might not end up coming in, or Ben Simons, they loved each other equally, they played together, and it was just a lot of fun.”