Chandler Arizona College Prep baseball eyes 4A title in second year of existence

When Arizona College Prep's new campus opened in the summer of 2021, Andrew Pollak had a vision for the Chandler Unified School District school's first baseball program.

But the former Tempe Corona del Sol and Arizona State baseball player didn't think success would come this fast.

In their first season playing in the AIA, the Knights went 13-9 and reached the 3A quarterfinals, before losing to Yuma Catholic.

This season, the Knights are 20-5 in the jump up to 4A, unbeaten at 9-0 in their region, and rated sixth in the Arizona Interscholastic Association's baseball playoff seeding ratings heading into their final two games.

A top-eight spot locks up a first-round bye and puts them in a double-elimination territory of the 4A tournament.

"I live two miles away (from the new campus)," Pollak said. "I was assisting for Coach (Dave) Webb at Corona. I would just drive in this direction. It used to be a farm. I noticed the farm got sold. I saw that the school was going here. I felt, 'I have to work here.'

"I found out it was going to be a Chandler school."

Pollak, who was the head baseball coach at Maricopa and helped with the football program when Chris McDonald was leading it, reached out to McDonald, who, in December, led Chandler Basha to its first state football title. McDonald told him that ACP was going there.

"I reached out to the admin and said, 'Here's the deal, here's what I want to do.' That's how it all started rolling."

The baseball program at the new digs got going in June 2021. ACP wasn't able to get on the new baseball fields yet, so Pollak used Gilbert Perry's JV field.

"We started at 4 p.m., when it was 110 (degrees) outside and these kids showed up," Pollak said. "Since then, we've just been rolling."

It began rolling fast. And now they're looking at maybe shocking the state with the school's first state title.

This is a senior-laded team, but to be on the brink of 20 wins in the second year? Pollak didn't envision that.

"We're a good team," Pollak said. "They're good players. They're good kids. Did I think we'd have the success that we're having right now? Not at this level."

Pollak's happy about the rapid rise.

It's been a lot of tough-minded, talented players, but three have stood out as the catalysts: Ace senior pitcher Michael Karlin, senior outfielder Ian Bailey and senior catcher Connor Morrison.

Karlin is hitting .472 with 34 hits, eight doubles, two triples and 26 RBI to go with a 6-2 pitching record and 2.45 ERA. His losses came against perennial 4A power Gilbert Mesquite and 6A Phoenix Desert Vista.

"I've been coming to (Arizona College Prep) since the seventh grade," Karlin said. "I went to the middle school and moved to the new high school. It was really cool finally getting a baseball team. I've been playing my whole life.

"When Coach Pollak came in, he's a great guy, he had a vision for the program. I knew we could do something special."

Karlin said he started high school at Chandler High, which is not far from the ACP's old Erie Street campus. He transferred over after the first semester.

"We didn't know at the time if we'd be getting a baseball team, and I knew I wanted to play in college, so it was kind of a gamble," Karlin said. "I figured I could play club ball and maybe get seen. So I was really lucky that this happened."

Karlin found a college. He said he'll be playing at Cerro Coso Community College in Ridgecrest, Calfornia.

Bailey leads the Knights with 37 hits. He's hitting .474 with seven doubles and 18 RBI.

Morrison, who transferred in from Gilbert Highland as a sophomore, is hitting .276 with 16 RBI.

"I was just trying to have some fun playing baseball," Morrison said. "Our chemistry is so good. We put everything together. We just want to win. I think it comes down to our chemistry and how well we know each other already."

The seniors are setting up the future for ACP. But why not win it all now?

There are big obstacles ahead. Three Southern Arizona schools with strong baseball histories -- Salpointe Catholic, Sahuarita and Canyon del Oro -- are rated among the top four by the AIA in 4A. There is Scottsdale Saguaro at No. 2. It is a team ACP has yet to play. And Mesquite is just ahead of ACP at No. 5.

"We believe we can beat any team in 4A if we play our best," Karlin said. "We didn't really falter from last season. We just kept moving. We're up to it.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on Twitter@azc_obert

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Chandler Arizona College Prep baseball team has eyes 4A title in program's second year