Jeff Porcaro, Maple Mountain Sports

Hitting for power just sort of runs in the family if your last name happens to be Chrisman.

With the 2025 Utah prep regular season wrapping up, Maple Mountain’s Cy Chrisman finds himself tied for the state high school record for home runs hit in a single season with 15. He was set to break that record as early as this past Monday before rain washed out his team’s final game of the regular season versus Springville.

It’s a gaudy achievement, to be certain, but considering Chrisman’s lineage, work ethic and focus, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Cy’s father, Jed Chrisman hit plenty of home runs playing for Utah while his uncle, Jacob Chrisman, slugged his share for BYU while also starring from the mound as a pitcher and on the hardwood playing for the Cougar basketball team.

“I’ve just had great coaching since I was little from both my dad and my coach,” Cy said. “My dad was known as a power hitter, so it’s kind of just the way it’s been since I was little.”

Jeff Porcaro, Maple Mountain Sports

The coach Cy references is Justin Thomas, his current head coach at Maple Mountain, whom players simply refer to as ‘JT.’ According to Thomas, Cy has been blessed with a lot of ability, sure, but it’s his hard work that has set him on his current record-breaking path.

“He really is a generational-type player and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if you saw him playing in the major leagues some day,” Thomas assessed. “I’ve coached 12 years at the Division I level and he has as much power as anyone I’ve ever seen.”

Cy Chrisman will have ample opportunity to display and enhance his power-hitting at the collegiate level having committed to sign a then play for Oklahoma State upon graduation. Only a junior, Cy Chrisman opted to commit to the Cowboys following a visit to their camp two winters ago and during a subsequent visit.

“I just really fell in love with the place,” Cy said. “I love the town of Stillwater, so when I went back there a few months later for my visit, it just felt like the right place for me. I’ve become familiar with a lot of different colleges and nothing really compared with Oklahoma State and what they had to offer.”

While excited for his opportunity at Oklahoma State, Cy’s focus is solely on the current season where Maple Mountain looks to be a very good bet to repeat as 5A state champions.

Jeff Porcaro, Maple Mountain Sports

“We came into the season knowing we’d have a target on our back, but JT has always preached one inning and one pitch at a time,” Cy said. “So we’re focused on the smaller goals to achieve our bigger goals. That’s the process. That’s the priority we focus on, and it obviously worked well for us last year.”

As far as hitting home runs, Cy cites his biggest satisfaction as what greets him in the dugout.

“I love celebrating all the home runs with my team. That’s the best part for me,” he said.

More than just Chrisman

As tremendous as Cy Chrisman’s contributions have been this year, several others have stepped up big to arrive at Maple Mountain’s current 22-1 record with the possibility of repeating as state champions a strong one.

“We lost a lot of guys after last season, but we also had a lot of young guys with experience coming back, so we knew we would be solid with pitching and defense,” Thomas said. “And it was just a matter of whether we got timely hitting and if our offense stepped up, and so far this year, it has.”

Jeff Porcaro, Maple Mountain Sports

The Golden Eagle’s top four hitters all sport batting averages well over .400 with AJ Thomas leading the way with his .461 average, followed by Cy Chrisman (.444) and Sawyer Liefson (.418.) As good as his team has proved from the plate, it’s the defense and the pitching that Thomas mentions first in assessing his team’s overall success.

“We have a young sophomore in Kevin Carter who has turned into a starter and pitched really well for us,” Thomas said. “And then there’s Chase Johnston, who has been a four-year starter for us. He’s committed to play for BYU and he’s a lefty who throws four pitches for strikes. He’s fearless on the mound and he really competes every time he’s out there.”

For Thomas, though, this year’s Golden Eagle team isn’t just about the leaders on the stat sheet or leading off the batting order.

“We have a couple of seniors who really anchor the bottom of our order,” Thomas said. “And I’ve been really happy with the work everyone has put in and the team’s overall focus.”

It’s a focus that has bred extremely positive results and a remarkable mark of 22 wins against just a single loss.

Jeff Porcaro, Maple Mountain Sports

“We have a team of guys that want to be here working every day. They enjoy all of it. Even when they’re not here working they want to be here,” Thomas explained. “We have a group of kids that grew up loving baseball, and then younger kids that learn from those older kids. When you have that you have something special.”

Maple Mountain's Cy Chrisman, celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run against Salem Hills in a Region 7 baseball game on Friday, May 2, 2025.

Maple Mountain's Cy Chrisman gets ready for his at-bat against Salem Hills in a Region 7 baseball game on Friday, May 2, 2025.

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