From the sandlots to the Hall of Fame: Whiteoak’s Chris Veidt selected as 2024 OHSBCA Hall of Fame inductee

There was a time “back when” kids grew up not playing on pristine baseball fields or playing at top-level summer teams, as there was a time when kids – now adults of a certain age – played baseball on their neighborhood sandlots, playing because they loved baseball. Now, Whiteoak head coach Chris Veidt has gone from the small-town sandlots in the 1970s to being selected to the 2024 class of the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Veidt’s résumé speaks for itself, as his teams have won 12 Southern Hills Athletic Conference championships, 16 sectional championships, four district championships and one regional championship, and in that 2018 season the Wildcats earned a trip to the Division IV State Semifinals.

There is also the small detail that Veidt has been a head coach for the Whiteoak baseball program for 32 consecutive seasons, earning an overall record of 462-346, as his teams have won 57 percent of their games in that time frame.

Veidt grew up idolizing the “Big Red Machine” Cincinnati Reds, saying “It was a magical time being a Reds fan.” He and his friends would play baseball every day of the week, as long as they could, and even when the weather would turn from the heat of summer to the blistering cold of winter, playing baseball outside turned into collecting baseball cards and reading about “America’s Pastime.”

The newly minted Hall of Famer Veidt spoke about not only his upbringing on how he came to love baseball, but those whom he looked up to in the early stages of his baseball fandom.

“I grew up in the ’70s in a small town in a neighborhood full of kids my age. It was a magical time for MLB and the Cincinnati Reds, the Big Red Machine,” Veidt said. “We played sandlot baseball every day for as long as the weather held. As winter drew near, we were either trading baseball cards or reading about the game. I was fortunate enough to be on some excellent little league, high school and college baseball teams.

“My parents were always a huge support and fostered my love for the game. I was the oldest of three boys, and my brothers held the same passion for the sport. Two people immediately come to mind in terms of mentoring me when I was younger — my high school coach Ron Janey (an OHSBCA HOF inductee), and my favorite college baseball coach, Cincinnati Reds Hall of Famer, Brooks Lawrence. I was fortunate enough to coach under Brooks for five years until I departed for the Whiteoak High School job.”

Veidt is a 1982 graduate of Logan High School and a 2023 Logan HS Hall of Fame inductee. He played collegiate baseball at Rio Grande for his first two college seasons (1983-84) and for Wilmington College in 1986, and from there his coaching career began as an assistant coach, also at Wilmington College, from 1987-91.

“My love for the game was such it was hard to be without it after graduation from college,” Veidt said. “I was doing my student teaching in the fall of 1986, and I figured I may one day be a high school baseball coach when I received a call from Coach Lawrence saying he needed an assistant (at WC), and that I had been recommended by WC athletic director Bill Ramseyer. I have been coaching every spring since.”

Veidt also spoke about Lawrence and how he was a mentor to him.

“Brooks was an amazing man with some incredible baseball experiences,” Veidt said. “We had some great teams and my passion for the game continued to grow.”

As the ’91 baseball season came to a close and 1992 began, that is when Veidt, Whiteoak and Southern Ohio baseball would be forever changed, as Veidt “took a chance” and accepted the head coaching position at Whiteoak High School in Mowrystown.

“In 1992, I took a chance at a place I was not familiar with whatsoever, and it has paid off handsomely,” Veidt said. “As a young assistant, I was very happy with my job at WC but ‘thought’ I was ready to be a head coach.

“That chance turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. We started this process from scratch in 1992. I was the fourth head coach the seniors had in their four years in the program.”

There were some lean years for the Wildcats as Veidt took over a program that had two conference wins the previous season, and from there, the next few seasons, WHS didn’t have much success in the win column. Then came the 1996 season, where Veidt and his program had a winning conference season for the first time in his tenure.

In 1999, the Wildcats won a conference title for the first time under Veidt when Whiteoak and Fayetteville tied for the Division II title with a 12-2 SHAC record.

The ’98 postseason, Veidt said, was a “breakthrough” for his program, which led to the ’99 title.

“The ‘breakthrough’ in 1998 was big,” Veidt said. “We were down 3-0 with two outs in the sectional championship vs. Peebles and put together a 4-3 walkoff win. We then went on to make it to the district finals for the first time. Not many gave that team a chance, but they believed.

“That strong finish led to our first SHAC championship in 1999 during my tenure and state ranking. Our first 20-win season in 2000 soon followed.”

The success continued to roll in through the ensuing years, as the high-water mark has been winning a Division IV regional championship in 2018.

“The 2013 group, winning the first ‘Gold Glove’ — an undefeated SHAC season — in school history and our first district championship,” Veidt said, naming some standout years. “The past two seasons — 2022 and 2023 — winning back-to-back district championships and finishing this past year ranked No. 2 in the state.

“But, nothing beats — yet, anyway — the 2018 season. That group won a school-record 28 games (28-3), a gold ball and had a No. 1 state ranking before we eventually lost in the state semifinal game at Huntington Park. What a ride that was, as the school and community support was second to none.”

All the success had by Veidt and his teams was all part of “a process” that has improved not only the play on the baseball field since Veidt’s arrival, but having great community support that has allowed the school to build facilities that stand out in the area and across the state. Whiteoak’s baseball facilities have won the Southeast District Div. IV Field of the Year award for over 20 consecutive seasons, while in 2018 the OHSBCA presented Veidt and Whiteoak High School with the inaugural statewide Field of the Year award.

Those facilities in turn have been another part of becoming what Whiteoak has become: a top-ranked Division IV baseball program in the state.

“It's been a process, and like everywhere, change is constant, but we have been able to build the baseball facilities here to a high level. Arguably, the best D4 facilities in the state of Ohio,” Veidt said. “We have been able to do this through tremendous community support. Whether it be supporting fundraisers to digging in and donating time and equipment to build, this community is second to none.

“With that being said, it is no wonder that our kids are cut from the same cloth … old-school, hardworking, smart and competitive. Given the fantastic community support, school administrative support, quality assistant coaches and talented players, we have been lucky enough to build a state-renowned baseball program.”

Becoming a Hall of Fame inductee came sooner than Veidt thought the honor would occur, but with 462 wins it wasn’t a matter of if, but when, for the Wildcats’ head coach in joining the ranks of the very best coaches in the history of Ohio high school baseball.

“This honor means a great deal to me. Quite simply because of the quality of high school baseball in Ohio, and the integrity and knowledge of our coaches association,” he said. “I never worked ‘toward’ this honor. I believe in being process oriented. What can I do to make myself, my players and Whiteoak High School better?”

Bright Local Schools District Superintendent Jason Iles spoke highly of Veidt and what he means to the WHS baseball program.

"The amount of time Chris spends behind the scenes with his players and program is truly remarkable,” Iles said. “No one sees the amount of work he puts in during the offseason. A true meaning to the quote 'trust the process.'"

That work has led to numerous individual honors for Veidt leading up to his Hall of Fame nomination, including being named Southern Hills Athletic Conference Coach of the Year five times; Southeast District Coach of the Year nine times; State Coach of the Year two times: 2013 Mizuno All-Ohio Coach of the Year and 2023 Augusta All-Ohio Coach of the Year; and 2018 National High School Baseball Coaches Association Region 4 Coach of the Year.

His Whiteoak teams have been state-ranked 10 times, including a first-place poll ranking in 2018 and a No. 2 final poll ranking in 2023. Veidt has also coached 26 All-Ohio athletes and has had 25 players go on to play college baseball.

“It is a piece-by-piece process, and excellence does not have a final destination,” Veidt said. “It's not a place or an event. It's about making yourself and those around you better than yesterday.

“I thought this honor may possibly be on the horizon, more because of conversations I've had with coaches and current HOF members and what we as a program have been able to accomplish the past several years. I honestly did not expect it to occur this year.”

The honor, Veidt said, is due to a great support system at Whiteoak and at home.

“It is impossible to reach such accomplishments, as I've stated earlier, without immense support from your school administration and community. I know there is no better school district to work in,” Veidt said. “I am a lucky man. You also don't win as many games and championships as we have without talented, caring, hardworking players.

“I am also fortunate to have two parents (Christopher and Karen) that instilled in me lifelong values that allow me to push myself and motivate others. Any coach, especially one that has done this as long as I have, must have a fantastic spouse and children on the home front. My wife Kelli and daughter Olivia ensure that I am able to pursue my passion. They are selfless.

“And lastly, my current assistant coaches, John Combs, DJ O'Cull, Gage Carraher and Bret Malone, and summer coaches, Mikey Carraher and Caleb West,” Veidt continued. “All of them but one are past players of mine. They ensure that our tradition never graduates.”