CHRIS EATON FOUNDATION
IN HONOR AND LOVING MEMORY OF COACH CHRIS EATON
CHRIS EMPHASIZED 1% IMPROVEMENT EACH DAY
Chris worked tirelessly to become a head coach and to be the best mentor he could be. He also knew that baseball is a game that eventually ends for every player. On and off the field, Chris emphasized the importance of education and lifelong learning, often sharing his curiosity about fascinating events, places, and experiences he wanted to explore.
CHRIS’S STORY
Chris had a unique passion for helping student-athletes and teammates grow into better citizens, competitors, students, and athletes. Over his 35 years, from 1987 to 2022, Chris endured his own struggles to become a highly successful and respected New Mexico high school baseball coach.
His passion for the game of baseball, spirited competition of all kinds, and good sportsmanship led to him being named the New Mexico High School Baseball Coach of the Year in 2022 in Class 5A and district coach of the year for two consecutive years. In only four full seasons as head coach, he led Albuquerque’s Sandia High School Matadors to back-to-back district titles for the first time in 40 years, the state championship semi-final game in 2021, and the state championship game in 2022. In 2025, Sandia High won the state championship for the first time since 1980. The 2025 team’s seniors were coached as freshmen by Chris in his final year, completing his vision of a state championship for Sandia.
Coaching was only one part of Chris. As a teacher at Sandia High, he earned outstanding teacher awards year after year, and his teams received national recognition for their GPA. When he wasn’t on the baseball field, fly-fishing, playing basketball or golf, reading, researching or writing, Chris dedicated himself to supporting his players, helping them with their game or personal challenges, talking with them for hours, recommending books, and taking on their struggles as his own. He often expressed concern that some students were disadvantaged in their athletic journey due to the cost of private sports academies and travel teams, and he worked to level the playing field whenever he could.
Chris was born in Albuquerque and raised in Corrales. By age three, he was throwing, hitting, and catching Wiffle balls, and he quickly developed a deep love for baseball. He played competitively for Cibola Little League in Rio Rancho, Sandia Preparatory School, Cibola High School in Albuquerque, and four years at Eastern New Mexico University. Chris earned a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in sports administration.
To pursue his goal of becoming a head baseball coach, he gained extensive experience as an assistant at the University of New Mexico, Texas A&M–Texarkana, Colorado School of Mines, West Texas A&M, Highlands University, and as co-head coach at Sandia Prep. In 2018, at age 30, he was named head baseball coach at Sandia High, one of New Mexico’s largest and most storied public high schools.
Chris was fascinated by history and was often reading, researching, and writing about important or unusual historical events. On his travels around New Mexico and the United States, Chris would insist that his companions go with him to the actual sites of historic events. He would then explain the events that occurred there and their significance. Among many other things, he could talk in detail about the 1947 Roswell UFO crash and had trespassed on the likely area of the debris field. In recent years, he studied and visited several places that are significant in the American civil rights movement, including Ashton Villa in Galveston, Texas, the doorway to Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama, and the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.
Chris loved the outdoors, especially fly-fishing in mountain streams, and often caught more trout than his companions, not that it was a competition, of course.
He contributed articles to a national coaches magazine, provided color commentary for some UNM Lobo baseball radio broadcasts, was a broadcaster at a Connie Mack tournament in Farmington, and even appeared in the television series Better Call Saul. Chris also researched and wrote extensively about rock legend Jim Morrison’s connections to New Mexico.
Family and friends often laughed at his relentless desire to play “just one more” game, especially after a loss. Today, we wish we could play “just one more” with him. Chris gave everything he could for as long as he could. Tragically, he died by suicide on November 21, 2022, at the age of 35.
Young at heart, Chris connected with his students and players through trust and loyalty. He made it his mission to put them first, focusing on improving their skills, talents, and well-being. He fought for them, challenged them to exceed their own expectations, and gave them confidence and belief in something greater than themselves. Chris inspired passion, a love for the game, and the understanding that being an impactful person off the field is even more important than being a great player on it.
See slideshow of photos of Chris’s colorful life here.
Board of Directors
Michael Eaton, President, Director, 2024-Present
Michael was raised in Corrales and Albuquerque, with his brother Chris at his side, teaching him how to play, compete, explore and learn. Michael graduated from Sandia Prep in 2011 and the University of San Francisco in 2015 before obtaining a master’s degree in business administration from the University of New Mexico in 2017. He played varsity baseball at Prep from the eighth grade on, and then at Division 1 USF for three years, and for his hometown UNM Lobos while obtaining an MBA as a grad student. Michael was a West Coast Conference Player of the Week, and was named to the West Coast Conference All-Academic Team, the Academic All-Mountain West team, and was a Mountain West Scholar-Athlete Award winner. In 2016, he helped the Lobos win the Mountain West Conference championship. He is employed as a treasury management officer with JP Morgan Chase in Scottsdale. Michael plays golf as often as he can, including with his pro golfer girlfriend Alice, fly-fishes mountain streams when his dad can get him back to New Mexico, and is committed to learning about and practicing healthy living through study, nutrition and exercise.
Gail Eaton, Vice President/Secretary, Director, 2024-Present
Gail is Chris’s and Michael’s mom. She grew up in Southern California, received her bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Barbara in 1977 and her master’s degree in Communicative Disorders from UNM in 1979. She worked as a speech-language pathologist for over 37 years in the Albuquerque Public Schools system and semi-retired in 2017. Gail continues to see several clients and is a volunteer reading tutor in the Albuquerque Reads program. Although Gail never participated in competitive high school or college sports, she has always been an avid sports fan and loves following and attending sporting events, especially baseball and basketball. When not walking her two, eight-year-old energetic golden retrievers, Cal and Brooks, or walking with friends in the bosque and foothills, or playing Pickleball as often as possible, Gail enjoys cooking, reading, going to museums, playing board games, and watching movies.
Scott Eaton, Treasurer, Director, 2024-Present
When Chris and Michael were young, their father Scott contacted the Mullany family at The Wiffle Ball Inc. in Connecticut (grampa Mullany invented the Wiffle ball) to purchase Wiffle balls in bulk because Chris and Michael would go through retail store two-packs of Wiffle balls like sunflower seeds. After Little League, Chris and Michael surpassed Scott in their baseball knowledge and abilities, and Scott became a fan, attending hundreds of baseball games from high school through college and then cheering on Chris’s Sandia High Matadors. A native of Roswell, Scott graduated from New Mexico Military Institute, the University of New Mexico in 1975 and UNM Law School in 1982. After a 42-year career in the law, he spends time these days doing odds and ends, fly-fishing and camping with his Labrador dog KC, promoting the Chris Eaton Foundation and participating in a couple of community support groups.
Kara Kinney, Director, 2024-Present
Kara serves as Director of Development, School of Medicine at the University of New Mexico Foundation. Kara previously worked in development for the UNM Lobo Club and the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation. Kara is a former collegiate athlete and played soccer at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. While at BC, Kara met her now husband, CJ Kinney, who played Baseball for the Ravens. CJ played baseball with Michael Eaton at Sandia Prep and was on a summer baseball team coached by Chris Eaton. After college Kara and CJ lived in Dallas. During their time there Chris was outspoken about Kara & CJ moving to Albuquerque and was thrilled when the move finally occurred. Kara also serves on the Board for the 100 Club of New Mexico. Kara and CJ have one daughter, JJ Kinney.
Brook Laskey, Director, 2024-Present
Brook says he was a below average Little League catcher who developed a life-long love for the game as he chased passed ball after passed ball to the backstop in the early 1980s. He claims his coaching skills weren’t much better, which led to Chris Eaton answering Brook’s wife’s secret Craigslist ad seeking private baseball lessons for their son, Luke. That watershed moment led to Chris becoming the primary baseball influence in the lives of both Luke (a first team all-state outfielder with Albuquerque Academy) and Brook. He is married to Sarah Laskey and they have a daughter, Ella, in addition to Luke. Brook is employed as a lawyer who specializes in fire and explosion litigation across the country. Brook graduated from Penn State University in 1992 and Case Western Reserve University School of Law in 1996.
Camilla Serrano, Director, 2024-Present
Camilla Serrano is a Senior Vice President and Market Leader for the Wealth Management Department at New Mexico Bank & Trust in Albuquerque. She has had a long association with all things baseball and softball, having served as the District 5 Administrator of Little League International for 19 years. Additionally, Camilla was a member of the Little League International Advisory Board and the Little League International Board of Directors. A lifelong baseball fan, she remains an avid supporter of the game and has consistently followed the paths and careers of many local players. Camilla is honored to be a member of the Board of Directors of the CEF and looks forward to helping it grow and find its place in the Albuquerque community. She is married to her husband Eddie and they have three adult sons—Jose, Simon and Miguel, and one grandson, Lucas.
Paul Huitt, Director, 2024-Present
Paul spent 29 years teaching and coaching baseball at the collegiate and high school levels, including 21 years as the head coach at Sandia Prepatory School. His teams won six state championships, including two when Michael Eaton played for Sundevils. In 2023, Paul was inducted into the New Mexico High School Baseball Hall of Fame. A former University of New Mexico baseball player, Huitt was a 2017 National High School Athletic Coaches Association National Coach of the Year Finalist. Paul and his wife Noel, also a teacher and coach at Sandia Prep, retired in May 2025 to spend more time with their family, travel, explore, and keep fit. They are the parents of Kiersten Huitt Brown and became grandparents in 2025. As an aside, Paul was the oldest player in the first Chris Eaton Memorial 3v3 Basketball Tournament in 2024, was one of the highest scorers among the 30 players, and also served as the facilities and maintenance staff for the tournament. Paul won the 3-point shooting competition during the 2025 3v3 tournament.
Tributes to Chris
“Chris was one of the most passionate men I’ve ever met. Deeply passionate. Deeply passionate people like Chris are rare. Extremely passionate people like Chris march to a different drum. Their gift is their passion and their curse is their passion. They see promise and they see hope in every one of us, including themselves. They hunger for adventure and they want to share it. They give their heart and their soul to every one they meet with.”
— RAY BIRMINGHAM, UNM Baseball head coach (2008-2021), New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame, Eastern New Mexico University Board of Regents (speaking at Chris’s Celebration of Life service in December 2022)
“Chris helped give me the opportunity of a lifetime: play college baseball and get an engineering degree. On my recruiting trip to Colorado School of Mines, Chris and I played long toss and though I tried to be 100% serious, his antics and laughs had me being a kid on a field, allowing me to relax and be myself. Though I never played for Chris directly, he was still my coach. Talking about life, laughing, and hitting with Chris was a privilege I’ll never forget.”
– MIKEY GANGWISH, mechanical engineer at Sandia National Labs, former baseball player at Colorado School of Mines
“Chris cared about every player who he coached. He knew how to make you truly believe in yourself on and off the field. Chris is one of the reasons I got into coaching and it’s because of the energy and passion he exuded every day. He always seemed to know how to reach guys whether it be by cracking a joke, telling a story, or simply putting his hand on your shoulder. People like Chris don’t come around often and I feel fortunate to have known him. He remains a truly influential figure in the lives of hundreds of athletes.”
– MIKE SNOW, video, affiliate game planning strategist, Los Angeles Angels, played for Chris at Sandia Prep
"Chris was one of the most unique people I've ever known. I first met Chris when he was the graduate assistant coach for the UNM baseball team. What I noticed about Chris was his desire to learn. He made every attempt to learn from anyone he could so that he could pass that knowledge along someday. I recognized the knowledge he already had for the game, but his humility in that and his drive to learn more was inspiring. Years later, Chris and I became closer friends, and I got to see his uniqueness shine. It was always a treat to go play a golf round with Chris as I'd hear about his pride in the Sandia Baseball team GPA or about his research on rock legend Jim Morrison. No matter the circumstance, when I saw Chris, I could always count on being seen, heard, and encouraged."
— ALEX ALBRITTON, UNM Baseball infielder (2010-2013), drafted by the Los Angeles Angels in 2013
“Chris is and will always be family to me. He cared deeply for all of our players at Sandia Prep. He was always willing to spend extra time with the players that wanted to improve their baseball skills. He was more than a coach!! He was a friend, mentor, leader, motivator and much more to his players. He would go the extra mile to show each student athlete that they mattered. His legacy will continue through so many young men in New Mexico.”
– PAUL HUITT, 2023 New Mexico High School Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, Sandia Prep head coach for 21 years (1999-2020), 6x New Mexico High School State Baseball Champion (2001, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2015, and 2016), former University of New Mexico baseball player, 2017 National High School Athletic Coaches Association National Coach of the Year Finalist
“One of the most impactful things from when I was playing for Chris was that he would always express how much he loved us. It brought a lot of comfort being so close to your coach and I think that is what allowed us to play so calmly on the field. And the best part about Chris is that he was always himself around everyone and especially his players. So he allowed us to become comfortable with him as a coach and as a person which also allowed us to be very vulnerable with him. Talking to him was like therapy. No matter what your problems were he'd always have his ears open because he knew the importance of his role as a coach which was much more than being labeled just as a "coach". He was a friend or brother and sometimes even an enemy when it came time to get competitive. Throughout everything, Chris never allowed me to fail, which was very important to me in becoming the man I am today. He never allowed me to quit even when times got extremely hard. I will forever remember Chris as the person who saved my passion for the game of baseball and also the person who saved me from never giving up.”
– JUAN PABLO PORTILLO, played for Chris at Sandia High School
“Chris Eaton was the single most impactful Coach and person I have ever had in my entire life. He treated me, and everyone else like family. He was also the first Coach that ACTUALLY believed in me and gave me opportunities that not most coaches would have. He showed us our dreams, whatever they may be were possible and helped show us the path to it. Not only was he our coach in baseball he would show us the right way through life. Told us to always be around the right people, do good in school, and helped with our confidence as high schoolers which isn’t easy at such a young age. I would not be the man I am today without Christopher and I am truly blessed to have him come into my life as a teacher and a best friend.”
– STUART JARAMILLO, played for Chris at Sandia High School
“Chris gave his all to others. He brought the best out of everyone around him and took the time to push his players to reach their potential. Going out of his way to get to know each one. Always driving you to pursue being the best at everything you do. I truly believe the values he taught me have molded me into the person I am today and I’ll be forever grateful. I hope we all make him proud.”
– JACOB KMATZ, Tampa Bay Rays organization, played for Chris at Sandia High School
“On June 17, 2020, Chris and I drove from Green Bay to Galveston. During our trip, I was reminded of how much Chris cared about his students and players, and how passionate he was about teaching and coaching them. He also showcased his passion for history, especially African American history. As we drove, we stopped at a few African American historical landmarks. My dear friend had no shortage of information when it came to history. Chris spoke about how much he loved his players and students and how he wanted the best for each of them individually. He spoke about the love he had for his family and how he cherished the time he was able to spend with them. I’m grateful for the experiences Chris and I were able to share. Over the course of our adventure, Chris showed why he was such a joy to be around, evident from the laughs and stories we shared. Chris was a good listener and he consistently made me feel like he cared about me and my well-being. I’m grateful for the conversations and the experiences he and I shared together. I’m grateful to have had the honor to call him my friend.”
— WENDEL DAVIS, Defensive Quality Control Coach, Green Bay Packers