College baseball: Longtime SRJC head coach stepping back from role

After more than 20 years at the helm, Damon Neidlinger is taking a step back from his role as head coach of the Santa Rosa Junior College baseball team.

Neidlinger, who joined the program in 1994 and has served as head coach for 23 seasons, will stay on staff as an assistant coach and has handed the reins to one of his assistants, Jeff Bart, to take over the program for the 2027 season. Neidlinger is not formally retiring from coaching or teaching at the JC and could reprise his role as head coach at some point down the road, but he said this week he felt the time was right to start shifting some of his responsibilities to someone else.

In a statement to The Press Democrat on Tuesday, SRJC Athletic Director Matt Markovich called the move a "temporary leadership transition."

Neidlinger took over the program in a similar manner in the early 2000s when then-head coach Ron Myers stepped aside for the 2001 season before returning to his role in 2002 and 2003. Neidlinger served his first year as head coach in 2001 and then took over the program on a full-time basis in 2004.

"I'm not retiring from baseball, not retiring from teaching, but after speaking to Matt earlier in the spring as to what I was thinking, and with myself basically heading toward retiring (from teaching), it became a really good idea," Neidlinger told The Press Democrat on Monday. "Ron Myers did it for me and the value that it had, the experience I got and the confidence it gave me to be a head coach, it seemed to be really good idea for this to happen right now for the program and for Jeff as well."

In the statement, Markovich said SRJC "extends its sincere appreciation to Coach Neidlinger for his years of dedication, leadership, and commitment to the success and development of our baseball student-athletes. His contributions have had a lasting impact on the program and the many students he has mentored throughout his tenure."

Markovich added that he has "full confidence in Coach Bart's leadership and vision for the future of Bear Cubs baseball. With the continued involvement of Coach Neidlinger and the strength of our coaching staff, our program is well positioned for continued success and we look forward to an exciting season ahead".

Bart, 31, has deep ties to the program and Sonoma County. Born and raised in Rohnert Park and a graduate of Rancho Cotate High School, he played for Neidlinger in SRJC's state championship season in 2016 and was a key member of the team that finished as state runner-up the following year. After playing a few seasons at Lewis and Clark State following his stint at SRJC, he returned to the area and has served on staff as an assistant for the last six years.

"To say it's an exciting time would be an understatement," Bart said. "… It's really just an honor that I'm seen in this light to potentially be the next one for the long haul. I'm really excited and focused to build off of what Damon's done here and kind of put my own thumb print here in a way. Definitely looking forward to it."

"To me, and really, a lot of alumni would probably share this, but to be in the position is kind of surreal because of how much this program means to me and all of us," he added. "I think ultimately the goal for me is to just show up every day and work as hard as I can to keep the guys as focused as they can be on growing themselves and getting to a better spot in their lives, just like what was done for me."

A major part of what made this decision attractive for Neidlinger is that he can return to his roots of why he got into coaching in the first place: to teach the game that he loves, which can sometimes get lost amid the host of other responsibilities on a head coach's plate.

"When I started as an assistant coach, that was one of the coolest things about it, is that in some ways you're not dealing with some of the other stuff that can be a bit laborious," he said. "To be able to show up and teach, coach, teach skills, help guys get better and enjoy that element of it is something I'm looking forward to and it's the right time."

Since taking over as full-time head coach in 2004, Neidlinger compiled a resume of success that few others in the California Community College Athletic Association can rival. Under his leadership, SRJC has won or shared eight conference titles, won two CCCAA state titles in 2005 and 2016 and finished as runner-up in 2017. As a head coach, Neidlinger has compiled an overall record of 610-293-1 and has earned Conference Coach of the Year honors eight times, CCCAA Coach of the Year honors twice and Regional Coach of the Year honors four times.

This is not the first time that Neidlinger has stepped away from his role as head coach since taking over full time, having also taken sabbatical leave in 2019 before returning in 2020. Like Myers, he could very well return to his head coaching role at some point in the future, but with his retirement from teaching in the school's kinesiology, athletics and dance department on the horizon in the next few years, he wanted to make sure that the program is ready for the transition when he does eventually hang up his cleats and clipboard.

"Matt and all the administration, Dr. Garcia, they've all been fantastic," he said. "Me wanting to do this and Matt taking it to the powers that be and them giving the full support to do it, I think everyone believes this is good for everyone. It's great for me, it's great for the program, it's great for Jeff … there's a lot of times you can't say a potential transition situation like this is great, but everybody believes that it is."

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This story was originally published June 9, 2026 at 6:35 PM.