Charles Henderson High Head Coach Derek Irons made a friendly wager with his players at the start of the season, a bet that he is happy to pay off.

Before the season opener his players bet that if they went 10-0, he would have to let his hair grow out.

Today the Trojans are 17-0 and ranked 20th in the nation by MaxPreps Excellent 25 and 28th in the nation by The Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. This is the first time ever a CHHS baseball team has been ranked nationally by any high school baseball ranking service.

CHHS is also the only Alabama school ranked currently by MaxPreps as well as the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

“They asked me in the preseason what it would look like if I grew my hair out,” said Irons. “I told them that was something they had to earn. They said if we win ten games in a row would I do it and I said yes. And, of course, they won the first ten games of the season.”

Charles Henderson is coming off of a 9-3 win over Brewbaker Tech Saturday in the Jason Armstrong Tournament at Montgomery’s Paterson Field.

The Trojans are also ranked No. 1 in the first Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 5A poll, after winning back to back state championships in Class 4A in 2013 and 2014.

For the last nine years, dating back to 2007, CHHS has been ranked in the top 10 in every ASWA poll.

This year’s team is the fourth in school history to earn the No. 1 ASWA ranking, joining 2010, 2013 and 2014.

Coach Irons has the Trojans on a successful path, as he has a 203-58 record since arriving at CHHS in 2009. He said the national ranking was unexpected, but a great honor for the hard work of the CHHS baseball players, coaches and the program.

“Achieving a national ranking isn’t something we set out to accomplish, but I’m tremendously proud of our guys and the things they have accomplished over the last few years to build up our program to the point that we would be recognized on a national level,” said Irons. “It’s a testament to going out every day with the intention to improve as individuals and as a team, and if enough guys buy into that for a long enough period of time great things can happen.”

The Trojans visit Trinity of Montgomery Tuesday for a 4 p.m. contest, which is a makeup of an earlier rain-out. CHHS will then host Greenville in a Class 5A, Area 3 contest this Thursday at 5 p.m., and will travel to Greenville Friday for a 4:30 p.m. double header.

CHHS is 2-0 in Class 5A, Area 3 following two wins at Eufaula last Friday.