Johnston baseball keeps incredible streak alive

Dragons have won 11 consecutive conference titles on the diamond

Johnston head coach Michael Barta talks the media after a ceremony honoring the longtime baseball coach on July 7, 2025, in Johnston. / Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Johnston High School baseball team is one of the premier programs in all of Iowa high school baseball.

Constant state contenders in Iowa’s biggest classification, 4A, the Dragons have been incredibly difficult to defeat even before the state tournament begins.

11 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝘾𝙄𝙈𝙇 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙨 pic.twitter.com/YUyYfqjhoq

— Johnston Baseball (@JohnstonDragons) July 10, 2025

Wednesday night, Johnston put the finishing touches on an 11th consecutive CIML Conference championship with a sweep over Ankeny. They have now won four in a row and seven of eight overall heading into the postseason.

Michael Barta, who announced plans to step down as head coach before the season started, has helped the Dragons win five of their seven state titles, including championships in 2022 and again in 2023.

The five titles have Barta tied for fourth-most in Iowa high school baseball history behind only Gene Schultz, Jim Van Scoyoc and Bill Argo. He will return to Carroll and plans to join the Carroll Kuemper baseball staff, which is coached by Riley Bach, a cousin of his.

Johnston will host Des Moines North to begin substate play on Saturday night. The Dragons need just two victories to make the state tournament for a 23rd time in program history.

The CIML currently includes West Des Moines Valley, Waukee Northwest, Waukee, Ankeny Centennial, Southeast Polk, Dowling, Ankeny and Urbandale.

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