Kevin Weiss

Gaither High left-handed pitcher Josh Bobrowski has signed on to play collegiate baseball at South Florida State College. The 6-foot-2, 178-pound pitcher compiled a 2.01 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched in his senior year. Bobrowski was part of the school’s first baseball state championship won last month.

Pasco-Hernando State College third baseman Jordan Ding recently signed a National Letter of Intent with Division II Francis Marion (South Carolina) University. The PHSC baseball standout set a new school single-season batting average record of .467 this past season. (The previous record of .432 was set by Mike Aranda in 1998.) In 43 games, Ding had 12 doubles, six triples, one home run and 45 RBIs. He also led the team in runs scored (59) and hits (77). Ding was also named the NJCAA DII Marucci Elite for the Southeast District and the NJCAA DII Region VIII Player of the Year.

Pasco-Hernando State College (PHSC) sophomore pitcher Tanner Thompson has been named an NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) DII Second Team All-American. He becomes the third PHSC pitcher in the 25-year history of the program to earn the honor, joining Frankie Sanders (1994) and Danny Rodriguez (2015). The right-handed pitcher finished the season with 9-1 record and a 1.52 ERA in 82.2 innings pitched; he also compiled 70 strikeouts in his 15 appearances.

The Saint Leo women’s basketball team will have a few new faces next season. Head coach Anthony Crocitto added two players to the 2016-2017 roster: junior college transfer Ragen Dotson and European import Gina Brierley. Dotson is a transfer out of Daytona State College, and Brierley, a native of Manchester, England, played for Loreto (Manchester) College and most recently earned a spot on England’s U18 team.

Dotson, a 5-foot-10 guard, averaged 7.0 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per game, and shot nearly 41 percent from 3-point range in her sophomore season at Daytona State.

“Ragen is a special young lady and can really shoot the ball,” Crocitto said in a release. “We will count on her to play multiple positions for us at Saint Leo and score the ball inside and out. She can really stretch a defense with her long-range shooting and has a huge upside to do some special things in her two years here.” Brierley, a 5-foot-7 point guard, averaged 17 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game at Loreto College; she also averaged 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

“Gina will be a rookie to watch in our conference,” Crocitto said. “She is a multi-talented guard who plays the game the right way while playing hard. Gina will be expected to contribute right away and play multiple guard spots for us.”

Brierley and Dotson join Madelin Lang and Courtney Cox, who both signed with Saint Leo during the fall period.

Saint Leo senior Liam Ainsworth and junior Joey Savoie were recently named to the Division II PING All-America teams. They join freshman Hugo Bernard, who was named to the first team in May.

“I am so proud of these guys and all that they achieved this year,” Saint Leo University men’s golf coach Chris Greenwood said in a release.

Ainsworth, a native of London, England, was selected to the DII PING All-America Second Team following his performance at the NCAA National Championships at the Green Valley Ranch Golf Course in Denver, Colorado. He finished in a tie for eighth place at the championships with a 209 total (-7) in stroke play.

Savoie, a native of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada, was named to the All-America Third Team after his nationals performance, finishing in 11th place with a final of 210 (-6) during stroke play.

On May 21, the Saint Leo’s men’s golf team won the school’s first-ever National Championship, defeating top-ranked Chico (California) State in match play 3-2.

Saint Leo University’s men’s and women’s swimming teams recently earned Scholar All-America Team status from the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).

The men’s team finished the semester with a 3.24 team grade point average, while the women’s team finished with a 3.55 team grade point average.

To be eligible for the designation, teams had to achieve a 3.0 or higher team GPA over the Spring 2016 semester.

Men’s swimmers Matheus Assis, Hunter Bains, Daniel Bis, Evan Jacob and Pawel Trenda, and women’s swimmers Natalia Garriock and Nicole Weber were individually honored as CSCAA Scholar All-Americans by maintaining a 3.5-or-higher GPA and representing Saint Leo at the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships.

“Our goal has always been to have a nationally competitive Division II program, both in the pool and in the classroom,” Saint Leo’s head men’s and women’s swimming coach Paul Mangen said in a release.

Wesley Chapel resident Joey Koehler single-handedly won the South Pasco Bassmasters June tournament on Lake Reedy. He also won the tournament ‘Big Bass’ award after reeling in a 6.64-pound bass.