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Frank Furey, a senior at Carrollwood Day School, has committed to play baseball at Gulf Coast State College, a Division I junior college in Panama City. Furey, a 5-foot-11, 175-pound left-hander, has proven to be a versatile two-way player throughout his four-year varsity prep career. As a pitcher last season, Furey posted a 3.25 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 36.2 innings. At the plate, he batted .506, with 11 extra-base hits and 14 RBIs.

Kacie Huber, a senior at Pasco High School, has committed to play softball at Florida Gulf Coast University, a Division I program in Fort Myers. The outfielder established herself as one of the top hitters in Pasco County last season, posting a team-leading .538 average, with two home runs and 12 RBIs, and earned Sunshine Athletic Conference First-Team All-Conference honors. Over her three-year varsity career, Huber has compiled a .457 average, with 29 extra-base hits and 41 RBIs.

Sophomore basketball standout Cairah Mays has transferred from Carrollwood Day School to Seffner Christian Academy. The 5-foot-7 guard played a key role for the Patriots’ Class 3A state runner-up squad last season, averaging 7.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game. Mays joins a Seffner Christian program that underwent a 28-game winning streak last season that ended in the Class 4A state semifinals.

Wiregrass Ranch High School football product Shane Bucenell, now a sophomore quarterback at Charleston Southern University, has been named to the College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) 2017 Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) National Performer of the Year Preseason Watch List.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound dual-threat signal caller was one of 42 returning players across the FCS to be selected to the preseason watch list, and one of just three players from the Big South Conference.

The 2017 CFPA FCS National Performer of the Year Trophy is a 22-inch K-9 optic crystal tower with an 8-inch crystal football on top. All FCS players are eligible for the award, which will be announced Jan. 10.

Bucenell, a Wesley Chapel native, is coming off an impressive rookie campaign that saw him twice earn Big South Freshman of the Week honors, as he led Charleston Southern to its second consecutive FCS playoff appearance. In eight starts at quarterback, Bucenell posted a 6-2 record, with key victories over Coastal Carolina, Liberty, and Kennesaw State. Moreover, he tied the Big South lead with 15 touchdown passes and finished second overall in total touchdowns with 19. Bucenell also is Charleston Southern’s leading returning rusher, after finishing last season with 325 yards and four touchdowns.

Prior to his college career, Bucenell was a three-year starter at Wiregrass Ranch, twice earning All-Sunshine Athletic Conference honors. He also played baseball and ran track.

Shaheed Salmon, a former Land O’ Lakes High School football standout and current Samford (Homewood, Alabama) University senior linebacker, has been named to the STATS FCS Preseason All-America Team.

Salmon, a second-team choice, is one of 97 players selected to the All-America squad.

The 6-foot-2, 232-pound Salmon, who earned All-Southern Conference honors last season, is Samford’s leading returning tackler with 93, including 50 solo stops. He also had one interception and seven pass breakups in 2016. Salmon had four games in which he tallied 10 or more tackles, including a career-high 18 in a win at Central Arkansas.

Salmon graduated from Land O’ Lakes High in 2014.

In his senior prep season, Salmon led the Gators in tackles (117), tackles for loss (21.5) and sacks (8.5). He also competed in basketball and track.

The Saint Leo women’s soccer team, the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) defending champions, open the 2017 season up as the 17th ranked program in the United Soccer Coaches Division II preseason poll.

The Lions went 13-4-1 last season on their way to capturing both the SSC regular season and tournament titles before hosting the first and second round of the NCAA Division II Women’s Soccer South Regional. Saint Leo and Barry (Miami Shores) University (No. 16) are the lone SSC teams in the preseason poll.

The Lions kick off the 2017 season with a road trip to Memphis, Tennessee to take on Christian Brothers University on Sept. 1 and University of West Alabama on Sept. 3.

Saint Leo returns home on Sept. 16 to open their home slate and Sunshine State Conference play with Embry-Riddle at 7 p.m.

Mario Rincon, a longtime Division I assistant, was named Saint Leo’s head coach in March. He replaces Ged O’ Connor, who left for Troy University, a Division I program in Alabama.

A.J. Hampton, a rising senior cornerback at Wharton High School, has verbally committed to play football at the University of Toledo, a Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) program. A consensus three-star prospect, Hampton (5-foot-11, 170 pounds) is ranked among the state’s top 150 players for the 2018 recruiting class per 247Sports.

Hampton also fielded scholarship offers from Marshall University, University of Nebraska, North Dakota State University and University of South Florida, among others.

One of Hampton’s high school teammates, offensive lineman Lavel Dumont, is also a Toledo commit. Toledo running backs coach Marquell Blackwell was the primary recruiter for the Wharton High duo. Blackwell, a former USF quarterback, coached at Freedom High School in Tampa from 2006 to 2008.

Besides football, Hampton is a track star. He finished fourth in the 400 meters at the Class 4A state meet last spring, running a personal-best 48.98.

Other local athlete commitments

• Carrollwood Day School senior Jack Pironti has committed to play soccer at Wesleyan University, a Division III program in Middletown, Connecticut. Pironti, a forward, tallied 13 goals and 31 points in nearly 700 minutes of action last season. He’s played varsity soccer since the seventh grade at Carrollwood Day.
• Pasco High School junior Garrett Hester has committed to play baseball at the University of Alabama, a Division I program. As a sophomore, last season, the 6-foot-1 lefthander posted a 2.45 ERA and 69 strikeouts in 48.2 innings. Also, a standout hitter, Hester batted .361 with three doubles and 12 RBIs.

Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay, a program of Hillsborough County Parks & Recreation, recently won the Small Team Division at the National Junior Disability Championships, in Middleton, Wisconsin.

The team, comprised of three athletes, competed in track and field, swimming, archery and weightlifting, squaring off against hundreds of others nationwide.

In all, Eric Lowry, 17, of Land O’ Lakes; Danielle Kanas, 12, of Lutz; and, 15-year-old Logan Krepop, of Parrish, won a combined 18 gold, 11 silver and four bronze medals. One of those gold medals came when Kanas shattered the previous national record in the javelin by 6 meters.

The events were held from July 16 to July 22.

The Adaptive Sports USA Junior Nationals is for athletes ages 6 to 22 with physical disabilities, and is the oldest and largest continuously held competitive sports event in the country.

A signature program of Hillsborough County’s Parks & Recreation, Paralympic Sport Tampa Bay offers year-round sports and recreation programs to promote healthy lifestyles, independence and personal growth for people with physical disabilities.

 

The Land O’ Lakes Little League Senior Division All-Stars (14 -16 years old) became sectional champions last month, after placing first in the Florida Little League Section 4 Tournament, in Lakewood Ranch. The all-star squad, which previously won its district, was one of eight teams to reach the 2017 Florida Little League Senior Division State Tournament, held in Tallahassee. The team is managed by Danny Broderick, and coached by Gary Gwinn and Scott Watson. Back row, from left: Coach Gary Gwinn, Andrew Spina, Mitchell Fotheringham, Devin Smith, Kelvin Portorreal, David Pineda, Jake Muscianese, Brett Gwinn, Nicholas Ketterer, Justin King, Thomas Watson and Yavier Bonilla-Rios. Front row, from left: Dylan Broderick, Coach Scott Watson, Manager Danny Broderick and Tyler Hudson. Note: Arlan Hasiak is absent from the picture.