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The Land O’ Lakes Little League All-Stars (10-11 year-olds) won the Florida District 25 championship on June 21 by defeating North Seminole 18 to 7. The all-star team begins sectional play on July 7 in Lakewood Ranch. Front row, left to right: Tony Padilla, Hunter Stahl, Isaac Doohen, Korbin Baskind and Zack Rock. Back row, left to right: Michael Souza, Diezel Brown, Chandler Norrie, Logan Koslin, Nick Cameron, Vinny VerPault, Jacob Flynn and Ovani Santiago. Coaches, from left: Bill Baskind, Tom Ketterer and Terence Doohen.

Saint Leo head women’s golf coach Tommy Baker has resigned from his role at the university to accept an assistant coaching position at Colorado State University, a Division I program in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Baker exits Saint Leo after four seasons, having turned the Lions into a top-10 program over the past two seasons.

“All of us at Saint Leo are grateful for Coach Baker’s contributions to the growth of the women’s golf program and to our overall women’s athletics program,” Saint Leo athletic director Francis X. Reidy said, in a release. “He has laid a great foundation for the future growth of Saint Leo women’s golf, and we will now look for a successor to build on Tommy’s work over the last four years. Tommy has been a tremendous asset to our department, and I wish him all the best in his new role at Colorado State.”

The Lions qualified for the NCAA South Super Regional in each of Baker’s four seasons at the helm. His 2015-16 squad earned the program’s first team qualifier into the national championship and finished in a tie fourth place, while Saint Leo produced individual qualifiers in 2014 and 2017.

Baker coached senior Marie Coors, Division II’s top-ranked player throughout much of 2016-2017, to the individual title at the 2017 NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championship in Findlay, Ohio – Saint Leo’s first NCAA national championship, team or individual, in women’s athletics.

Coors capped the season by earning 2017 Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) Division II Player of the Year honors, as well as being named the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Division II Academic All-America of the Year in the At-Large category, and the Division II Honda Athlete of the Year nominee in women’s golf.

Coors was one of three WGCA All-Americans who was coached by Baker over his four seasons at Saint Leo, two of whom he recruited.

Also during Baker’s time as head coach, the Lions’ four-player team stroke average dropped from 309.59 in his first season down to 297.64 in 2016-17, and Saint Leo’s 74.46 adjusted scoring average in 2016-17 was fourth lowest in all of Division II according to GolfStat.

“I have enjoyed my time at Saint Leo University and feel extremely grateful for the knowledge and friendships that I have gained over the past four years. I am forever grateful for the opportunity the university provided me,” said Baker. “I want to personally thank Dr. Arthur Kirk and Dr. William Lennox (former and current Saint Leo presidents), Fran Reidy, and the Saint Leo community for allowing and trusting me to be an influential part of the daily lives of our student-athletes. I wish the university, the athletics department, and the Saint Leo women’s golf program continued success.”

Prior to Saint Leo, Baker served as the head golf coach at Coker College, in Hartsville, South Carolina, and assistant golf coach at University of North Carolina-Pembroke.

• Wharton High School offensive tackle Lavel Dumont verbally committed to the University of Toledo, a Division I school in Ohio. The 6-foot-5, 270-pound rising senior is a consensus three-star recruit and claims over a dozen scholarship offers, mostly from mid-major programs. According to 247Sports, Dumont is one of the nation’s top 100 offensive tackle prospects for the 2018 football recruiting class.

  

• Wesley Chapel High School utility/designated hitter Hunter Moye has signed to play baseball at Central Lakes College, a junior college in Brainerd, Minnesota. Moye was named to the SAC (Sunshine Athletic Conference) East All-County Second-Team in 2016.
• Wiregrass Ranch High School third baseman Hunter Brown has committed to play baseball at Glenville State College, a Division II school in West Virginia. Brown posted a .232 batting average and .338 on-base percentage in 2017.

 

Steinbrenner High School alumnus and former University of South Florida (USF) shortstop Kevin Merrell has signed with the Oakland Athletics, inking a $1.8 million signing bonus on June 20.

Merrell, the No. 33 overall selection in the 2017 MLB Draft, graduated from Steinbrenner in 2014 and played three seasons at South Florida.

Merrell was viewed as one of the fastest players in all of college baseball last season.

He led the American Athletic Conference with a .384 batting average and became the only player in USF history to lead the team in hitting for three consecutive seasons; he scored 48 runs and stole 19 bases in 2017.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Merrell also displayed gap power last season, notching 11 doubles, three triples and seven home runs.

At Steinbrenner, Merrell was a four-year letter winner in baseball for coach John Crumbley; he also lettered in golf and track, where he recorded a 10.6-second, 100-meter dash.

At the South Pasco Bassmasters’ June 17 tournament at Johns Lake in Clermont, Kevin Corcoran, left, and Mike Mathews teamed up to win first place, reeling in a total weight of 18.59 pounds. The winning weight was caught using topwater baits and plastic frogs on the offshore grass line. The next tournament is slated for July 15, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. For information on joining the club, visit SouthPascoBassmasters.com.

With the high school softball season complete, the 2017 Miracle Sports All-State teams were released June 9, honoring the top players in the state of Florida.

The Land O’ Lakes High Gators had the most representatives from The Laker/Lutz News Coverage area in all classifications, with a total of five selections in Class 6A — four first-team, one second-team. Moreover, Gators head coach Mitch Wilkins and sophomore pitcher Callie Turner were named Class 6A Coach of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.

Wilkins guided the Gators (29-3) to its first fastpitch title last month — a first for a Pasco County program since Ridgewood High won in 1992.

Turner, meanwhile, was an integral part of the Gators’ success, proving to be one of the state’s most dominant aces. The University of Tennessee commit won 17 games, tallying a 0.21 ERA and 249 strikeouts in 132.2 innings pitched.

In her 20 starts, Turner tallied 18 complete games, 10 shutouts and four no-hitters.

Also a standout hitter, Turner posted a .319 batting average with 14 RBIs.

Besides Turner, Gators outfielder Jessie McCallister, utility player Ashley Smith and designated player Tia Williams were first-teamers, while sophomore infielder Shelby Westbrook was a second-team selection.

Other schools in our coverage area also were well represented on the All-State list.

Academy at the Lakes, Steinbrenner, Sunlake and Wharton high schools each had three representatives — as either first or second team selections or honorable mentions.

Carrollwood Day School, Pasco High and Wesley Chapel High each had one representative in their respective classifications.

There were no All-State representatives in our coverage area from Classes 9A, 5A, 4A or 1A.

 

The Land O’ Lakes Gators Athletics Foundation inducted five new members to the school’s athletics Hall of Fame during a dinner ceremony May 25.

The inductees for the 2017 class were: Allen Claggett Jr., a longtime varsity football and track coach; Desiree Croteau, a varsity softball pitcher in the late ’90s; Michael Keough, a standout three-sport athlete in the mid ’70s; Doug Hutchinson, a longtime athletics volunteer; and, Stephen Querns, the starting quarterback for Land O’ Lakes High’s first district football championship in 1978.

The ceremony marked the school’s fifth Hall of Fame induction class, which began in 2013 after the Gators Athletics Foundation was established as a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

William Floyd, a former NFL fullback and current color radio analyst for Florida State University football, was the keynote speaker for the ceremony.

The foundation’s purpose is to “raise funds through donations and fundraising events for the direct benefit of the athletic programs at Land O’ Lakes High School.”

Funds raised through the booster club are currently being allocated to build an athletic field house at the school, perhaps within the next five years.

Hall of Fame bios

Allen Claggett Jr. (Coach/Administrator)
Claggett moved to Land O’ Lakes in 1971 when Sanders Elementary experienced a hiring spree. There, he taught language arts and coached football for sixth-graders through eighth-graders. He joined Land O’ Lakes High in 1975, when it opened. He taught language arts and coached football and track until he retired in 2009. During his tenure, the Gators football program won 13 district titles, six conference titles, and made 17 playoff appearances. As head track coach, his teams won four district and four conference, and two county championships.

Desiree Croteau (Female Athlete)
Croteau (Class of ’97) excelled on the softball field as a pitcher, playing for former longtime Land O’ Lakes coach Jerry English. Croteau was named area player of the year in 1995 and 1997, and was a 1997 Florida Athletic Coaches Association All-Star. She later played softball at Saint Leo University and earned induction into the Saint Leo Athletic Hall of Fame. Croteau is now a corporal with the Tampa Police Department’s K-9 unit.

Michael Keough (Male Athlete)
Keough (Class of ’76) came to Land O’ Lakes High from St. Petersburg shortly after the school opened in 1975 after his father, Judge Lawrence Keough, was appointed to the Sixth Judicial Circuit in west Pasco County.  Keough played football, basketball and track, earning All-Area honors in both football and basketball, including being named to the Tampa Tribune’s Class 2A, Section 2 All-Star Football Team as a first-team quarterback. He then earned an athletic scholarship to play football at Tennessee Technological University — the first student to do so from Land O’ Lakes High. He graduated from Tennessee Tech and earned a law degree from Stetson University. Today, he has his own law practice in New Port Richey.

Doug Hutchinson (Lifetime Service Award)
Hutchinson received the Lifetime Service Award for his volunteer efforts in supporting Land O’ Lakes High School athletic programs over the past 35 years. Over the years, Hutchinson has assisted the Land O’ Lakes Little League, Police Athletic League and the Land O’ Lakes Athletic Booster Club. He’s also acted as chairman for the local SwampFest event, sponsored by the LOLHS Boosters. While volunteering, Hutchinson was also a paramedic for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, earning recognition as Paramedic of the Year in 2009.

Stephen Querns (Posthumously Lifetime Achievement Award)
Querns was a standout both on and off the field. At Land O’ Lakes High, Querns played football and baseball, earning recognition on local All-Area teams for both sports. Querns also was starting quarterback for the school’s first district championship football team in 1978. Upon graduation, Querns stayed close to home to attend the University of Tampa on a baseball scholarship, later transferring to the University of South Florida where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. Querns eventually worked for Johnson & Johnson, where his medical design work led to 13 U.S. patents and several European patents.  Querns died at age 37 from cancer. His research and design work in the medical field, however, continues to help others.

University of South Florida junior shortstop Kevin Merrell, a Steinbrenner High product, was selected to the All-American Athletic Conference first team, selected by league coaches; Merrell earned the same honor in 2016.

The 6-foot-1, 189-pound Odessa native wrapped up the 2017 regular season batting a conference-leading .386, with six home runs, 35 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.

Lauded for his base-stealing, defensive range and extra-base hit power, the middle infielder is projected to be a first-day pick in the 2017 MLB Draft, which starts June 12.
At Steinbrenner, Merrell was a four-year letter winner for head baseball coach John Crumbley; he also lettered in golf and track.