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Freedom High girls basketball standout Megan Clark committed to Tennessee Tech University on June 27. The rising senior averaged 14.7 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game in the 2015-2016 season. The 5-foot-8 shooting guard is Freedom’s top returning scorer and rebounder from last season. TTU hired Kim Rosamund as its new head coach in March.

Three all-star softball teams from the Wesley Chapel Athletic Association will be competing in the state championships in Okeechobee from July 8 to July 10. The Darlings (7-8 year olds), Angels (9-10 year olds) and Ponies (11-12 year olds) all-star teams each won district titles for their age groups to advance to states.

The Darlings All-Stars are: Chelsea Andersen, Kylie Glatfelter, Presley Brinkley, Alexis Gattuso, Abbygail Scranton, Elli Wease, Reagan Beagle, Sara Griffing, Jaila Mitchell, Elizabeth Stanley, Audrey Luce and Emily Bowling. (Photos courtesy of Julie Anna Marks0)

 
The Angels All-Stars are: Annamarie Ratican, Alyson Gehrmann, Jordan Ankers, Jaida Thomas, Aubrey Wallace, Allison Glatfelter, Courtney Marks, Alex Bowe-Wooton, Ahmari Arca, Julia Brocato, Mattea Cassale and Sophia Lipinski.

 

 

 

 

 

The Ponies All-Stars are: Jordan Danielson, Chloe Danielson, Trae’Lynn Diaz, Olivia Hollifield, Kendall Jones, Madison Marotta, Martha Plazewski, Annissa Quinonez, Makenna Rice, Abbey Vyas, Alivia Zolman and Savannah Greenwood.

Wiregrass Ranch High football standout Jordan Miner received a football scholarship offer from the University of South Florida on June 27. Miner, a rising junior, also has offers from Bowling Green, Toledo and Tulane. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound defensive back totaled 35 tackles last season and served as the team’s kick returner, where he averaged 34 yards per return. Miner is also a member of the Wiregrass Ranch basketball team, where he was second on the team in points (10.5 points per game) and rebounds (4.5 rebounds per game) last season.

Saint Leo University senior Valentin Lenz was named a 2015-2016 Second-Team Academic All-American in men’s cross-country and track and field.

Lenz, of Dusseldorf, Germany, is only the second Saint Leo men’s cross-country/track athlete to earn Academic All-America honors, following in the footsteps of Carl Dunne who won the honor a year ago. Lenz, the 2015 Sunshine State Conference (SSC) Men’s Cross Country Runner of the Year, was the 2015 SSC men’s cross-country individual champion and led Saint Leo to SSC cross-country titles for two consecutive years. He finished in ninth-place at the 2015 NCAA Cross-Country South Region Championships, which qualified him for the 2015 NCAA Cross-Country National Championships in Joplin, Missouri, where his 10K distance time of 31:08.30 set a new Saint Leo record.

Lenz is an accounting and economics major.

Saint Leo freshman golfer Hugo Bernard was recently named to the 2016 All-Nicklaus Team. Bernard is one of 24 honorees, and one of only four Division II golfers on the list. Bernard was crowned the 2016 NCAA Division II individual national champion after winning the individual title in Denver, Colorado, on May 19. The All-Nicklaus Team was created in 2008, and is named after Jack Nicklaus, one of the sport’s all-time greatest players.

Bryan Thomas, a former Zephyrhills High football star, has been added to the school’s football staff.

Thomas, a 2006 graduate of Zephyrhills High, will be an assistant on first-year head coach Nick Carroll’s staff for the 2016 season.

Thomas was widely regarded as one of the top high school safeties in the nation. (The recruiting service Rivals.com labeled him as a 4-star recruit and the 12th best safety in the 2006 recruiting class.) He started his college football career at the University of Florida before transferring to the University of North Alabama. The Zephyrhills Bulldogs went 8-3 last season under former coach Reginald Roberts.

Chris Frusci, Saint Leo’s head men’s and women’s tennis coach for the past two seasons, resigned his post last week to become a women’s assistant tennis coach at Baylor University.

“Saint Leo athletics wishes Chris Frusci all the best as he moves to the next stop along his coaching career,” Saint Leo athletic director Francis Reidy said in a release. “While disappointed he was with us just a few years, it is clear by the programs’ results, he is a fantastic coach and recruiter. Baylor is getting a talented and dedicated coach.”

In two years at Saint Leo, Frusci posted an overall record of 43-8 and 11-1 SSC (Sunshine State Conference) on the men’s side and a 42-9, 14-2 SSC record on the women’s side. He also led both programs to their first-ever Sunshine State Conference regular season titles.

A national search is underway for a new head coach.

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.