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Sunshine State Conference

Toronto Raptors training camp a slam dunk at Saint Leo

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When it comes to melding professional sports and higher education, Saint Leo University has been known as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ exclusive educational partner.

The partnership, which began in 2019, has featured traditional in-stadium and in-market advertising, digital and social features. and other unique fan elements. Most visible elements can be seen along massive interstate billboards and signage throughout Raymond James Stadium.

Saint Leo men’s basketball coach Lance Randall leveraged his friendship with Toronto Raptors head coach Nick Nurse to help lure the NBA franchise to hold preseason camp at the university campus. (Courtesy of Saint Leo University athletics)

Over the last month, the university scored another professional sports franchise partner, albeit for a brief period.

Saint Leo’s on-campus Marion Bowman Activities Center served as preseason training camp host for the NBA’s Toronto Raptors, from Dec. 1 through Dec. 11.

The Raptors journey to Saint Leo and the Bay Area came by way of circumstance.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the franchise was unable to start the 2020-2021 regular season in Toronto due to Canada-U.S. border restrictions.

Needing a temporary home in the U.S., the Raptors’ players voted to begin their 2020-2021 season in Tampa over cities such as Buffalo, Fort Lauderdale, Louisville, Nashville and Newark.

Raptors “home” games — at least initially —  will be played at Amalie Arena, the homesite of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning, at 401 Channelside Drive in Tampa. The scheduled 72-game regular season begins Dec. 22 and is expected to run through May 16. The Raptors announced at least 17 home games will be played at Amalie Arena in the first half of the NBA season.

Besides the home arena, the Raptors, too, needed someplace nearby to hold its two weeklong training camps while construction was underway on a makeshift practice court inside a hotel ballroom at JW Marriott Tampa Water Street, in downtown Tampa.

And, that’s when some deep coaching ties came to assist.

Coaching connections
Saint Leo men’s basketball coach Lance Randall has known Raptors head coach Nick Nurse for over 20 years.

It’s a relationship dating back to when the pair was coaching against each other in Europe, more specifically in the British Basketball League. Both also coached England’s Birmingham Bullets at separate times in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They’ve remained friendly ever since.

“There’s not a ton of American coaches over there (in Europe),” Randall recently told The Laker/Lutz News, “so you tend to get to be closer with guys that are American when you’re over there and make some sort of connections and bonds.”

(Courtesy of Toronto Raptors)

It was sometime in mid-November when Randall received a random text message from Nurse, inquiring about the college’s basketball facilities as a possible camp site, as the team made preparations for a move stateside.

Randall subsequently went into recruiting pitch mode, self-assured the Bowman Center would be a slam dunk for the Raptors.

The Bowman Center has 10 basketball hoops, two full-size courts and a 4,444-square-foot weight room.

The facility also has a balcony overlooking the practice gym, which allowed team scouts and management to get a bird’s-eye view of all the action.

Add to that a serene setting devoid of distractions in rural East Pasco County, off State Road 52, some 35 miles north of the team’s downtown Tampa hotel stay.

Raptors representatives were on-campus within a week of the original text conversation, touring the facility with Randall and other university officials. They also took a look at Lake Jovita and some of the surrounding areas.

The NBA franchise clearly liked what it saw from the in-person visit.

“We have a great gym for getting better,” Randall said. “We have a lot of baskets, we have a great floor, and it just kind of made sense. And, the students are off-campus, so from that standpoint, it just kind of fell into place.”

The timing also worked for Randall’s own program.

With the status of the NCAA Division II and Sunshine State Conference season and games in limbo, Randall had no qualms with having his team conducting some routine practices at Academy at the Lakes, in Land O’ Lakes. End-of-semester final exams also took place during the time of Raptors training camp, meaning Randall’s squad was due for a break anyway.

Home away from home
For the duration of Raptors training camp, buses shuttled players, coaches and officials to Saint Leo, generally between 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., each day.

As many as four shuttle buses could be seen parked at any one time next to the Bowman Center.

Raptors management strived to normalize the temporary setting, wrapping the university’s fitness center, end mats and other portions of the arena in team logos and its signature red and black color scheme.

Toronto Raptors veteran guard Fred VanVleet hones his jump shot inside Saint Leo University’s Marion Bowman Activities Center. (Courtesy of Toronto Raptors)

Practices were closed to the media and public, but both Randall and Saint Leo athletics director Fran Reidy were able to view some action from afar, at least in the early portion of training camp.

For them, it was a surreal experience witnessing an NBA team on Saint Leo’s hardwood floor, let alone one that won an NBA title in 2019 and has secured a playoff berth seven years running.

“It’s great to watch pros who really do work,” said Reidy. “You know, they didn’t get there by accident, right?

“When I was watching these guys, they’re working at their game, they’re not going through the motions. There’s guys that work out before the team practice or after the team practice on their individual part, and obviously they work on the team concept in the middle, but it is interesting to see how hard these guys work.

“To see guys that were winning an NBA championship a year ago (in 2019) in your gym with arguably one of the best coaches in the league, it was really fun to watch,” Reidy said.

Randall added: “They really just kind of locked in. They’re very professional about how they do things and they’ve been a great group, just a really classy organization. They’ve got a culture of winning and doing things the right way, and really it’s embodied everything they do, even just simple things like meeting and greeting.”

From a coach’s perspective, Randall also was captivated by the team’s “attention to detail, and the ability to facilitate those details on a moment’s notice.”

It was a valuable learning tool for his own basketball staff, he said.

On the flip side, Raptors players and coaches came away quite pleased with the university’s Southern hospitality.

In a recent Zoom media conference during camp, Nurse joyfully mentioned that Randall’s wife had baked chocolate chip cookies for the entire team.

“That’s how special the touches are around here,” said Nurse, the 2020 NBA Coach of the Year. “They’ve been gracious, gracious hosts.”

Nurse praised the Bowman Center’s basketball facilities, too. He noted how its 10 hoops are distinctly spaced out in the arena, which allowed the team’s 20-man roster to get adequate individual work in without encroaching on each other.

“We’ve got 20 players here, you’ve got a lot of bodies,” said Nurse, “so you need a lot of baskets to keep everybody active, and getting required shots in and form shooting work, and all that stuff going.”

He added: “The facilities here are perfect, really perfect, and we’re happy and fortunate we chose here and that they were able to accommodate us.”

Raptors all-star power forward Pascal Siakam likewise came away satisfied with Saint Leo’s digs.

“I think it’s been great,” Siakam said of the training camp experience at Saint Leo. “I would say we’ve been blessed to be able to have a facility like that. Definitely a shout out to Saint Leo for letting us use the gym and be a part of what they have here.

“I think it’s been great just being here and having everything under one roof. I just know, obviously, we appreciate it as a team.”

Branding boost
Those types of responses gratified Saint Leo’s athletics director, confirming the university’s sports facilities and amenities are top-notch and pro-caliber.

“We do have really good facilities. We’ve known that for a long time. Anytime we can get other people to campus, they realize the same thing. But, when a professional team comes to campus, I think it validates what you’ve been saying,” said Reidy.

Besides validation, the partnership in with the Canadian-based NBA franchise has yielded other benefits for the private Catholic university with an undergraduate on-campus enrollment of 2,000-plus.

Saint Leo naturally has gotten quite an exposure boost over the last several weeks — becoming the subject of much local, regional, national and international media attention.

Reidy believes it all could be a windfall for recruiting new student-athletes in the future.

And, not just in hoops, but even in sports like men’s lacrosse, which has seven Canadian-born players on its 2021 roster.

“We have a bunch of Canadians on our (men’s lacrosse) team, so this certainly is not going to hurt our recruiting,” Reidy said. “Because the Raptors have been here, now those kids will know that, ‘Well the Raptors were at Saint Leo, then it must be the real deal,’ so it has been a really good brand for us, really helped us at a time when we haven’t played any sports (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), we were kind of in need of a little spark, and this has been a very good experience.”

This is actually not the first time Saint Leo has played host to an NBA team.

The New Jersey Nets in 1996 held preseason training camp at the college, lodging at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel.

That partnership also happened by way of a coaching connection.

Then Nets rookie head coach John Calipari had served as a graduate assistant in 1982 at the University of Kansas under Ted Owens, Saint Leo’s athletic director at the time.

2020-2021 Toronto Raptors roster
Players

  • OG Anunoby, forward
  • Aron Baynes, center-forward
  • DeAndre’ Bembry, guard-forward
  • Chris Boucher, forward-center
  • Oshae Brissett, forward-guard
  • Terence Davis, guard
  • Henry Ellenson, forward-center
  • Malachi Flynn, guard
  • Jalen Harris, guard
  • Alize Johnson, forward
  • Stanley Johnson, forward-guard
  • Alex Len, center
  • Kyle Lowry, guard
  • Patrick McCaw, guard
  • Malcolm Miller, guard-forward
  • Norman Powell, guard
  • Pascal Siakam, forward
  • Matt Thomas, guard
  • Fred VanVleet, guard
  • Yuta Watanabe, guard-forward
  • Paul Watson, guard

Staff
Nick Nurse, head coach
Adrian Griffin, assistant
Sergio Scariolo, assistant
Jim Sann, assistant
Chris Finch, assistant
Scott McCullough, trainer

Published December 16, 2020

Locals well-represented in 2018 MLB Draft

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Becoming a professional baseball player will soon be a reality for a handful of athletes with ties to The Laker/Lutz News coverage area.

The 2018 Major League Baseball Draft ran from June 4 to June 6 — whereby four locals had their names called.

University of North Florida junior right-hander Frank German, who grew up in Lutz and graduated from Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School, represented the highest local draftee when he was taken in the fourth round (127th overall) by the New York Yankees. German recently signed with the club for a reported bonus of $350,000.

German’s college teammate, junior lefty Austin Drury, a Land O’ Lakes native/ Wiregrass Ranch High School product, was also drafted, in the 34th round (1034th overall) by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Meanwhile, a pair of Saint Leo ballplayers also were selected — junior righty/first baseman Jake Sims, in the 31st round (921st overall) by the San Diego Padres; and senior second baseman Zach Scott, in the 32nd round (958th overall) by the Seattle Mariners.

Both Sims, who signed with the Padres on June 12 for an undisclosed amount, and Scott helped Saint Leo University to a 38-11 record and a 21-9 mark in the Sunshine State Conference.

They respectively join 49 other former Lions who have had their name called for the draft, dating back to 1969.

Elsewhere, Saint Leo signee Waylon Richardson was also drafted, in the 40th round (1,187th overall) by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Richardson, a 6-foot-5 righty out of Kankakee (Illinois) Community College, opted to sign with the Phillies for an undisclosed amount, forgoing his eligibility to play baseball for Saint Leo.

The first-year player draft is Major League Baseball’s primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players, from high schools, colleges and other amateur baseball clubs, to its 30 teams — which offer up millions of dollars in signing bonuses to its top draftees.

All 30 MLB teams have until July 6 to get 2018 drafted players signed.

There were 40 rounds and 1,214 picks in total, during the three-day draft.

Players came from across the United States and Canada, from high school and college, and from every position on the diamond. There were players from 47 states taken.

Of those picks, 158 were from Florida, second to only California, which yielded 187 selections. Following California and Florida, were Texas (114 draftees), Georgia (65) and North Carolina (49).

Last year’s draft was particular fruitful for area talent.

Among the 2017 crop were four Steinbrenner High School products — Kevin Merrell (first round), Patrick Morris (14th round), Josh Falk (17th round) and CJ Van Eyk (19th round); Bishop McLaughlin products Nate Pearson (first round) and Paul Coumoulos (40th round); and Sunlake High School’s Tommy Mace (14th round).

Here’s a closer look at the local 2018 MLB draftees:

Frank German, right-handed pitcher (New York Yankees-fourth round, 127th overall)
Hometown: Lutz/Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School
College: University of North Florida

Frank German, a Lutz native who graduated from Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High School before attending the University of North Florida, was selected as a pitcher in the fourth round by the New York Yankees in the 2018 MLB Draft. (Courtesy of University of North Florida Athletics)

As a fourth round selection, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound righty became the highest-drafted pitcher in North Florida program history, which previously never had an arm drafted within the top five rounds.

This past season, German went 8-3, posting a team-leading 1.58 earned run average and 108 strikeouts in 91.1 innings. He allowed one or fewer earned runs in 11 of his 14 starts, while notching six or more strikeouts in 13 contests. He also allowed just 14 walks and held opponent bats to just a .190 average.

German picked up All-American honors from D1Baseball (2nd team) and Perfect Game/Rawlings (3rd team), as well as being named an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-South Region (2nd team) selection.

Additionally, he was a First-Team All-Atlantic Sun Conference honoree and was named a semifinalist for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award, given to the nation’s top college baseball player.

The accomplished thrower has a three-pitch arsenal, which includes a 90-mph to-94-mph fastball, along with a curveball and changeup — which some draft experts say projects him as an end-of-the-rotation starter at the next level.

As a high school senior, German earned 3A All-State honors and helped guide Bishop McLaughlin to the State Final Four.

Jake Sims, right-handed pitcher/first baseman (San Diego Padres—31st round, 921st overall)
Hometown: Guelph, Ontario, Canada
College: Saint Leo University

Saint Leo first baseman/pitcher Jake Sims was selected in the 31st round by the San Diego Padres. He signed with the club on June 12. (Courtesy of Saint Leo Athletics)

Sims proved himself a capable two-way player for Saint Leo in his first and only season with the club, coming from Roane State Community College in Tennessee.

At the plate for the Lions, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Sims, who bats left-handed and throws right, hit .250 with 17 hits, nine runs scored, four doubles and four home runs. He also drove in 13 runs while finishing the 2018 season with a .485 slugging percentage and .354 on-base percentage.

Meanwhile on the mound, Sims held a 2.35 ERA in six appearances with 10 strikeouts and just four hits allowed. He allowed just two runs in his 7.2 innings of work.

Sims is the second Saint Leo player to be drafted by the Padres, joining Darrin Reichie, a fourth-round selection in 1987.

Zach Scott, second baseman (Seattle Mariners—32nd round, 958th overall)
Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona
College: Saint Leo University  

Saint Leo second baseman Zach Scott was selected in the 32nd round (958th overall) by the Seattle Mariners. He is now one of three former Saint Leo University players to get drafted by the Mariners, joining Daniel Torres (2013) and Taylor Perez (2015), all infielders. (Courtesy of Saint Leo Athletics)

The 6-foot, 185-pound Scott was a mainstay at second the past two seasons for Saint Leo after transferring from Colorado Christian University.

He wrapped up the 2018 campaign with a .312/.570/.385 slash line, recording 58 hits on the year with 12 doubles, six triples and eight home runs, while scoring 45 runs and driving in 42 RBI in all 49 games.

Defensively, Scott posted a .947 fielding percentage with 85 putouts and 131 assists while turning 27 double plays.

He’s now one of three former Lions to get drafted by the Mariners, joining Daniel Torres (2013) and Taylor Perez (2015), all infielders.

Austin Drury, left-handed pitcher (Los Angeles Dodgers- 34th round, 1034th overall)
Hometown: Land O’ Lakes/Wiregrass Ranch High School
College: University of North Florida

Austin Drury, a Land O’ Lakes native and Wiregrass Ranch High School product, was drafted as a pitcher in the 34th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was teammates with Frank German at the University of North Florida. (Courtesy of University of North Florida Athletics)

A former A-SUN All-Freshman and Freshman All-American, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound lefty had a slightly down showing in 2018, finishing with a 4-4 record in 13 starts with a 4.85 ERA, recording 58 strikeouts in 68.2 innings of work and holding opponent’s to a .258 batting average.

Yet, his past success and potential as a southpaw is likely what intrigued pro scouts to call his name late in the draft.

In 2017, as a sophomore, Drury went 6-2 with a 2.43 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 74.1 innings, holding opponents to a .231 batting average.

Should Drury sign with the Dodgers, he’ll achieve a rare designation as a third-generation professional baseball player. His uncle, Ronald Kelly, and grandfather, Roy Kelly, both played in the minors.

Prior to college, Drury was a four-year member of the Wiregrass Ranch High School baseball team. His senior year he earned First-Team All-Pasco honors as the Bulls’ top batter (.380) and pitcher (1.83 earned run average).

He was also teammates with his older brother, Zach, at both Wiregrass Ranch and North Florida.

Published June 20, 2018

Saint Leo lacrosse celebrates its program-best season

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Saint Leo University made history in 2006 as the first NCAA lacrosse program in the state of Florida.

The university has added another significant notch to its belt — becoming the state’s first lacrosse program to make a national championship appearance.

Saint Leo’s men’s lacrosse team squared up on May 27 against Merrimack College in the NCAA Division II Lacrosse National Championship at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The Saint Leo men’s lacrosse team recently became the state’s first program to make a national championship appearance. They lost to Merrimack College 23-6 in the NCAA Division II Lacrosse National Championship at Gillette Stadium, in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
(Courtesy of Saint Leo Athletics)

The Lions were overmatched by the Massachusetts-based foe, surrendering 23-6. However, the season still goes down as the best run in team’s 13-year history.

Saint Leo finished the 2018 campaign with a 16-3 overall record, including a 7-0 mark in the Sunshine State Conference.

The team ranked among the nation’s leaders in scoring (11th, 13.63 goals per game), shot percentage (first, .393) and clearing percentage (third, .907).

Leading up to the season finale, the Lions defeated conference rival University of Tampa 11-10 in the national quarterfinals and then downed Lenoir-Rhyne (North Carolina) University 12-11 in the national semifinals.

As the team regroups from a biting title game loss, players are proud to finish national runner-up and be part of the remarkable campaign.

Redshirt junior goalkeeper Tom Tatarian described the season as “an incredible run.”

Senior attacker Anthony Visintin evoked similar feelings: “It sounds cool and awesome to say that we had the best record in Saint Leo history and we get to go down as one of the best teams to go through here. Obviously, we would’ve rather it gone the other way and we would’ve rather won and have the whole big grand ending, but I guess you could say it’s the second-best ending that could happen.”

As one of 15 seniors on the 2018 roster, Visintin and others took the onus upon themselves to make their final season count — by improving upon a relatively disappointing 2017 where the Lions finished 9-5 overall and 1-4 in conference play.

Many of those upperclassman, including Visintin, were also part of squads that finished 9-5 and 7-7 in 2016 and 2015, respectively.

“I think for me, playing for four years, we kind of found ourselves underachieving almost every year,” he said.

“But I think this year we were able to finally put it together. Having a big senior class definitely helped,” added Visintin, who finished with 20 goals and 11 assists.

Saint Leo men’s lacrosse coach Brad Jorgensen said the team, starting in the offseason, “worked hard to go from a pretty good team to a great team.”

Saint Leo men’s lacrosse coach Brad Jorgensen launched the program more than a decade ago.
(Courtesy of Saint Leo Athletics)

Jorgensen, who helped launch the program more than a dozen years ago, explained there was a “re-energized” commitment and attitude toward game preparation, strength and conditioning, among other team aspects.

The heightened focus and mindset, Jorgensen pointed out, allowed the Lions to win several close games this year; eight of their wins came by three or fewer goals.

The prior year, the Lions lost two conference games by two goals. They lost two others by four goals and five goals, respectively.

Jorgensen explained: “I think we had a tendency, when the pressure got on, to do what felt comfortable instead of what needed to be done on some occasions and it was really that tougher battle of, ‘Am I willing for the next 10 months to do the hard stuff to get us to where we want to go?’”

He added: “Guys needed to realize the devil’s in the details and, when you lose as many close games as we did in 2017, it just points to a little bit of a lack of attention to detail and commitment to getting the little things right.”

Thinking ahead to next year
Like many of the Lions’ players, Jorgensen acknowledged he’s still reeling from the national championship loss.

But the longtime coach hasn’t lost sight of what just getting there means for the program’s future.

“We got unbelievable exposure over the course of the (championship) weekend,” Jorgensen said. “Being able to have the Saint Leo logo plastered all over Gillette during the final four where you’re talking 35,000 to 40,000 people were able to see us and see our school and be exposed to it, that’s obviously huge.”

It’s especially important for recruiting because the national title appearance enhances Saint Leo’s reputation as a bona fide lacrosse power.

“I think every coach tells recruits that they want to play for a championship and that they’re a championship program and all that other stuff, but it becomes a heck of a lot easier sell now that you’ve been that close,” the coach said.

Meanwhile, the lacrosse program looks to move on without a senior class that made up about 40 percent of the 2018 roster.

Among the key departures is attacker Jake Gilmour, the program’s first-ever United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Division II First-Team All-American.

Another is defender Jake Bye, who was named USILA honorable mention.

Said Jorgensen, “It’s not like this class graduating snuck up on us, but it is kind of impossible to discount what we’re losing to graduation. …Some guys who have been starting here for four years won’t be here in the fall when we get started. That’s going to be an adjustment.”

Even so, the Lions do have solid core in place for next season.

That includes Tatarian, a second-team All-American goalkeeper who ranked sixth nationally with 13.84 saves per game; attacker Charlie Kurtenbach, who was second on the team in goals (40) and assists (29); and midfielder Julian Taylor, a Tampa product and Plant High School alum who tallied 23 points.

Tatarian, for one, is embracing what’s in store for 2019, where he’ll be a graduate student exhausting his final year of eligibility. (He received a medical redshirt for an injury suffered as a freshman in 2015.)

He will be the longest-tenured player on next year’s roster, likely forcing him to become more of a leader in both actions and words.

Said Tatarian, “There’s really going to be a movement forward to a younger team and I have to take that responsibility upon myself as well as the other seniors to really shoulder the dynamic for this program, for what we’re about, and what we’re going to do moving forward. I think it’s going to be a very exciting process seeing all the young guys coming in and see what they’re going to bring to the table.”

Published June 6, 2018

Saint Leo baseball to retire jersey of its first MLB draftee

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Nearly 50 years have passed since Fred Cambria last sported a Saint Leo University baseball uniform, but his contributions to the program won’t be forgotten.

Cambria — the first Major League Baseball draftee in Saint Leo history— will have his No. 22 jersey retired by the school on April 14, prior to a Lions home game against Sunshine State Conference foe Rollins College at 1:30 p.m.

In a pregame ceremony, Saint Leo’s athletic department will unveil a sign saluting No. 22, which will hang on the outfield fence at Thomas B. Southard Stadium.

Fred Cambria was a standout pitcher for Saint Leo University from 1966 to 1969 for the then-Monarchs, under coaches Bill Meyer, Norm Kaye and Bob Sullivan. He became the school’s first Major League Baseball draftee after the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him in the third round (58th overall) in the 1969 draft. (Courtesy of Saint Leo Athletics)

Cambria will throw out the first pitch surrounded by family, university administration, alumni and other special guests.

Cambria was a standout pitcher for Saint Leo from 1966 to 1969 for the then-Monarchs under coaches Bill Meyer, Norm Kaye and Bob Sullivan.

His skillset on the mound eventually caught the eye of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who selected him in the third round (58th overall) of the 1969 MLB Draft.

The former big leaguer was “overwhelmed” when he received a call a few weeks back from Saint Leo athletic director Fran Reidy about the plan to retire his jersey.

“It’s a great honor for me. It really is,” Cambria, now 70, said.

“There are no words to put into it because if it wasn’t for Saint Leo, I don’t know where I would be. It was a great fit for me…and it really was just perfect for me; couldn’t ask for anything more,” he said.

Cambria, at 6-foot-2, originally intended to play basketball at Saint Leo after enrolling from Queens, New York. However, he changed his mind after seeing a bulletin board posting for baseball fall tryouts.

“I don’t think I had a career in basketball, so I went with baseball, and it’s the best decision I ever made,” said Cambria.

“I thought the great opportunity was in baseball, and Mr. Kaye, who was the baseball coach at that time, also gave me a great opportunity to pitch, and things started to work out pretty well.”

Cambria also credits coach Meyer for his development as a ballplayer. Meyer, who also served as a baseball scout for a handful of MLB organizations, taught Cambria various nuances like locating inside, throwing sliders and altering pitch speeds.

Said Cambria, “He knew a lot about pitching and helped me tremendously on getting to the next level. That’s how I really matured on the mound, with Bill’s guidance.”

Among Cambria’s favorite memories in a Saint Leo uniform was a home game against Florida State University that was played at then-Mickens High School in Dade City.

Florida State, ranked No. 1 at the time, “came down to beat up on us a little bit,” Cambria said. But, he recalls leading Saint Leo to a 3-2 victory after racking up 18 strikeouts and hitting a home run, to boot.

“It was a lot of scouts in the stands to see Florida State, and I think they turned their attention a little bit to me on that one; that was pretty good,” Cambria said.

After he was drafted out of Saint Leo, Cambria went on to pitch for five seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees organizations, including for the 1970 National League champion Pirates.

At just 22, Cambria pitched six games for the Pirates, including five starts, posting a 1-2 record, and 3.51 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 33.1 innings.

A young player seemingly destined for a lengthy career, he was never the same after suffering a rotator cuff injury that season.

With few developments in treating sports injuries at the time, Cambria tried making a comeback. But, he toiled in the minors, and he was released twice in one year — out of baseball by age 25.

“I saw the writing on the wall,” Cambria said. “I was disappointed for about six months, ‘Why me?’ But, I tried to never think of it that way. It was a blessing in disguise.”

Though a hapless ending to what could’ve been, Cambria still savors the short time spent in the majors.

That included the opportunity to suit up with three of the game’s most recognizable names in the Pirates organization: Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski.

Said Cambria, “Its kind of rare today that a young feller, just coming up to the big leagues, played with three Hall of Famers. I think that’s what made the Pirates such a dynasty in the ‘70s, because they had great leadership because of those three guys. “Roberto Clemente was a great leader, a great ballplayer; and the same for Willie Stargell. They molded this team, they were respected, and it was great camaraderie. So that was a great feather in my cap, having those gentlemen teach me the game the right way and playing it the right way.”

After his playing career, Cambria spent the next decade-plus in the business world as an Izod salesman.

He returned to the game — and school — he loved, when he served as Saint Leo’s head baseball coach from 1990 to 1991. He compiled a 55-46 record in those two seasons.

Incidentally, the coaching opportunity arose following his 1987 induction into Saint Leo’s athletic hall of fame, where he reconnected with Kaye, the school’s athletic director at the time. Kaye later thought of Cambria when searching for a baseball coach in 1990.

“I enjoyed it very much. It was very interesting,” Cambria said of coaching at his alma mater. “I learned a lot about the game of baseball. Because you play, it doesn’t mean you know it, and how to teach kids and things like that.”

Cambria noted he was lucky to work alongside “a great assistant coach” in Frank Verdi for those two seasons. Verdi played in the New York Yankees organization in the ’40s and ’50s and later spent three decades managing for several Triple-A organizations recording over 1,300 wins.

Meanwhile, Cambria stayed closely tied to America’s pastime after his coaching stint ended at Saint Leo.

He served as a pitching coach for the San Diego Padres organization in the Arizona Fall Instructional League and the Australian Professional League.

He also became the commissioner of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL) and was selected to its hall of fame. (Cambria played in the ACBL in the summer during his Saint Leo career and was the first player out of the ACBL to make it to the MLB).

More recently, Cambria in 2013 became the first-ever commissioner of the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League (HCBL), a summer baseball organization located in The Hamptons in New York.

Now retired, Cambria today lives in Northport, New York, staying busy with volunteer work in surrounding communities.

Cambria said he last visited Saint Leo about a year ago, as part of a seminar to guide student-athletes in career development and gaining employment after college.

“I was so amazed with the university and how it’s grown, and what a great campus it is,” Cambria said.

Published April 11, 2018

Saint Leo University gets set for beach volleyball

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Brooke Turner had her fair share of options to play indoor volleyball coming out of Gaither High School.

But, none could match what Saint Leo University offered: an intercollegiate beach volleyball program.

“I wanted to come here to play both,” Turner said.

“And, it’s also close to home, too.”

The Saint Leo beach volleyball team began practices in January. The first game is March 17. (Kevin Weiss)

Turner, a freshman, is one of 16 players on Saint Leo’s inaugural beach volleyball team.

Like others, she is a crossover athlete who also plays for Saint Leo’s indoor team, as an outside hitter.

Also like her peers, she’s trying to learn the many nuances of the beach sport — from hitting and passing, to its tempo and rapid-fire decision-making.

“It’s just a lot different,” Turner said of beach volleyball, acknowledging she played some recreational matches throughout high school.

“I feel like there just needs to be a little bit more hustle on the beach. It’s harder to run on the sand than on the court with shoes,” she said.

Beach volleyball is also a new competitive realm for Jamee Townsend, who spent four years as a libero on Saint Leo’s indoor squad from 2013 to 2016.

Now a graduate student at Saint Leo, Townsend was able to join the beach team, as NCAA bylaws allow student-athletes to play a fifth year in a different sport.

“I’ve always had an interest in training for beach,” said Townsend, noting she casually played in some offseason beach tournaments, but never seriously trained for them.

“It’s something I feel like I can play forever, versus indoors, which is really hard to play when you’re older. There’s not as much availability in (indoor) pickup games and stuff, so I was interested, and it just worked out that I was able to join.”

For Townsend, “coming out of retirement” to play a new sport has been a challenge physically — but also an invigorating venture.

“It was really hard — still is hard to keep my endurance up — but being a libero in college I wasn’t allowed to hit, so now I’m getting to attack and do a lot more components of the game than I did in indoor, so that’s exciting for me. I’m learning how to block again and doing things that I didn’t get to do in indoor,” Townsend said.

Last May, the university announced the addition of beach volleyball as its 20th sport and 11th in women’s athletics, initially as a nonscholarship offering.

Erik Peterson is tasked with guiding Saint Leo’s beach volleyball program. The inaugural 16 players are crossing over from the university’s indoor team. (Courtesy of Saint Leo Athletics)

Following that was the completion of a five-court beach volleyball complex — believed to be the largest in Division II — on a portion of the intramural field, adjacent to the Saint Leo Tennis Center.

Beach practices began in January, led by assistant beach volleyball coach Erik Peterson.

The Lions’ first game is March 17 — a tri-match against Florida Southern College and Stevenson (Maryland) University, in Lakeland.

Slowly but surely the upstart program is coming along, the beach volleyball coach said.

“Sometimes we have some great practices, and then sometimes we forget how to do everything which is exactly part of it,” Peterson said.

“There’s some very different concepts and things that we’re trying to get them to comprehend and understand. It’s just a lot of the actual application takes some time and some reps.”

“Out here (on the beach), we don’t have the ability to hide all the deficiencies of indoor where you’re very specialized. For them, they have to pass, they have to set, they have to attack, they have to serve, they have to block, they have to defend, so they’re literally being asked to perform all of those skillsets fairly proficiently — and a lot of it’s new,” Peterson said.

Beach volleyball only calls for two players from one team to be on the court during matches. Both players must work together and become jack-of-all-trades and dominate on many fronts, including passing, setting and hitting. Indoor volleyball, however, calls for players to be much more specialized.

Even with a steep learning curve, Peterson said the team has maintained a positive attitude throughout lessons and practices.

“It’s very easy for indoor players to come out to the beach and get very frustrated because there are those significant speed bumps. They kind of just work through it, and they don’t let things weigh them down when they’re getting frustrated. They kind of bounce back pretty quick and always stay mentally dialed in,” Peterson said.

Players also are encouraged by strides made in the last several weeks.

“We’re just now getting to the point where we can be comfortable and be competitive when we play doubles. It was a lot of training and getting back to basics,” Townsend said.

“I think we’ve gotten a lot better, and everyone is ready everyday,” Turner said.

“Everyone enjoys coming to practice, and they’re just excited so it kind of shows, and we’ve gotten better already in a month just practicing.”

Saint Leo is one of four Sunshine State Conference institutions to now offer beach volleyball, joining the University of Tampa and Florida Southern University as the three newcomers. Eckerd College has a program, too.

Within Florida, a total of 10 institutions competed in beach volleyball during the 2017 season: Eckerd College, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida State, Jacksonville, Stetson, North Florida, Webber International and Warner.

At the start of the 2016-17 academic year, a total of 66 NCAA member institutions had either added the sport or announced their intention to do so. The NCAA added a national collegiate championship for beach volleyball as its 90th championship in January 2015, after a target of 40 institutions had added the sport.

Peterson is no stranger to the sand-based sport. He’s been deeply involved with USA Sand Volleyball since 2007 and previously served as head coach for beach volleyball at Division I programs, such as Texas Christian University and the University of Central Florida. Other stops include the University of Oklahoma and the University of South Florida, as an indoor volleyball assistant coach.

With a schedule that includes fellow Sunshine State Conference foes and Division I programs, such as Florida International and Jacksonville University, Peterson said compiling a record of at least .500 in Year 1 “would be a nice measuring stick.”

“I think our biggest thing is trying to just get them to really buy into the process,” Peterson said.

“For this being such a new program and these being such new athletes, I think it’s really kind of hard to put a significant, quantifiable goal. It’s going to be more of just really looking at the growth, and each more individual and personal goals versus a team goal,” the coach added.

Cultivating an upbeat, energetic environment for home matches is another objective in Year 1, Peterson said.

It shouldn’t be too tough, as the Lions brand-new facilities — and imported bleachers — are squarely situated among other athletic complexes and provide for easy walking distance from one Saint Leo sport to the next.

“It’s such a unique type of atmosphere for beach volleyball versus a lot of these other sports that are very rigid in structure,” Peterson said.

“There’s communication, there’s heckling, the crowd can get involved. There are all these different exterior things that are happening — there’s music playing the whole time — so it’s just going to be a really cool atmosphere when we have the opportunity to host home matches, and get the fans and the students excited,” Peterson said.

2018 Saint Leo Beach Volleyball roster
Player                                              Hometown/School
Annabella Arcari, freshman        (Shelby Township, Michigan/Eisenhower High School)

Avery Bradshaw, sophomore      (Tampa/Steinbrenner High School)

Paloma Da Silva, senior              (Pocos De Caldas, Brazil/Park University Missouri)

Allie Daul, freshman                    (Grayslake, Illinois/Grayslake Central High School)

Anna Garrett, freshman              (Merritt Island, Florida/Merritt Island High School

Dallas Jasper, sophomore          (Annapolis, Maryland/Broadneck High School)

Jenya Kruglova, senior                (Moscow, Russia/St. Petersburg College)

Victoria Omoregie, freshman      (Tampa/Newsome High School)

Maddy Powell, senior                   (Tampa/ Steinbrenner High School)

Ashley Quero, freshman              (Hialeah, Florida/Palmer Trinity School)

Fabiola Rosado, freshman           (Lakeland/McKeel Academy of Technology)

Britt Sederholm, senior                (Ogden, Utah/Saint Joseph Catholic School)

Jamee Townsend, grad student (Plant City/Strawberry Crest High School)

Brooke Turner, freshman           (Tampa/Gaither High School)

Reggie Van Devender, sophomore       (Phoenix, Arizona/Seton Catholic Preparatory)

Nina Vattovaz, freshman            (Trieste, Italy/Liceo Artistico-Alessandro Vittoria)

Published February 28, 2018

Saint Leo coach seeks to ‘win at a high level’

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Rick O’ Dette won nearly 500 games coaching baseball in the Midwest — now he’s looking for similar results down south in Pasco County.

O’ Dette, who coached at Division II Saint Joseph’s College of Indiana for 17 seasons, was named Saint Leo University’s new baseball coach on June 15.

He replaces Saint Leo alumnus Sean O’ Connor, who surprisingly was let go after a 23-26 record in 2017 — his first losing campaign in five seasons (155-90-1 record).

Rick O’ Dette was named Saint Leo’s new baseball coach on June 15. He replaces Sean O’ Connor, who was let go following a 23-26 losing season. O’ Dette coached the past 17 years at Division II Saint Joseph’s College of Indiana, where he amassed a 494-407-4 overall record. (Courtesy of Saint Leo University)

O’ Dette, 41, most recently steered Saint Joseph’s to a 35-22 record and the program’s fourth berth in the NCAA Midwest Regional — despite the knowledge that the university would be suspending all operations following the 2016-2017 academic year.

The achievement earned him Great Lakes Valley Conference’s 2017 Coach of the Year. He also was selected as HERO Sports Division II Coach of the Year by a fan poll.

Other college programs expressed interest in his services, but O’ Dette picked Saint Leo, calling it a “hidden gem” among the Division II baseball ranks.

Besides the sunny Florida climate, O’ Dette pointed to Saint Leo’s conference affiliation (the highly competitive Sunshine State Conference), the university’s facilities and resources, and its academic reputation as key reasons the gig is so attractive.

“I thought it was an extremely appealing place…that we could win, and win at a high level,” he said.

He’s done plenty of that.

At Saint Joseph’s College, O’ Dette amassed a 494-407-4 overall record.

In fact, he will begin his first season in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) ranked fourth among active SSC head coaches in total wins behind University of Tampa’s Joe Urso (744), Rollins College’s Jon Sjogren (680), and Barry University’s Juan Ranero (542).

Throughout his 17-year ledger at Saint Joseph’s, O’ Dette coached 56 All-GLVC (Great Lakes Valley Conference) selections, 25 All-Region honorees and four Division II All-Americans.

Moreover, 24 of his players have gone on to play professional baseball, including eight who were drafted or signed as free agents by Major League Baseball teams.

Victories on the diamond aren’t the only hallmark of O’ Dette’s squads.

His players also are known for their classroom success.

Every baseball student-athlete that exhausted his eligibility — during O’ Dette’s tenure at Saint Joseph’s College — has earned a degree.

Additionally, 84 players have earned GLVC Academic All-Conference honors during O’ Dette’s time at the helm of Puma baseball. His most recent squad finished the academic year with a 3.38 team grade point average.

It’s a trend he plans to continue at Saint Leo.

“We want to make sure they’re well-rounded,” O’ Dette said. “It’s just not going to be majoring in baseball, they’re going to have to do something when baseball is over.”

He continued: “We have to recruit the right students. If we’re chasing that guy to go to class, we’re wasting time.”

O’ Dette, meanwhile, can best be described as a baseball lifer.

He was a 15th round pick of the Boston Red Sox in the 1997 MLB First-Year Player Draft, and played at four different levels within the Red Sox organization, until injuries halted his career.

He began his coaching career at 23 years old, almost immediately after his playing days ended.

O’ Dette worked as a professional instructor for Championship Sports Academy in Tinley Park, Illinois, as well as the Chicago White Sox Training Center. He spent two summers as the head coach for the Upper Deck Cougars Baseball Organization out of Palos, Illinois, guiding the club to consecutive fourth place finishes at the World Championships.

O’ Dette also spent the 1999-2000 academic year as the pitching coach for Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana.

In a release, Saint Leo athletic director Francis X. Reidy said O’ Dette “was exactly the type of coach we were looking for” in the hiring search.

“He has proven his ability to develop a program built on academic success, athletic excellence and a commitment to the Division II ideal, and I am confident he will bring Saint Leo baseball back to the upper echelon of Sunshine State Conference baseball,” Reidy said.

Additionally, several of O’ Dette’s former players expressed support for the hire on Facebook and Twitter, while fans and alums of Saint Joseph’s College lauded his coaching acumen.

The hire also received support from industry leaders in the sport, including University of Illinois head baseball coach Dan Hartleb, the 2015 Big Ten Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year finalist.

“Rick O’ Dette is an outstanding hire for Saint Leo. He’s one of the most respected recruiters in the Midwest and Chicagoland area,” Hartleb said, in a statement.

“He is a tireless worker, develops great relationships with players, with people in the community and from a recruiting standpoint. Rick will develop the same type of recruiting relationships and reputation in Florida in a short amount of time. Rick will do whatever it takes to ethically build Saint Leo’s program into a national contender.”

Interestingly, O’ Dette isn’t the first ball coach to make the trek from Rensselaer, Indiana, to east Pasco County.

Academy at the Lakes varsity softball coach Diane Stephenson worked for Saint Joseph’s College in 2014 and 2015. She was hired by Academy at the Lakes in July 2016, and last season she led the private school to a 20-3 mark and the Class 2A regional finals.

Published June 28, 2017

Sizing up Saint Leo’s baseball prospects

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The Saint Leo baseball program just experienced its first losing season since 2012 — a mark newly named head coach Rick O’ Dette looks to quickly reverse.

Throughout the 2016-2017 season, the Lions fared well at the plate (.320 team batting average, 6.6 runs per game), but struggled mightily on the mound (6.56 team ERA, 73 home runs allowed).

The Lions’ 23-26 record (8-16 Sunshine State Conference), can partially be blamed on a rash of injuries and a lack of depth.

“Obviously, last year they had a lot of injuries on the mound, so we’re just trying to evaluate the health of each guy, and then our needs. So, getting the pitching staff healthy and adding some depth to it is our first priority,” O’ Dette said, analyzing last year’s team.

Saint Leo outfielder/third baseman Dylan Harris figures to be a key part of coach Rick O’ Dette’s first season at Saint Leo. Harris, a Land O’ Lakes High alumnus, paced the team last season in batting average (.448), on-base percentage (.472), hits (99) doubles (20) and stolen bases (15). (Courtesy of Saint Leo University)

Besides strengthening the pitching staff, creating positional stability — particularly at catcher— is another initial focus for O’ Dette and his new staff.

“There’s only one catcher on the roster, so our next thing is to find two catchers that can come in. Ideally, one older, transfer type guy and one high school type,” he explained.

Just a few reinforcements could make a drastic difference, considering the team lost five games by just one run.

Saint Leo appears to have a workable nucleus, led by outfielder/third baseman Dylan Harris, a Land O’ Lakes High School graduate who paced the team in batting average (.448), on-base percentage (.472), hits (99) doubles (20) and stolen bases (15).

Other expected key returnees on offense include rising juniors Brett Coffel (.297 average, seven home runs, 28 RBIs) and Derek Gibree (.323 average, 23 RBIs, nine steals), and seniors Lane Stancil (.317 average, eight doubles, 17 RBIs) and Chase Turner (.323 average, seven doubles, 23 RBIs).

Moreover, the pitching staff — if healthy — has a decent base, and figures to be anchored by a pair of seniors in lefty Tyler Bauman (4.75 ERA, 81 strikeouts in 85.1 innings) and righty Oscar Gordillo (4.26 ERA, 25 strikeouts in 31.2 innings).

An early signing recruiting class highlighted by former Land O’ Lakes High ace McCabe Sargent should help, too.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound right-hander displayed one of the top arms in Pasco County last season, recording a 1.97 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 67. 2 innings; he also exhibited an elite bat, posting a .455 batting average with four home runs and 28 RBIs.

Meanwhile, O’ Dette will look to bolster Saint Leo’s roster by pursuing prospects from the high school and junior college ranks, as well as utilizing the Division I and Division II transfer market.

Though much of his recruiting ties span major cities such as Chicago and Indianapolis, and states including Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, O’ Dette will first strive to make inroads within the Tampa Bay region — a collective “hotbed” of baseball talent.

“Our goal is to try to get the best player we can out of that area at first, and then try to expand if we need to get the rest,” he explained. “There’s a lot of really good baseball in (Florida), and we’re excited to get with those guys.

“We’re going to use every resource we can, no matter where they’re from,“ he added. “The idea is we can sell the weather; the next step, obviously, is to sell the education and the baseball.”

Once on campus, the Lions’ new skipper will meet face-to-face with current players, and begin to lay the groundwork for his program, which emphasizes a team-based culture.

Perhaps more than ever that can be a challenge, especially with the proliferation of travel ball, baseball showcases, social media and other distractions.

“You’ve got to care about who else is on your team, before you can win,” O’ Dette explained. “I think if you put (players) in the right setting and they trust the coaching staff, you can get them to buy into what you’re trying to do from a team concept; I think kids will do anything you ask them to do, if you get them to trust you.”

He added: “If you put some structure up there and get them to work within some guidelines, usually you’ll have some success.”

Historically, O’ Dette’s rosters at Saint Joseph’s College of Indiana featured “an exciting style of play” predicated on pitching and being “middle strong” defensively — largely the catcher, second base, shortstop and center field positions.

“You’ve got to be able to pick the ball up, and you’ve got to be able to throw strikes,” he said.

“We like to run when we have the right team, and we’ll make adjustments as needed, to make sure that we’re not stuck in one system with the wrong type of player, especially in the first couple of years.”

Published June 28, 2017

Basketball coach casts wide net for quality recruits

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For Anthony Crocitto, winning games is important.

Saint Leo University’s new women’s basketball coach hopes to be one of the top four teams in the Sunshine State Conference within four seasons.

To do that, the 20-year college-coaching veteran is on a mission to find high-level recruits — wherever they may live.

While he’s certainly looking for Florida-bred talent, he’s also searching far and wide to secure skilled players for the Division II program.

New Saint Leo women’s basketball coach Anthony Crocitto said he’ll look locally, nationally and internationally to find recruits. (Courtesy of Saint Leo Athletics)
New Saint Leo women’s basketball coach Anthony Crocitto said he’ll look locally, nationally and internationally to find recruits.
(Courtesy of Saint Leo Athletics)

By using this approach, there’s a chance he’ll land an imposing post player from Tampa, a crafty point guard from New York, or maybe a sharpshooting forward from Europe.

“We’re going to look internationally, locally and nationally to find the best fits,” Crocitto said last week. “You’ve always got to keep it open because you may get a call from Alaska, and you may get five calls locally, so you’ve just got to unturn every stone.

“Otherwise, you’re going to miss out on something,” he said.

Crocitto didn’t miss out on much in his previous coaching stop at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), leading them to a 26-9 record and an appearance in the Division II East Regional Championship game.

That team featured players from all over, including New York and Tennessee, and Egypt and Greece.

However, it’s not just about finding exceptional ballplayers, it’s also about finding compatible pieces that gel together on the court, the Lions coach said.

When he’s assembling a team, he’s looking for players with an intense desire to play and he’s considering the overall dynamics of the team.

“I think when you recruit that and you don’t have cliques, and you do your best to maintain it as a family, you’re…not going to have any wars within your program. I think that’s how we were so successful at NYIT — we were able to mesh all that to win,” he said.

“You’re not always going to recruit the players like we did at NYIT that are All-Americans,” he added, “but you can consistently change the culture in how you act and how you hold yourself, the character you recruit, and the people that surround you.”

The coach said he’s not just recruiting players. He’s going after Saint Leo alumni, as well.

He’s trying to generate alumni support for a program that experienced a disastrous 5-22 record last season, under Missy West, its former coach.

Crocitto wants to build the alumni base of support a little more each year, noting that graduates from the university may not have previously received “a whole lot of love, or even a phone call.”

The coach is so determined to bring alumni back into the fold that he and Saint Leo athletic director Francis X. Reidy plan to call at least five to 10 alumni each week, beginning in July.

They intend to increase community outreach, too.

One way to generate interest involves scheduling athletic department functions at restaurants from San Antonio to Wesley Chapel, where fans and alumni can meet coaches, ask questions and build relationships.

He believes this approach will eventually generate more interest in his program, and may lead to increased attendance at games. Attendance has been down for the past three years, dropping from an average of 250 fans per game in the 2013-2014 season to an average of 220 fans per game last year.

Crocitto wants to build a relationship with fans that makes them “feel special.” He wants them to feel “that they can come back and watch practice, come to games, and be a part of receptions, and get out into the community a little bit more.

“As you build your locker room, you try to get to know people and that’s where I’m very good at — networking and building something special,” the coach said.”

Published May 25, 2016

Saint Leo coach ‘fascinated’ about opportunity

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Anthony Crocitto is “looking to build something special” in his new role as the new women’s basketball coach at Saint Leo University,

Crocitto, named Saint Leo’s new women’s basketball coach on May 4, replaces Missy West. She resigned on March 29 after a 14-40 record in two seasons, including a 5-22 record last season.

Anthony Crocitto was named Saint Leo’s new women’s basketball coach on May 4. He spent the past seven seasons coaching at the New York Institute of Technology, finishing with a 115-89 career record. (Photos courtesy of Saint Leo Athletics)
Anthony Crocitto was named Saint Leo’s new women’s basketball coach on May 4. He spent the past seven seasons coaching at the New York Institute of Technology, finishing with a 115-89 career record.
(Photos courtesy of Saint Leo Athletics)

Despite the team’s struggles in the win-loss column the past two seasons, Crocitto is “fascinated” by the opportunity to rebuild the women’s hoops program. He is   confident it has all the ingredients to become a national contender at the Division II level.

“I believe with the facilities, the location, the academics and the support that Saint Leo athletics receives, there’s an opportunity to really take the program to another level — a national level in basketball,” Crocitto said. He last coached at NYIT (New York Institute of Technology) for seven seasons, guiding that program to three 20-win campaigns over the last four years.

“There are a lot of plusses to relocating to Saint Leo, for sure,” he said.

After more than 20 years of collegiate coaching, Crocitto plans to use his experience from his time at NYIT and as an assistant coach at places like the University of Central Florida (2006-07) and Hofstra University (2004-06).

Senior guard Chelsy Springs is one key player returning for Saint Leo in the 2016-2017 season. Springs led the team in scoring (16.2 points per game) and rebounding (7.6 rebounds per game) last season.
Senior guard Chelsy Springs is one key player returning for Saint Leo in the 2016-2017 season. Springs led the team in scoring (16.2 points per game) and rebounding (7.6 rebounds per game) last season.

“I have the luck of working for some very good people at the Division I level, even my first job at the Division II level,” he said.

Crocitto said former Hofstra head coach (now University of Buffalo head coach) Felisha Legette-Jack was a major influence on his career. “I’ve been blessed with learning from some great people, so you combine all that together…and the opportunities at (Saint Leo) are greater because I’m combining the experience. As an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at a few stops, I was able to help rebuild three or four programs along the way, so…it leads to hoping we can reproduce what we did at (NYIT).”

Realistically, it may take a few seasons to see a major overhaul in the team’s winning percentage, but that won’t stop Saint Leo’s new coach from immediately implementing a change in the team’s style of play.

“I want to get up and down, and play fast,” he said. “Push the tempo as much as possible, but we got to grind it out on the defensive end, too. It’s really a big, big part of creating easy opportunities on the offensive end.”

To do that, he’ll need players — talented ones at that.

“At this level, to win, you’ve got to recruit some Division I kids, and you want to shoot for the moon and land on a star — you get a couple stars, and you’re a winner. It takes horses to win the derby,” Crocitto said.

“You can be the greatest coach in the world, but you still need players,” he said.

One player the incoming coach will have at his disposal for the 2016-2017 season is senior guard Chelsy Springs, the team’s leading scorer (16.2 points per game) and rebounder (7.6 rebounds per game) last season.

“I do like some of the pieces that are coming back,” Crocitto said. “We have an exceptionally talented young lady in Chelsy Springs that you can build her senior year around. We’re trying to bring in a couple players in the next few weeks as we’ve got some positions available, and I think it’s going to lead to an exciting season.”

In his first year, Crocitto said he’d “like to at least double the wins” from last year. Within four years, he wants the team to finish in the top four of the Sunshine State Conference.

“Obviously, I’m not that patient,” Crocitto said, echoing the sentiment of many basketball coaches nationwide. “But, you just don’t know what injuries you’re going to have, how your recruits are going to pan out, what level your returning players are truly at, so you want to do your best to see that happen. But, that’s a realistic goal.”

Anthony Crocitto
Head Coach
New York Institute of Technology (2009-2016)
Record: 115-89
Assistant coach
Longwood University (2007-09)
University of Central Florida (2006-07)
Hofstra University (2004-06)
Fairleigh Dickinson University (2002-04)

Published May 18, 2016

Saint Leo’s Reidy is top athletics director, again

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Fran Reidy doesn’t play baseball for Saint Leo University. He doesn’t shoot a basketball. He’s not on a swimming relay team. And he’s not a threat running track.

Still, he’s a critical part of the university’s athletic success.

As athletics director, he’s responsible for all of those sports and more. There are 19 in all, and it’s his job to see them grow and prosper.

Clearly, he’s doing something right.

Fran Reidy oversees 19 different sports at Saint Leo University, but that wasn't the case when he took the job 16 years ago. They had just 10 sports back then, and only eight when he was the men's soccer coach 28 years ago. (Courtesy of Saint Leo University)
Fran Reidy oversees 19 different sports at Saint Leo University, but that wasn’t the case when he took the job 16 years ago. They had just 10 sports back then, and only eight when he was the men’s soccer coach 28 years ago.
(Courtesy of Saint Leo University)

Reidy has been named the Under Armour Division II Athletics Director of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. He will be honored at an awards luncheon next month in Orlando.

This is the second time that Reidy has earned the designation. He also achieved it in 2012.

“I feel good about it,” Reidy said via phone from North Carolina, where he was cheering on the Lions at the NCAA Championship for men’s golf last week. “I think it’s a sign of the great things that Saint Leo has been accomplishing, and I get recognized for what our teams have been doing.”

Saint Leo is currently ninth in the Division II Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings, a competition that measures a school’s overall athletic success across all sports.

The Lions have never finished better than 18th in the competition, and have placed lower than that in many years. But they’re now in the top 10 after the winter season.

Part of that success stems from being involved in more sports. When Reidy first came on board as the men’s soccer coach 28 years ago, the Lions participated in just eight sports. By the time he became athletics director 16 years ago, they inched up to 10. Now they’ve nearly doubled that number, and can claim success in many of those programs.

Doing well on many fields is important to Reidy. He doesn’t want Saint Leo to be known for just one or two sports, with the rest treated as an afterthought.

“A lot of schools to tend to tier their sports and push the majority of the resources toward certain sports, and we have resisted that temptation,” he explained. “We want all of our student-athletes to have a championship experience.”

Reidy and his staff have worked to equip their teams with the resources to provide those quality experiences. That means new facilities for sports like soccer, softball and lacrosse, and more full-time assistants for coaches.

As recently as five years ago, only the baseball program had full-time assistant coaches. To beef that number up, the university has invested around $250,000 in assistant salaries, Reidy said, and now a dozen sports have them.

“That’s been an area of focus. We needed those extra positions to help recruit, to help academically and keep our teams successful,” he said.

The investment appears to be paying off.

In the past three years, Saint Leo has earned three titles in the Sunshine State Conference, which is known to be a competitive collection of schools. That success continues a trend over the past decade, during which time the Lions have won a dozen conference regular season and tournament titles. They’ve also claimed the SSC Mayor’s Cup, which measures overall conference success, in both 2012-13 and 2013-14.

Saint Leo’s athletes are accomplished in the classroom, as well.

The university has approximately 375 athletes, and their grade point average reached an all-time high this past semester with a 3.22 mark. To achieve an academic record at the same time they’re achieving great things on the fields of play is a source of pride for Reidy.

Now that the school has reached new heights, the real challenge is staying at that level. It can be harder to maintain success than it is to achieve it, Reidy said.

To continue progressing, they have specific goals and constantly evaluate how they’re doing and what can be improved, he said.

For now, the near future includes keeping their existing sports operating at a high level. As far as adding sports, Reidy said women’s rowing and wrestling would top his list.

He understands that football would be a popular choice for many fans, but he needs to know more about the long-term effects of concussions, and the legal ramifications of those effects, before giving it serious consideration.

In any case, adding new sports isn’t a near-term priority.

Instead, Reidy would like to see a top-10 finish in the Directors’ Cup and perhaps the university’s first-ever national championship.

And he doesn’t want to accomplish those goals by micro-managing his team. Instead, he’ll rely on five assistant athletics directors and the coaching staffs for each sport to keep the university on track and moving forward in athletics.

“I think from a staff standpoint, you try to do it all on the front end,” Reidy said. “You try to hire the right people, and then just give them the right resources and stay out of the way.”

Published May 27, 2015