SCF Athletes: Where Are They Now? (2018-19)

While I got to meet many of the SCF athletes from the 2018-19 school, I was always curious to know where are they now and here's where we begin. As far as what I know, these are the athletes I know for sure where they are going.

Men's Basketball:
The Manatees finished 18-15 overall with a 6-6 record in the Suncoast where they won the Suncoast Conference Tournament and qualified for the FCSAA State Tournament for the first time since 2012-13. On the team, there were nine sophomores on the team: DeAndre Osuigwe, Tre Alexandrea, Corey Davis, Cyrus Barnes, Joel, Coffey, Dylan Porter, Miles Wilson, Clarence Miles and Shelby Rhodes.

Osuigwe: A rare pass-first guard, Osuigwe has committed to playing for the University of Alaska-Anchorage (NCAA DII) with his final two years of eligibility remaining, so he will be listed as a double transfer. The Seawolves finished last season 14-14 overall with a 9-11 record in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).

Osuigwe spent his freshman year at Nyack College (NCAA DII) where he averaged 7.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 25 games with 16 starts before transferring to SCF for his sophomore. As a Manatee, Osuigwe averaged 11.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while being named a member of the All-Suncoast Second Team.


Alexandrea: Alexandrea will be attending Thomas University (NAIA) in Thomasville, Gerogia with two years of eligibility remaining. The Night Hawks finished 13-13 overall with a 9-9 record in the Sun Conference.

Alexandrea began his collegiate career at SCF averaging seven points, 3.3 rebounds and five assists per game. After redshirting his sophomore year due to injury, Alexandrea finished his redshirt sophomore year with 9.2 points and 4.4 assists per game while joining Osuigwe on the All-Suncoast Second Team.


Davis: For Davis, he will be attending Keiser University (NAIA) as a double JUCO transfer with two years of eligibility remaining, Last season, Keiser went 15-14 overall with an 11-7 record in the Sun Conference. In their exhibition game against Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), the Seahawks fell 87-85, but gave the Eagles quite a scare. The Seahawks fell in the quarterfinals of the Sun Conference Tournament

Davis spent his freshman year at Columbia College (CCCAA) in Sonora, California where he averaged 3.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game while helping the Jumpers to a 17-8 overall record with an 11-3 record in the Central Valley Conference. As a member of SCF, Davis averaged 2.8 points per game, which included a season-high 12 points against Impact Academy.

Barnes: Barnes will continue his basketball career at Lindenwood University (NCAA DII) in St. Charles, Missouri with two years of eligibility remaining. The Lions finished 16-16 overall last season with a 9-10 record in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MAIA) where they fell in the first round of the MIAA Tournament.

Barnes began his collegiate basketball career at SCF averaging 2.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. Upon the arrival of head coach Tom Parks, Barnes' stats started to skyrocket up as he averaged 9.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while joining Alexandrea and Osuigwe on the All-Suncoast Second Team.


Coffey: Coffey will be attending Webber International (NAIA). Coffeey averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game as a sophomore for SCF. Coffey will have two years of eligibility remaining upon arrival to Webber. The Warriors finished 13-17 overall with a 4-14 record in the Sun Conference.

Porter: Porter will be attending the University of Florida, but not as a member of the Gators basketball team. Porter played in four games and averaged 1.3 rebounds per game.

Miles: Miles will be attending St. Thomas University (NAIA) in Miami Gardens with two years of eligibility remaining. Last season, the Bobcats finished 11-16 overall with a 10-8 record in the Sun Conference where they made the postseason before falling in the quarterfinals of the Sun Conference Tournament.

The three point specialist averaged four points per game and had a team-leading 41% shooting percentage behind the arc. In one of his best games, Miles scored a career-high 29 points against Impact Academy while going 9-for-16 behind the arc.

Like Porter, Rhodes and Wilson will also be going to school only.

Volleyball:
After volleyball finished 6-25 with an 0-6 record in the Suncoast, the two sophomores on the teams, Bethany Bonville and Gabriella Valdez-Perez, have decided not to continue playing collegiately, while another two players were able to transfer and continue where they left off: Fatima Rajaee and Nikoleta Kandic.

Rajaee has transferred to Florida Memorial University (NAIA) as a sophomore with her remaining three years of eligibility. As a freshman for SCF, Rajaee, a defensive specialist from Orlando, finished with 239 digs and 16 aces with the Manatees. The Lions finished 11-15 overall with a 4-12 record in the Sun Conference.

Kandic transferred to another junior college, Indian Hills Community College. The native of Belgrade, Serbia, who plays as an outside hitter, had 274 kills, 17 aces and 47 blocks (12 solo) with the Manatees.

The Warriors finished last season 18-16 overall with a 3-1 record in conference play.

Softball:
Seven sophomores have graduated as well as freshman Kailey Christian transferring: Megan Seeds, Nicci Palumbo, Haley McFadden, Cheyenne Nunez, Kyria Holcomb, Madison Yoder and Sydney Parks.

Christian: Because of her high academic scores at the NJCAA level, Christian will be transferring to Delaware as a sophomore with three years of eligibility remaining. The Blue Hens finished last season 22-29 with a 7-11 record in the Colonial League, but did not make it to the postseason.

Known for throwing three types of riseballs, Christian finished her freshman campaign on the mound with 22-4 record, 2.19 ERA and 196 strikeouts while batting a team-leading .366 with a home run and 36 RBI. Christian was named a member of the All-Suncoast First Team, Suncoast All-Academic Team and the FCSAA All-State Second Team in the end.

Palumbo: Palumbo will be attending Florida Atlantic (FAU) but not for softball. With a knee injury plaguing a big part of the season, Palumbo still manage to finish her sophomore campaign with a .364 batting average and 11 RBI. Palumbo was named a member of the Suncoast All-Academic Team.

McFadden: McFadden will continue her softball career at Warner University (NAIA) with two years of eligibility remaining. The Lions are coming off of finishing last season 28-16 overall with a 12-12 record in the Sun Conference where they finished 2-2 in the Sun Conference Tournament

McFadden will join fellow redshirt senior and former Manatee Kayleigh Walters. She batted .313 with two home runs and 31 RBI while being named a member of the All-Suncoast Second Team.

Nunez: Nunez will continue her softball career at USC Upstate with two years of eligibility remaining. The Spartans finished 41-15 last season with a 18-6 record in the Big South before finishing 1-2 in the Big South Championship Tournament.

Nunez finished her sophomore campaign batting .360 with a home run, 27 RBI and 38 stolen bases, while joining Christian and Seeds on the All-Suncoast First Team. Nunez broke the single season record for most stolen bases on March 27.

Yoder: Yoder will be attending USF, but not for softball. Yoder batted .200 with four RBI while being named a member of the Suncoast All-Academic Team.

Tennis:
After finishing 6-7 overall with a 4-6 record in the Region 8 Conference, four sophomores have moved forward and graduated from the SCF tennis team: Sara Jamal, Camile Portalier, Laura Illanes-Rodriguez and Diarra Thomas. Freshman Zeba Jamal will also be transferring

Sara Jamal: Sara will be attending Presbyterian College in Clemson, South Carolina with two years of eligibility remaining. The Blue Hose finished last season 17-7 overall with a 7-2 record in the Big South before falling in the conference quarterfinals.

Jamal finished 8-9 in singles (#2 singles) and 8-10 in doubles (#1), primarily playing with now sophomore Sara Ramirez-Goncalves. Prior to SCF, Sara played for Southern Methodist where she recorded eight victories in doubles play and three wins in singles play.


Illanes-Rodriguez: Illanes-Rodriguez will join Nunez to represent SCF as she continues her collegiate tennis at USC Upstate with two years of eligibility remaining. The Spartans finished the season 4-19 overall with a 2-7 record in the Big South before falling in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

Illanes-Rodriguez finished her sophomore campaign 10-7 overall at #6 singles while being named the 2019 Vicki Schnurr Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Thomas: Primarily playing at #3 doubles, Thomas has decided to continue her tennis career at Coppin State in Baltimore. She will join the Eagles with two years of eligibility remaining. Coppin State finished 2-14 overall with a 1-4 record in the MEAC before falling in the first round of the MEAC Conference Tournament.

Predominantly playing with now sophomore Britain Botsford, Thomas was 10-8 in doubles, which included three combined wins at the FCSAA State Tournament (1) and the NJCAA National Tournament (2). Thomas was also 2-2 in singles action.

Zeba Jamal: Zeba will be attending Jacksonville State University in Alabama with three years of eligibility remaining. The Gamecocks finished last season with a 14-4 overall record and a 7-1 record in the Ohio Valley Conference where they fell in the semifinals of their conference tournament.

As a freshman at SCF, Zeba finished her career there with a 5-11 overall record in singles (#1 singles) and 13-8 in doubles with Portalier.

Portalier: Portalier will continue her playing career at the University of West Georgia (NCAA DII) with two years of eligibility. The Wolves finished last season with a 7-11 overall record with 2-9 record in the Gulf South Conference.

Portalier finished her sophomore campaign with a 7-10 overall record at #4 singles and a 13-8 record in doubles with Zeba Jamal. Portalier and Zeba Jamal claimed the NJCAA Flight 2 Consolation Doubles Championship.

Baseball:
After finishing 38-20 overall with a 20-11 record in the Suncoast, 15 sophomores have moved forward on their careers after graduating: Brian Dillingham, Shane Shifflett, Josh Bonynge, Josh Crouch, John Shields, Giovany Lorenzo, Corey Ireson, Bryce Hulett, Collin Moore, Cole Beavin, Hunter Perdue, Chris Holcomb, Brock Bell and Aaron Brown.

Dillingham: After finishing his redshirt sophomore campaign, Dillingham will be transferring to Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) with two years of eligibility remaining. The Blue Raiders finished last season with an 18-37 overall record and an 11-19 in Conference USA.

As a freshman, Dillingham finished with a .299 batting average with a home run and 16 RBI. After redshirting for the 2018 season due to injury, the Bradenton native and product of Braden River finished his sophomore campaign batting .332 with three home runs, 21 RBI and team-leading 23 stolen bases.


Shifflett: Shifflett will return to the SEC for his baseball career as he will be transferring to the University of South Carolina with two years of eligibility remaining. The Gamecocks finished last season 28-28 overall with an 8-22 record in the SEC. They did not make it to the postseason.

Prior to transferring to SCF, Shifflett began his collegiate baseball career at SEC foe Florida. There he batted .256 with seven RBI in 22 games. The Englewood native then decided to transfer to SCF where he batted .330 with five home runs and 23 RBI. As a result, he was named a member of the All-Suncoast First Team and the FCSAA All-State Second Team before signing with South Carolina.

Crouch: Crouch will be attending the University of Central Florida (UCF) with two years of eligibility remaining. The Knights finished their season 36-22 overall with an 11-13 record in the AAC. The Knights would fall in the semifinals of the AAC Tournament.

Playing all two years at SCF, Crouch finished his sophomore campaign batting .286 with five home runs and 25 RBI. Crouch was named a member of the All-Suncoast First Team twice.

Shields: Shields will continue his collegiate baseball career at Lipscomb University with two years of eligibility remaining. Lipscomb finished last season 30-25 overall with a 14-10 record in the A-SUN. They would be eliminated from the A-SUN Tournament after two losses.

Shields transferred mid-year from Alabama and began his freshman year at SCF where he batted .347 with a home run and 19 RBI, but by sophomore year, Shields' batting average dropped to .174 with a home run and eight RBI. Nevertheless, Shields was still named a member of the Suncoast All-Academic Team.

Lorenzo: Another player going to a rival school of FGCU, Lorenzo will be attending Stetson University with two years of eligibility remaining. The Hatters finished last season 27-32 overall with an 11-12 record in the A-SUN while hosting the A-SUN Tournament before falling to Liberty in the championship.

A native of Fort Myers, Lorenzo began his collegiate baseball career as a freshman at Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach. There he batted .246 with 21 RBI before transferring to SCF. As a sophomore, Lorenzo batted .319 with three home runs and 44 RBI. He was named a member of the All-Suncoast First Team.

Ireson: Ireson will be transferring to Florida Atlantic University (FAU) with two years of eligibility remaining. The Owls finished last season 41-21 overall with a 22-8 record in Conference USA. They would fall in the C-USA Championship to Southern Miss and were named runner-up as a result, however, they would make it to the NCAA National Tournament as an at-large bid while competing in the Athens Regional where they finished 1-2.

Ireson began his collegiate baseball career at Charleston Southern University where he went 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA and 14 strikeouts. After transferring to SCF, Ireson became an immediate force, going 8-2 with a 1.85 ERA and 91 strikeouts. Ireson was named a member of the All-Suncoast First Team and the FCSAA All-State Second Team.

Hulett: Hulett will continue on at the University of Pittsburgh with two years of eligibility remaining. The Panthers finished last season 21-34 overall with an 8-22 record in the ACC.

Hulett finished last season with a .244 batting average, three home runs and a team-leading 49 RBI.

Moore: A local product, Moore will continue his baseball career at Samford University in Birmingham. The Bulldogs finished last season 41-19 overall with a 19-5 record in the Southern Conference (SoCon) where they went 2-2 in the SoCon Tournament.

Moore finished his sophomore campaign batting .251 with four home runs and 31 RBI. As a result, Moore was named a member of the FCSAA All-Tournament Team.



Perdue: After two seasons with SCF, Perdue will be transferring to Florida State with two years of eligibility remaining. The Seminoles are coming off of a 42-23 record with a 17-13 record in the ACC. They would win the ACC Tournament and make it to the National Tournament where they won the Athens Regional in Athens, Georgia and the Baton Rouge Super Regional before falling the second round in the College World Series.

As a freshman, Perdue was 10-1 with a 3.97 ERA and 74 strikeouts. Last season, the native of Chesapeake, Virginia went 4-1 with a 2.38 ERA and 43 strikeouts before being shutdown after his game against South Florida State.

Holcomb: Another mid-transfer from Alabama, Holcomb will be transferring to Tulane with two years of eligibility remaining. Tulane finished last season 32-26 overall with a 12-11 record in the AAC before falling in the AAC Tournament.

After transferring from Alabama, Holcomb finished his sophomore campaign with a 2-3 record with one save, 2.08 ERA and 46 strikeouts.

Bell: Following the footsteps of his older brother, Bell was drafted to the Boston Red Sox in the seventh round (227th overall pick) in the MLB Draft. Bell finished his sophomore campaign 2-1 with a 2.77 ERA and 23 strikeouts. Brantley, Bell's older brother, was selected in the 11th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Cincinnati Reds and is currently playing for the Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati's Double-A Team). Bell was the only Manatee to be drafted for 2019.

Brown: Brown has decided to continue his collegiate baseball career and will join Dillingham at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) with two years of eligibility remaining. Prior to SCF, Brown began his freshman year at Vanderbilt where he went 1-0 with a 5.93 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 11 games of relief. After transferring to SCF, Brown went 9-3 overall with a 3.79 ERA and 101 strikeouts. Brown joined Ireson, Shifflett, Dillingham and Lorenzo on the All-Suncoast First Team and joined Ireson on the FCSAA All-State Second Team.

I'm proud of everyone of these athletes and what they've done for SCF. Now the next wave comes in and it's sure going to be a good one.