Bradenton, Fla - The SCF baseball team has now put the 2021 season to the side and will now focus on the 2022 season. The Manatees will open on neutral grounds as they travel to Fort Myers for the weekend (1/28-30) to play Miami Dade (6:30 pm), Ranger College (1:30 pm) and Gulf Coast State (10 am) at Terry Park and City of Palms Park, hosted by Florida Southwestern State.
Last Time Out:
The Manatees finished last season 34-21 overall with an 18-12 record in the Suncoast Conference. While they were also ranked as high as #11 in the NJCAA Top 20 Polls, they would fail to qualify for the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament. It was the first time in a long time that the team did not reach the state tournament.
The team is lead by head coach Tim Hill II or Coach 21 as most people call him. Hill II enters his 10th season as head coach for the Manatees. During his head coaching career, he has put together a 313-143-2 record.
Even while the Manatees didn't make the playoffs, the team did make a historical moment as the program secured 2,000 wins as a program alone.
Loss and Gains:
After the season, the Manatees lost 13 players that have moved on to the next level: Cole Ayers, Rook Ellington, Jacob Steinberg, Tucker Mitchell, AJ Fritz, David Barrett, Jack Anderson, Cameron Lee, Tony Rossi, Clay Callan, Matt Gelorme, Daniel Batcher, Aidan Gallagher, Sean Dertinger and Dylan Vega. Ayers and Mitchell were the only two players that were selected in the MLB Draft (Mitchell: 14th Round, 404th pick by Texas Rangers; Ayers: 16th round, 483rd pick by New York Yankees).
Ellington (Murray State), Steinberg (James Madison), Fritz (Pittsburgh), Barrett (Florida State), Anderson (Pittsburgh), Lee (High Point), Rossi (Charlotte), Callan (Daytona State: NJCAA), Gelorme (Tennessee Tech), Batcher (Florida Gulf Coast), Gallager (SUNY Oswego: NCAA DIII), Dertinger (SUNY Oswego: NCAA DIII) and Vega (South Florida) have all decided to continue playing collegiately at the higher levels with their remaining years of eligibility.
While Hill II did lose other players like Jakob Mattos, Richard Rodriguez, Joel Perez and Charlie Davidson, he did manage to sign 24 newcomers to the squad with nine being transfers.
Christian Gordon:
A left-handed pitcher from Monroe, Virginia, Gordon joins the Manatees as a transfer from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia with one year of eligibility remaining. As a member of the Flames, he appeared in five games where he threw a 11.61 ERA with five strikeouts and six walks.
Prior to Liberty University, Gordon played for Liberty Christian Academy where, in three years of varsity, he went 7-3 overall in his career with a 1.24 ERA, 99 strikeouts and 15 walks, while batting a career .467 with 21 hits, three home runs and 16 RBI.
His junior year was his most productive as he went 6-1 with a 1.00 ERA and 94 strikeouts while batting .455 with three home runs and 15 RBI. He even threw a no-hitter in one of his games. As a sophomore for the Bulldogs, Gordon helped them win the 2017 VHSAA Class 4A State Championship.
Additionally, before enrolling at Liberty University, he was drafted in the 38th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Nick Gottilla:
A left-handed pitcher from Davenport, Iowa, Gottilla joins as a transfer from the University of Central Florida (UCF) with one year of eligibility remaining in the NJCAA. As a member of the Knights, he appeared in 16 games in two seasons where he threw 12.2 innings with 13 strikeouts and eight walks.
Prior to UCF, Gottilla played for Assumption High School in Davenport where he was a two-sport athlete playing football as well as baseball. He helped lead the Knights his senior year to the 2019 IHSAA 3A State Tournament Semifinals while being named Conference Player of the Year and a member of the IHSAA All-State First Team, All-Iowa First Team and IHSAA Elite All-State Team.
Kyle Harbison:
A catcher from Georgetown, Kentucky, Harbison joins after transferring from Indiana State University with one year of eligibility. As a member of the Sycamores for two seasons, he batted a career .250 with two hits and an RBI.
Prior to Indiana State, Harbison played for Scott County High School for four years with two of them at the varsity level. He batted a career .338 with 14 RBI and 143 putouts with the Cardinals, while being named a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award his senior year.
Gabe Wright:
Wright is an outfielder from Indianapolis and joins the Manatees after graduating from Brebeuf Jesuit High School in Indianapolis. There, he was a two-sport playing football and baseball.
As a football player, Wright played as a wide receiver and cornerback and in four seasons on the Braves' varsity where he had 1,766 total yards, 24 total touchdowns (18 receiving) and four interceptions, while leading them to four straight playoff appearances, which included a trip to the 2018 ISHAA State Tournament Regional Finals.
As a baseball player, Wright played three years on varsity where he had a career .329 batting average, 28 hits, five home runs, 17 RBI and 15 stolen bases while leading the Braves to the ISHAA 3A State Tournament his junior year.
Ben Gilbert:
Gilbert is a outfielder and left-handed pitcher from Babson Park, Florida that joined the Manatees as a double transfer after transferring from Suncoast Conference rival Hillsborough Community College with one year of eligibility. As a member of the Hawks, Gilbert played his lone season where he went 1-2 on the mound with a 3.38 ERA, two saves, 11 walks and 16 strikeouts, while batting .308 with 36 hits and seven RBI.
Prior to HCC, Gilbert played his freshman year at Ole Miss. As a member of the Rebels, Gilbert made four appearances on the mound during the 2020 season where he threw 6.2 innings with a 9.45 ERA, one walk and eight strikeouts before COVID-19 shut the season.
Gilbert was four-year letter winner for Lake Wales High School in Babson Park at the varsity level before committing to Ole Miss. On the mound, he was 17-5 in his career with a 2.21 ERA, 78 walks and 189 strikeouts and batted .404 in his career with 126 hits, one home run and 55 RBI.
As far as accolades, Gilbert was the FHSAA 6A Player of the Year and was a member of the Perfect Game Preseason All-Region First Team (2019) and Preseason Underclassmen All-American Honorable Mention (2017-18) and a 2019 FACA All-Star. He was also ranked the #237 prospect in the nation via Perfect Game.
Miguel Larreal:
An infielder from Orlando, Larrel joins the Manatees with fellow team Gilbert after transferring from Suncoast Conference rival Hillsborough. As a member of the Hawks, Larreal in two seasons batted .278 in his career with 40 hits and 23 RBI. His sophomore year was his breakthrough year as he batted .317 with 33 hits, 20 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
Prior to HCC, Larreal played for Boone High School in Orlando. As a member of the Braves, he batted a career .377 with 52 hits, 20 RBI and 17 stolen bases in his last two years of varsity while helping them to the regionals of the FHSAA 9A State Tournament.
Jackson Hauck:
A right-handed pitcher from Cincinnati, Ohio, Hauck joins the Manatees after graduating from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. As a member of the Bombers, he helped lead them to the 2021 OHSAA Division I State Tournament his senior year, while going 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA, 16 walks and 42 strikeouts.
Michael Murphy:
Murphy, a local left-handed pitcher from Manatee High School in Bradenton, rejoins the Manatees after opting not to play this past season. He was originally on the 2020 spring roster before opting due to COVID-19.
As a member of the Hurricanes, Murphy played three seasons on varsity before graduating in 2019. Outside of Manatee, he has played in several 16U and 17U national championship (WWBA, BCS and Southeast) and was named a member of the all-tournament teams, including the Perfect Game Preseason All-American and All-Region Team in the Florida Region.
Lucas Ismali:
A three-way player from Duendin, Florida, Ismali joins the Manatees after transferring from the University of Pittsburgh with two to three years of eligibility. He redshirted his freshman year before transferring to SCF.
Prior to Pitt, Ismali played for three seasons at East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs where he helped the team win three district championships and a regional final appearance. He was also selected team offensive MVP and all-county team before wrapping up his career with a .400 average, 3 home runs, and over 20 stolen bases.
Brandon Fields:
Fields, an outfielder from Orlando, joins the Manatees as a transfer from the University of South Carolina with one to two years of eligibility remaining. As a member of the Gamecocks, he played in only six games (one start) and was primarily a pinch runner or defensive substitution.
Prior to South Carolina, Fields graduated from Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando and like Wright, he was a two-sport athlete playing both football and baseball.
As a football player, Fields played as a running back for one season on varsity where he had 290 yards (22.3 yards per game) with three touchdowns his sophomore year, while helping the Panthers to win the 2017 FHSAA 8A State Championship over Atlantic High School.
As a baseball player, Fields played on the Panthers varsity squad for three years where he finished batting .359 in his career with eight home runs, 45 RBI and 51 stolen bases while helping them to two straight appearances to the FHSAA 9A State Tournament, which included a trip to the state semifinals of the 2018 FHSAA 9A State Tournament.
Josh Beck:
A left-handed pitcher from Lititz, Pennsylvania, Beck joins after graduating from Lancaster Catholic High School. As a member of the Crusaders, he put together a 3-3 career record with a 1.83 ERA, 82 walks and 143 strikeouts in three years of varsity. Additionally, Beck helped the Crusaders to the PHSAA State tournament appearances, which including winning the PHSAA 3A Championship his freshman year.
Jake Dorn:
Dorn is a left-handed pitcher from Davie, Florida that joined after graduating from Cooper City High School. In three years of varsity, Dorn compiled a career 3-3 record with a 4.04 ERA, 43 walks and 82 strikeouts for the Cowboys, while helping them to the regional quarterfinals of the 2021 FHSAA 6A State Tournament.
Gavin Adams:
A right-handed pitcher from Boynton Beach, Florida, Adams joins the Manatees after graduating from St. John Paul II Academy in Boca Raton. As a member of the Eagles, he finished his career 6-4 with a 1.73 ERA, 36 walks and 86 strikeouts, while also batting .250 with 26 hits and 17 RBI. In two seasons on varsity, Adams helped the Eagles to regional finals of the FHSAA 3A State Tournament his senior year.
Nick Gorby:
A left-handed pitcher from Vero Beach, Florida, Gorby joins the team after transferring from Texas Tech University with one to two years of eligibility remaining. As a member of the Red Raiders, he appeared in three games, throwing 3.1 innings with a 0.00 ERA, three walks and one strikeout. Additionally, he went with the Red Raiders to the Lubbock Super Regionals of the 2021 NCAA College Baseball World Series before falling to then #9 Stanford.
Prior to Texas Tech, Gorby played his senior season at Vero Beach High School where he was the FSHAA Pitcher of the Year after going 4-0 while throwing 23 innings, recording 41 strikeouts and a 0.30 ERA his final high school year.
Additionally, Gorby has played in the Perfect Game National Showcase (2019), World Showcase (2020), WWBA Underclass World Championship (2016), WWBA 15U National Championship (2017), WWBA Sophomore World Championship (2017), WWBA 17U National Championship (2019) and 17U BCS National Championship (2019), while being named named to 2020 Perfect Game Preseason All-American and First Team All-Region teams and Underclassmen All-American Teams (2017-19), Team USA (2017) and WWBA All-Tournament Team (2017).
Furthermore, he was ranked the 119th pitcher in the national overall, the 11th left-handed pitcher, 27th and fourth left-handed pitcher in Florida where his fastball ranked first.
JJ Taylor:
Taylor, an infielder from Fort Pierce, Florida, joins the Manatees after graduating from John Carroll Catholic High School. In two seasons of varsity, he finished with a .267 batting average with 16 hits and six RBI. Additionally, Taylor helped the Rams to the state semifinals of the FHSAA 3A State Tournament his senior year.
Cole Cothren:
An infielder from Plant City, Florida, Cothren joins the Manatees after transferring from Montreat College (NAIA) in Montreat, North Carolina. As a member of the Cavaliers, he batted .348 with 32 hits and 24 RBI in 29 games.
Prior to Montreat, Cothren graduated from Plant City High School where he was a two-sport athlete playing golf as well as baseball.
Cothren played golf for Lakeland Christian High School for five seasons before switching to baseball and had five first place finishes for the Vikings. After switching the golf club for a baseball bat, Cothren played a career .384 with 88 hits and 62 RBI for the Raiders.
Ben Brown:
A local outfielder from North Port, Florida, Brown joins SCF after graduating from North Port High School. In three seasons of varsity playing for the Bobcats, Brown finished his high school career batting .366 with 41 hits, one home run and 17 RBI, while helping them get to the FHSAA 6A District Tournament quarterfinals.
Austin Dearing:
An outfielder from Huntington, West Virginia, Dearing joins the team after transferring from Marshall University with one to two years of eligibility remaining. As a member of the Thundering Herd, Dearing played in 12 games (four starts) where he batted .190 with four hits and one RBI.
Prior to Marshall, Dearing, like Wright, Fields and Cothren, was a two-sport athlete at Hurricane High School where he played both baseball and basketball.
As a member of the Hurricane's boys basketball team, Dearing played all four years at the varsity level where he averaged 14.1 points (1,251 career points), 4.8 rebounds (427 career rebounds), 1.8 assists (164 career assists) and 1.1 steals (102 career steals) per game in 89 career games. His senior year was a breakthrough year as he averaged 23.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.5 steals per game in 22 games, while being named team captain. In fact, Dearing scored in double digits in all 22 games, with five of them being 30 points or more and had seven double-doubles.
As a member of the baseball team, Dearing helped Hurricane win the 2018 WVSSAC AAA State Championship his sophomore year and was the 2020 GPOY his senior year.
Tyler Logan:
A local right-handed pitcher from Parrish, Florida, Logan joins after graduating from Palmetto High School. He finished on the mound with the Tigers his junior with a 5.73 ERA in three appearances with six walks and five strikeouts.
Kelsen Johnson:
A catcher from Lithia, Florida, Johnson joins after graduating from Newsome High School. As a member of the Wolves varsity team, Johnson batted .309 with 67 hits, 37 walks, two home runs and 43 RBI. During his sophomore year, he helped the Wolves to the regional semifinals of the 2019 FHSAA 9A State Tournament.
Colin Jackson:
A right-handed pitcher from Tampa, Florida, Jackson joins the team after graduating from Gaither High School. In two seasons of varsity playing for the Cowboys, Jackson finished with a 10-2 career record with a 1.29 ERA, 19 walks and 100 strikeouts, while helping his team to the regional quarterfinals of the FHSAA 6A State Tournament.
Carson Long:
A local infielder from Sarasota, Long joins the team after graduating from Sarasota High School and reunites with fellow Sailor teammates Owen Ayers and brother Harrison Long. As a member of the Sailors, Carson Long played three years of varsity while helping them to FHSAA 6A State Tournament Regional Quarterfinals. Additionally, Carson Long follows in the footsteps of his other cousin, current USF grad student Nick Long.
Trace Goforth:
A right-handed pitcher and local product from Palmetto High School, Goforth joins the Manatees after transferring from Pensacola State College (NJCAA) with one to two years of eligibility remaining. As a member of the Pirates, Goforth made one appearance on the mound where he threw one scoreless inning.
Prior to Pensacola, Goforth played three years of varsity for Palmetto High School where he went 12-3 in his career with a 2.40 ERA, 56 walks and 106 strikeouts.
Goforth also joins his fellow high school teammate in Logan.
Aidan Troy:
A three-way local product from Sarasota, Florida, Troy joins the Manatees after graduating from Cardinal Mooney High School. He plays primarily as a pitcher, but can play in the infield and outfield positions.
As a member of the Cougars for three seasons of varsity, Troy finished his career batting .457 with 61 hits, two home runs and 29 RBI, while going 1-1 on the mound with a 3.41 ERA, 22 walks and 37 strikeouts. Additionally, he helped lead the Cougars to 2021 FHSAA 3A State Tournament his senior year.
Key Returners:
Hill was able to bring back 10 returners from last season: Harrison Long, Kevin Karstetter, Jake Jackson, Owen Ayers, Eli Thurmond, Brayden Woodburn, Jack Pacetti, Nick Consentino and Derek Francis.
Long will enter his second season with the Manatees after transferring from Jacksonville University. Last season, leg injuries plagued his season, but Long managed to finish batting .288 with 40 hits, four home runs and 29 RBI.
Karstetter finished last season batting .296 with 60 hits, three home runs and 47 RBI while earning a spot on the All-Suncoast Conference Second Team. After this season, Karstetter will be enrolling at the University of Houston with up to three years of eligibility remaining.
Jackson, who will enroll at Liberty University after this season with three years of eligibility remaining, is coming off of finishing his freshman campaign batting .368 with 49 hits, two home runs and 31 RBI while being named a member of the All-Suncoast Conference First Team.
Ayers, the switch-hitting outfielder/catcher from Sarasota, is entering his third season with the Manatees after finishing last season batting .274 with 57 hits, seven home runs and 41 RBI. He will be committing to Marshall University next season with two years of eligibility remaining.
After rotating between being a starter and relief pitcher, Thurmond, another local pitcher from Bradenton Christian School, will enter his second season after finishing last year 4-1 with a 2..96 ERA, four saves, 25 walks and 50 strikeouts.
Although he will sit out and redshirt this season due to injury, Woodburn finished his freshman campaign batting .306 with 52 hits, four home runs and 38 RBI. He was named a member of the All-Suncoast Second Team.
Pacetti joined the Manatees last season after transferring from the University of Cincinnati, but did not make an appearance on the mound after getting surgery on his arm, so this will be his official debut with the Manatees.
Like Thurmond, Consentino rotated between being a starter and relief pitcher. He finished last season 1-2 with a 6.51 ERA, one save, 19 walks and 31 strikeouts.
Francis joined the team last season as a transfer from another JUCO. He redshirted on the team, but was ultimately the bullpen catcher for the 2021 season.
Scouting Miami Dade:
The Sharks are lead by head coach Adrian Morales, who enters his fourth season as head coach. They are coming off of finishing last season 39-16 overall with a 14-8 record in the Southern Conference. They would win the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 State Tournament to qualify for the NJCAA Baseball World Series in Colorado.
The Sharks will bring back 12 returners, which include Wooyeoul Shin and Jose Pichardo.
The Manatees are 8-12 against the Sharks.
Scouting Ranger College:
Ranger College represents NJCAA Region 5/North Texas Junior College Athletic Conference (NTJCAC) and are lead by Scott Norwood, who enters his fourth season as head coach. The Rangers finished last season 15-39 overall with a 9-23 record in conference.
This will be the first time the Manatees encounter the Rangers.
Scouting Gulf Coast State:
The Commodores are lead by first-year head coach Tyler Younger and are coming off of finishing last season 24-24 overall with an 8-16 record in the Panhandle Conference. They did not qualify for the FCSAA State Tournament.
Avery Stephens returns on the mound for the Commodores after finishing last season 7-4 with a 4.96 ERA, 19 walks and 69 strikeouts.
At the plate, Tyler Borges will be returning after finishing his freshman campaign batting .311 with one home run, 17 RBI and 11 stolen bases.
The Manatees are 6-2 against the Commodores
Livestats will be available on GameChanger.
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