Yes, the Florida Gators are in Omaha, but they do not account for all the players the state has produced in this year’s College World Series. MaxPreps released a list of where kids playing in the CWS went to high school, sorted by state. And to no surprise, the state of Florida topped the list. By the numbers, 48 out of 297 players (16%) went to Florida high schools. Here’s how the states list breaks down:
- Florida (48)
- California (37)
- Tennessee (25) & Texas (25)
- Louisiana & Virginia (15)
- New Jersey (13) & Oklahoma (13)
When you consider that both Florida and California have one school playing in Omaha (UF and Stanford), the numbers become even more impressive. And then when you compare Florida with California, the total population of the state of Florida is nearly half of that of California. This means that Florida has clearly become the epicenter of college baseball recruiting.
Seven of the eight teams in Omaha this weekend (excluding Oral Roberts) has at least one player who graduated from a Florida high school. The Gators being (clearly) the most Florida heavy team, only speaks more to the fact that they can fill a premiere, Division 1 roster, without leaving the state. IMG Academy leads the way among all high schools with five players on CWS rosters; including Florida, Tennessee, LSU and Virginia.
Here’s how the Floridians break out by team:
Florida Gators
- Salvador Alvarez, Montverde Academy (Montverde)
- Chris Arroyo, Stoneman Douglas (Parkland)
- Erik Blair, American Heritage (Plantation)
- Jac Caglianone, Plant (Tampa)
- Jake Clemente, Stoneman Douglas (Parkland)
- Ty Evans, Lakeland Christian (Lakeland)
- Deric Fabian, North Marion (Citra)
- Nick Ficarrotta, Palm Harbor University (Palm Harbor)
- Carsten Finnvold, American Heritage (Delray Beach)
- Colby Halter, Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville)
- Clete Hartzog, Mosley (Lynn Haven)
- Luke Heyman, Lake Brantley (Altamonte Springs)
- Fisher Jameson, Park Vista (Lake Worth)
- Cade Kurland, Berkeley Prep (Tampa)
- Wyatt Langford, Trenton
- Rene Lastres, Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale)
- Brandon Neely, Spruce Creek (Port Orange)
- Tyler Nesbitt, LaBelle
- Matt Prevesk, Apopka
- Blake Purnell, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale)
- Josh Rivera, IMG Academy (Bradenton)
- Michael Robertson, Venice
- Tyler Shelnut, Fort White
- Ryan Slater, East Lake (Tarpon Springs)
- Sam Sloan, Lakeland
- Brandon Sproat, Pace
- Tucker Talbott, Providence School (Jacksonville)
- Yoel Tejeda Jr., North Broward Prep (Coconut Creek)
- Dale Thomas, Bishop Moore (Orlando)
- Anthony Ursitti, Canterbury (Fort Myers)
Stanford Cardinals
- Brett Blair, Buchholz (Gainesville)
- Jaden Bruno, American Heritage (Delray Beach)
- Ryan Bruno, American Heritage (Delray Beach)
Tennessee Volunteers
- Aaron Combs, IMG Academy (Bradenton)
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
- Lucas Costello, Westminster Christian (Miami)
- Derek Crum, Gaither (Tampa)
- Gio Cueto, Belen Jesuit (Miami)
- Marek Houston, Venice
- Bennett Lee, Jesuit (Tampa)
- Camden Minacci, Jesuit (Tampa)
- Brock Wilken, Bloomingdale (Valrico)
LSU
- Dylan Crews, Lake Mary
- Brady Neal, IMG Academy (Bradenton)
- Tommy White, IMG Academy (Bradenton)
TCU
- Austin Davis, Conrad Academy (Orlando)
Virginia
- Evan Dobias, American Heritage (Plantation)
- Jake Gelof, IMG Academy (Bradenton)
- Bradley Hodges, St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park)
Florida High School Baseball Leads the Way
Legends on Deck may be a little bias in the sense that we are a Florida based website, but one doesn’t need to show any favoritism to present facts. The state of Florida is leading the way in producing baseball talent. What’s also notable from this list, is that there are players scattered throughout the state. While, there’s clearly a concentration of players from South Florida and the I-4 Corridor, there’s are other corners of the state represented as well. All the more reason to continue to provide more high school baseball coverage from the state of Florida here at Legends on Deck.
