Baseball, General, Hillsborough, Pinellas

Baseball: Team Florida wins national title — July 1

Team Florida, led by several Tampa Bay area standouts, won the Geico High School Baseball National Championship Series with a 3-0 victory over California. 

After losing the opener, Team Florida won four straight games, including a pair of victories over California. 

Pitching was key with Florida pitchers allowing a combined seven runs in five games, highlighted by a two-hit shutout in the final. 

Grayson Gibson, a junior from Calvary Christian who has already committed to Mississippi, retired the final nine batters to preserve the win – and the shutout – in the title game. 

Jordan Yost, a junior from Sickles who has committed to Florida, was named tournament MVP. In the final, he drove in a pair of runs and made a highlight-worthy stop at second base.

Gibson and Yost both were key members of state championship teams in what was a banner year for the area. Besides Calvary Christian and Sickles winning titles in their respective classifications, three other teams (Jefferson, Jesuit and Plant) reached either the state semifinals or final.

There were plenty of players from those teams, and others, on Team Florida’s roster, all of whom can now claim a national title on their resume. Below is the roster for Team Florida.

PlayerHigh schoolCollege
Josh CastellaniHollinsClemson
Vincent DecarloJesuitNC State
Alex EspaillatSeminoleAlabama State
Michael FernandezGaitherUndecided
Grayson GibsonCalvary ChristianMississippi
Jayden HarrielEast LakeFAU
Kendall HoffmanSeminoleUndecided
Aden KnowlesJesuitNC State
Anthony LarizKey WestUSF
Zach LesterLakeland ChristianUndecided
Cameron MalloJeffersonUndecided
Mikey MarroquinJeffersonUndecided
Carson MartinLakeland ChristianUndecided
Marvin MontenegroLakelandUndecided
Mookie RodriguezLakeland ChristianFSU
Andrew TessCalvary ChristianPittsburgh
Cameron UzzilliaCalvary ChristianNC State
Jordan YostSicklesFlorida