Florida Collegiate Summer League

Last updated
Florida Collegiate Summer League
Sport Baseball
Founded2003
MottoPure Baseball
No. of teams6
CountryUnited States
Most recent
champion(s)		 Leesburg Lightning (2021)
Most titles Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (5)
Official website www.floridaleague.com

The Florida Collegiate Summer League (FCSL) is a six-team [1] wood bat collegiate summer baseball league located in the Central Florida region of the southeastern United States. The league was founded in the fall of 2003 [2] and began play in the summer of 2004. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to "advance college players toward their futures in professional baseball." [3] 360 players have been drafted in the first thirteen seasons including 33 in the 2016 MLB Draft. FCSL has had 16 alumni play in Major League Baseball, including New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom, Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy, Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon, Colorado Rockies pitcher Mike McClendon, Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jimmy Nelson, and San Francisco Giants pitcher Chris Heston. The FCSL is one of twelve leagues in the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball.

Contents

Teams

TeamCityStadium [4] Head Coach [5]
Orlando SnappersOrlando, FloridaLake Highland Preparatory SchoolTerry Abbott
DeLand Suns DeLand, Florida Melching Field at Conrad Park (Stetson University)Matt Swiderski
Leesburg Lightning [6] Leesburg, Florida Pat Thomas Stadium Rich Billings
Sanford River Rats Sanford, Florida Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium Kevin Davidson
Winter Garden Squeeze Winter Garden, Florida Olympia High SchoolMike McDaniel
Winter Park Diamond Dawgs Winter Park, Florida Alfond StadiumJim Newlin
Timeline of Teams
Altamonte Springs BoomWinter Garden SqueezeCollege Park FreedomCollege Park FreedomOrlando SunsOrlando MavericksClermont MavericksBelleview BulldogsLeesburg LightningWinter Springs CudasOrlando HammersZephyrhills SnappersWinter Haven LoggerheadsWinter Haven WarthogsWinter Park Diamond DawgsSanford River RatsOrlando MonarchsOrlando ShockersDaytona Beach BarracudasFlorida Collegiate Summer League

League membersFuture members

Alumni (top-five round picks and notables)

PlayerFCSL TeamYears PlayedYear DraftedRoundMLB Team
Mike McClendon* Winter Park 2006 2006 10th Milwaukee Brewers
Corey Brown*Orlando Shockers2006 2007 1st Oakland Athletics
Jonathan Lucroy* Sanford 2005–06 2007 3rd Milwaukee Brewers
Alan FarinaOrlando Shockers2005 2007 3rd Toronto Blue Jays
Jonathan Holt Leesburg 2006-07 2007 5th Cleveland Indians
Johnny Monell* Winter Park 2006 2007 30th San Francisco Giants
Dee Gordon* Belleview 2008 2008 4th Los Angeles Dodgers
Mycal Jones Leesburg 2007-08 2009 4th Atlanta Braves
Kent MatthesWinter Pines2008 2009 4th Colorado Rockies
Thomas BerryhillDeLand2008 2009 5th Atlanta Braves
Jimmy Nelson*DeLand2009 2010 2nd Milwaukee Brewers
Dante Bichette, Jr. Winter Park 2011 2011 1st New York Yankees
Peter O'Brien DeLand2010 2012 2nd New York Yankees
Brandon Thomas Sanford 2010 2012 4th Pittsburgh Pirates
Tucker Donahue Winter Park 2010 2012 4th Toronto Blue Jays
Myles SmithDeLand2011 2013 4th Boston Red Sox
Zane Evans Leesburg 2011 2013 4th Kansas City Royals
Aaron Slegers Orlando 2012 2013 5th Minnesota Twins
Ian McKinney Winter Park 2013 2013 5th St. Louis Cardinals

(*) = Reached the Major Leagues

Champions

YearWinning TeamRunsLosing TeamRuns
2004 Sanford River Rats 10 Daytona Beach Barracudas 0
2005 Zephyrhills Snappers 2 Sanford River Rats 1
2006 Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 4 Altamonte Springs Snappers 3
2007 Leesburg Lightning [7] 6 Altamonte Springs Snappers 0
2008 Clermont Mavericks [7] 9 Belleview Bulldogs 1
2009 Leesburg Lightning [8] 5 Clermont Mavericks 1
2010 Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 1 Leesburg Lightning 0
2011 Sanford River Rats 7 Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 5
2012DeLand Suns10 Leesburg Lightning 7
2013 Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 3 Leesburg Lightning 0
2014 Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 6 Sanford River Rats 4
2015 Sanford River Rats 1 Leesburg Lightning 0
2016 Altamonte Springs Boom 6 Sanford River Rats 5
2017 Sanford River Rats 6 Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 5
2018DeLand Suns Winter Park Diamond Dawgs
2019 Winter Park Diamond Dawgs DeLand Suns
2020 Sanford River Rats Leesburg Lightning
2021 Leesburg Lightning Winter Park Diamond Dawgs

Award winners

YearMVPCy YoungBest Pro Prospect
2004Kyle Patrick, SanfordDrew Shetrone, SanfordN/A
2005 Lee Cruz, ZephyrhillsTy Pryor, Winter ParkN/A
2006Anthony Ottrando, Altamonte SpringsRyan Horton, Winter Park Jonathan Lucroy, Winter Park
2007Tyler McCarty, Winter SpringsJohn Durham, Altamonte SpringsAaron Tullo, Winter Park
2008Andy Mee, BelleviewBo O'Dell, BelleviewJeff Walters, Winter Park
2009Anthony Figliolia, Winter ParkTrey Ferrano, Sanford Jabari Blash, DeLand
2010LB Dantzler, Winter ParkBobby Bolling, Winter ParkBrandon Thomas, Sanford
2011Ted Blackman, Winter ParkBen Brown, Winter ParkGarrett Nuss, Orlando
2012Michael Danner, Winter ParkEvan Incinelli, Winter ParkDavid Lee, Orlando
2013Tyler Palmer, SanfordEmilio Ogando, Winter ParkTyler Palmer, Sanford
2014 Austin Hays Arturo Martoral Austin Hays
2015 Santiago Espinal Brett MoralesAustin Glorius
2016Harrison ScanlonJarred NealCarlos Cortes
2017Sadler GoodwinDavid LitchfieldGarrett Zech
2018Aaron AndersonVlad NunezZebulon Vermillion
2019Mark TownsendJack WolgastGunnar Hoglund
2020Lucas DunnParker MessickN/A
2021Josh PearsonGerry KellyN/A

Celebrity golf tournament

Every November, the Florida League hosts a celebrity golf tournament at Interlachen Country Club in Winter Park, FL. Money raised from the event helps fund the League throughout the year. The weekend-long event includes a hitting & pitching clinic for kids, a catered pairings dinner, a meet-and-greet with the celebrities, a silent auction and the round of golf. Celebrity appearances have been made by dozens of current and former MLB players including: Davey Johnson, Frank Viola, Hunter Pence, José Bautista, Ray Lankford, Gary Carter, Fred McGriff, Jeff Bagwell, B.J. Upton, Tim Wakefield, Zack Greinke, Andrew McCutchen, Tim Raines, Vince Coleman and many others.

High school invitational

In an effort to reach out to baseball players of all levels, the FCSL also hosts multiple spring break tournaments during the month of March. All games are held at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium in Sanford, FL. These tournaments, known as the Florida High School Invitational, bring in teams from all over the United States. The 2013 tournament featured twenty-three teams from across the country. Notable prospects who have participated in the FHSI include Albert Almora (#6 overall pick, 2012, Chicago Cubs), Dante Bichette, Jr. (1st round pick, 2011, New York Yankees), Francisco Lindor (#8 overall pick, 2011, Cleveland Indians), Javier Baez (#9 overall pick, 2011, Chicago Cubs), Greg Bird (5th round, 2011, New York Yankees), Tomas Nido (8th round, 2012, New York Mets), Chris Okey (All-American), and Touki Toussaint (All-American).

YearChampionLocation
2008St. Cloud Bulldogs St. Cloud, FL
2009All Saints Academy Saints Winter Haven, FL
2010Timber Creek Wolves Orlando, FL
2011 (Week 1)Timber Creek Wolves Orlando, FL
2011 (Week 2)Bryant Hornets Bryant, AR
2012Palm Beach Gardens Gators Palm Beach Gardens, FL
2013 (Classic)Lake Brantley Patriots Altamonte Springs, FL
2013 (Showcase)Seminole Seminoles Sanford, FL

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References

  1. ↑ Ping, Dan (August 15, 2008). "Going for a home run: Locals learn starting a real baseball league requires business acumen". Orlando Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  2. ↑ "LE MOYNE'S ROBBY PEREZ NAMED FLORIDA COLLEGIATE SUMMER LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK, FINISHES REGULAR SEASON WITH LEAGUE-BEST 41 HITS". LeMoyne Athletics. July 31, 2006. Archived from the original on May 5, 2007. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  3. ↑ "About The Florida Collegiate Summer League" at floridaleague.com Archived 2008-12-19 at the Wayback Machine URL accessed January 2, 2009
  4. ↑ FCSL Fields Archived 2008-12-19 at the Wayback Machine at floridaleague.com; URL accessed June 28, 2009
  5. ↑ PhilChinnery (February 10, 2015). "Familiar Faces in New Places: 2015 Head Coaches Announced". Archived from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2015..
  6. ↑ Williams, Joe (September 29, 2006). "Leesburg's new team promises local flair: Former star Josh Holt will coach the Lightning this summer in a baseball league for college players". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  7. 1 2 Jolley, Frank (March 27, 2009). "FCSL rivals Leesburg, Clermont to face each other 11 times". The Daily Commercial. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
  8. ↑ LEE v. CLE Boxscore 8/3/09 [ permanent dead link ] at floridaleague.com, URL accessed August 4, 2009
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