2 days ago
Stoneman Douglas, Aquinas and Heritage coaches are Broward Baseball Coaches of the Year
At Stoneman Douglas, Todd Fitz-Gerald has helmed the greatest state championship streak in state history.
Meanwhile at St. Thomas Aquinas, Joey Wardlow directed his program to its first state championship in seven years, propelled by one of the best hitting teams in recent memory.
And at American Heritage, a redemption season was completed and resulted in a state title under the direction of Bruce Aven.
As such, Fitz-Gerald and Wardlow are the Miami Herald's Broward County Baseball Co-Coaches of the Year for Classes 7A-5A. And Aven is the Herald's Coach of the Year for Classes 4A-1A.
Fitz-Gerald and his players proudly held up all five fingers stretched out after defeating Jupiter this past May to capture the school's state record fifth consecutive state title. For the Eagles, it was their sixth overall, all under Fitz-Gerald, who won his seventh overall.
Douglas went 31-2 on a dominant run led by ace Gio Rojas, who went 12-0 with 120 strikeouts and an 0.72 ERA.
Wardlow's squad won its first state title since 2018 and the fourth overall for Aquinas.
The backbone of this effort was a prolific lineup, which totaled 68 home runs as a team, and powered its way to the Class 6A state title.
Miami Herald Player of the Year, Zachary Malvasio, a UCF commit, led the charge with 16 home runs.
And at Heritage, Aven directed the Patriots to their third consecutive state finals appearance and second state title in three seasons.
Led by versatile outfielder Jordan Rich and an array of talented pitchers, American Heritage bounced back after losing to Tampa Jesuit in last year's state final and secured the program's fourth state title overall.
The Patriots' dominant run through the Class 4A bracket was among the most impressive of any state champion this season, and for Aven, it was his second as Heritage's head coach.
