Florida Collegiate Summer League
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.
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2003 |
| Motto | Pure Baseball |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Country | United States |
| Most recent champion(s) | Leesburg Lightning (2021) |
| Most titles | Winter Park Diamond Dawgs (5) |
| Official website | www.floridaleague.com |
Teams
| Team | City | Stadium[4] | Head Coach[5] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando Snappers | Orlando, Florida | Lake Highland Preparatory School | Terry 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 School | Mike McDaniel |
| Winter Park Diamond Dawgs | Winter Park, Florida | Alfond Stadium | Jim Newlin |
- Timeline of Teams
League members Future members
Alumni (top-five round picks and notables)
(*) = Reached the Major Leagues
Champions
| Year | Winning Team | Runs | Losing Team | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 2012 | DeLand Suns | 10 | 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 |
| 2018 | DeLand 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
| Year | MVP | Cy Young | Best Pro Prospect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Kyle Patrick, Sanford | Drew Shetrone, Sanford | N/A |
| 2005 | Lee Cruz, Zephyrhills | Ty Pryor, Winter Park | N/A |
| 2006 | Anthony Ottrando, Altamonte Springs | Ryan Horton, Winter Park | Jonathan Lucroy, Winter Park |
| 2007 | Tyler McCarty, Winter Springs | John Durham, Altamonte Springs | Aaron Tullo, Winter Park |
| 2008 | Andy Mee, Belleview | Bo O'Dell, Belleview | Jeff Walters, Winter Park |
| 2009 | Anthony Figliolia, Winter Park | Trey Ferrano, Sanford | Jabari Blash, DeLand |
| 2010 | LB Dantzler, Winter Park | Bobby Bolling, Winter Park | Brandon Thomas, Sanford |
| 2011 | Ted Blackman, Winter Park | Ben Brown, Winter Park | Garrett Nuss, Orlando |
| 2012 | Michael Danner, Winter Park | Evan Incinelli, Winter Park | David Lee, Orlando |
| 2013 | Tyler Palmer, Sanford | Emilio Ogando, Winter Park | Tyler Palmer, Sanford |
| 2014 | Austin Hays | Arturo Martoral | Austin Hays |
| 2015 | Santiago Espinal | Brett Morales | Austin Glorius |
| 2016 | Harrison Scanlon | Jarred Neal | Carlos Cortes |
| 2017 | Sadler Goodwin | David Litchfield | Garrett Zech |
| 2018 | Aaron Anderson | Vlad Nunez | Zebulon Vermillion |
| 2019 | Mark Townsend | Jack Wolgast | Gunnar Hoglund |
| 2020 | Lucas Dunn | Parker Messick | N/A |
| 2021 | Josh Pearson | Gerry Kelly | N/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).
| Year | Champion | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | St. Cloud Bulldogs | St. Cloud, FL |
| 2009 | All Saints Academy Saints | Winter Haven, FL |
| 2010 | Timber Creek Wolves | Orlando, FL |
| 2011 (Week 1) | Timber Creek Wolves | Orlando, FL |
| 2011 (Week 2) | Bryant Hornets | Bryant, AR |
| 2012 | Palm Beach Gardens Gators | Palm Beach Gardens, FL |
| 2013 (Classic) | Lake Brantley Patriots | Altamonte Springs, FL |
| 2013 (Showcase) | Seminole Seminoles | Sanford, FL |
References
- 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.
- "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.
- "About The Florida Collegiate Summer League" at floridaleague.com Archived 2008-12-19 at the Wayback Machine URL accessed January 2, 2009
- FCSL Fields Archived 2008-12-19 at the Wayback Machine at floridaleague.com; URL accessed June 28, 2009
- 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..
- 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.
- Jolley, Frank (March 27, 2009). "FCSL rivals Leesburg, Clermont to face each other 11 times". The Daily Commercial. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
- LEE v. CLE Boxscore 8/3/09 at floridaleague.com, URL accessed August 4, 2009