Big day for Jesuit athletics and baseball

Posted Nov 9, 2011 by Eddie Daniels

Updated Nov 9, 2011 at 02:06 PM

Standing just inside the doorway of the Jesuit business office, Lance McCullers was impassioned.

The Jesuit pitcher/shortstop is all about playing baseball at the University of Florida.

“I don’t look at this year as a make-or-beak season for me in the draft because, quite frankly, I would be more than happy going to the University of Florida,” said McCullers, expected to be a top selection in the June 2012 Major League Baseball draft.

Until then, McCullers, six of his baseball playing teammates as well as swimmer Chris Swanson, signed their names to national letters-of-intent to play college athletics.

Swanson signed to compete at the University of Pennsylvania, while Joey Altieri (USF), Max Beermann (Villanova), Anthony Hamlin (Marist College), Vince Leto (USF), McCullers (Florida), Conor O’Brien (N.C. State) and Nolan Schultz (Trinity College) each signed baseball scholarships.

“A lot of people out there hear me say these kinds of things and they’re saying, ‘Oh, that’s just for show’ and it’s not,” McCullers said. “I’ve been a Florida fan since I could walk. My grandfather went to Florida. I’ve been to Florida baseball games and football games since I was in diapers. This is somewhere I’ve wanted to be for a long time.”

For Leto, being close to home played a big role in his selection of USF.

“Just being able to have friends and family come watch me play (is special),” he said.

Meanwhile Beermann and Schultz will deal with the elements when they head north. Ironically, each has family and friends who live near their respective schools and they’ve been briefed on what to expect.

“I’m pumped,” said Schultz, who picked Trinity over Columbia, Dartmouth and Harvard. “I have family from there, so I’m used to it. It will be a good climate change. Don’t have to deal with too much humidity up there.”

Now, the players can focus on the work at hand – playing baseball.

“You can just relax. You know it’s there,” Beermann said. “You know you’re set somewhere next year. We’re just here to win a state championship.”

Jesuit coach Richie Warren said the day represented a group of athletes dedicated to hard work. It’s also the first time the Jesuit baseball program has had seven players sign scholarships at one time. The high was six in 2009.

“A lot of these guys come in together and they all know each other,” Warren said. “They’ve all played together, whether in AAU, the Little League circuit and then for them to not only play baseball, but go to school together … Jesuit’s a special place and the bonds and the friendships they have formed and grown over the last 3 1/2 years so far, it just makes it a special day for them.”