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The Florida League will once again have six teams competing for the Whiting Cup during the summer. However for the first time in league history, we will have two teams sharing a ballpark. Here is a look at the teams and coaches for the upcoming season.

DeLand Suns
2017 Record: 11-27-1 (6th place)
Head Coach: Rick Hall
Year with Team: 9th
Home Field: Conrad Park

Rick Hall, the longest tenured head coach in the league, will return to the Suns for the 9th consecutive year. Despite a tough season last summer that saw the Suns drop 27 games, Hall still ranks as the 2nd winningest coach in Florida League history with 145 victories. Hall has one Florida League championship under his belt (2012), and will look to right the Suns’ ship in 2018. Current Baltimore Oriole Austin Hays won a League MVP award under Hall in 2014.

Hall was a standout pitcher at Berkshire Community College (MA) and Stetson University. He finished the 1978 season with the 9th most strikeouts in all of D-I baseball. After his college career ended, he took a job on the Stetson staff as the pitching coach. He held served in that position for 18 years before leaving the school to start the baseball program at Daytona State College. He is currently the Parks and Rec Director for the city of DeLand.

Conrad Park is home to the Stetson University Hatters. Stetson is a storied program that has seen dozens of MLB draft picks step onto the field, including 2x Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber and 2014 N.L. Rookie of the Year Jacob deGrom. Conrad Park is often a favorite of both players and coaches each summer, with pristine playing surfaces, top notch amenities and, most importantly for the staff, an air-conditioned press box.

Leesburg Lightning
2017 Record: 19-19-1 (4th Place)
Head Coach: Rich Billings
Year with Team: 6th (4th as HC)
Home Field: Pat Thomas Stadium – Buddy Lowe Field

The Leesburg dugout will once again be patrolled by native son Rich Billings. He led the Lightning to 19 wins last summer, but saw the Lightning lose in the play-in game to Winter Garden. Leesburg has been to the Florida League championship game six times (two wins) since 2007, and Billings will look to bring them back in 2018. Since he took over as head coach in 2015, the Lightning have produced one league MVP (Harrison Scanlon, 2016) and two-time Reliever of the Year, Drew Peden (2016-17). His 65 career wins rank 8th all-time in league history.

After a playing career at Lake Sumter State College and East Tennessee State, Billings was hired at the age of 23 to be the Head Coach at Lake Sumter. After a successful five years with the program, he headed to Boca Raton as an assistant coach for the Florida Atlantic Owls. He then took over the high school program at Leesburg High School before returning to Lake Sumter in 2015. He is in his 4th year as skipper for the Lakehawks.

Pat Thomas Stadium has a rich baseball tradition spanning more than 60 years in the Sunshine State. The field played host to MLB teams during spring training in the 1940s, as well as minor league teams in the Florida State League. It was the first stadium in Florida to have lights. During the spring, both Lake Sumter and Leesburg High use the facility. Leesburg is known for its energetic fans who routinely “Pack the Pat” for every Lightning home game.

Sanford River Rats
2017 Record: 30-12 (1st Place)
Head Coach: Scotty Makarewicz
Year with the Team: 3rd (2nd as SAN HC; 8th as HC)
Home Field: Sanford Memorial Stadium

After setting a League record for wins, and taking home the Florida League championship, the River Rats will turn to a new, yet familiar, face for the 2018 season. Scotty Makarewicz will replace Kevin Davidson as skipper for the Rats. Scotty Mak is no stranger to the Florida League, and was the man in charge of Sanford when they won their first title in 2006. He ranks third all-time in Florida League coaching wins with 115. 

Coach Mak was a standout catcher at Michigan State in the 1980s, and was a 6th round draft pick of the Houston Astros in 1989. He spent a decade in the Minor Leagues before hanging ‘em up to focus on coaching. He has been the head coach for Sanford, the Orlando Freedom, the College Park Freedom and the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs. He served as assistant coach on the Rats last summer, helping the team to their fourth trophy.

Sanford Memorial Stadium has been the marquee destination for the Florida League since things started in 2004. The stadium plays host to Opening Day and the All-Star Game each season. Originally erected in 1926, Sanford Memorial has seen legends like Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays step on the grass. In the 1950’s, it was the Spring Training home of the New York Giants. After a renovation in 2001, the stadium has a more modern feel and can seat up to 2,015 people.

Seminole County Scorpions
2017 Record: 19-17-1 (2nd Place)
Head Coach: Steve Stowell
Year with the Team: 2nd (1st as HC)
Home Field: Sanford Memorial Stadium

The Scorpions will have also have a new head coach, as well as a new home. Steve Stowell, who was an assistant under Bob Rikeman with the Scorpions last summer, will take over as manager. The Scorpions finished second in the standings, and boasted one of the most talented rosters in league history. Stowell will look to build on that success in his first season.

Coach Stowell has an extensive baseball background. After a successful high school career in California, he attended UCLA, where he was a four-year starter. He was named to the All-PAC 10 Conference team in both 1986 & 1987, and was drafted in each of those years by the Astros and Twins, respectively. He would go on to have an eight-year professional career in the Minors, Taiwan and Mexico. In addition to personal coaching and instruction, Stowell has also served as a coach at Bishop Moore Catholic School and Edgewater High School. He was an assistant for the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs in 2016 before moving to the Scorpions staff in 2017.

The Scorpions will share Sanford Memorial with the Rats. Between May 31 (Opening Day) and July 31 (End of the regular season) there are a total of 12 days that there is not a game scheduled at the stadium. And don’t worry fans … whether it’s the Rats or the Scorpions as the home team, we will have Thirsty Thursday presented by Yuengling for all eight nights in June and July!

Winter Garden Squeeze
2017 Record: 16-21 (5th Place)
Head Coach: Jay Welsh
Year with Team: 3rd
Home Field: Heller Bros. Ballpark at West Orange High School

After a surprising run to the “series” round of the playoffs last year, Jay Welsh returns to Winter Garden to hopefully take the Squeeze even further in 2018. In his first two seasons with the team, Welsh has tallied 36 wins. His rosters are often full of local talent, and he has known many of his players for years. In 2016, he coached the League Cy Young Award winner, Jarred Neal, and then followed that up with 2017 MVP Sadler Goodwin.

Coach Welsh’s previous coaching experience includes time at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Lake Nona High School, Ocoee High School, and a year in the Futures League, where he set a record for wins with 18. This season, Welsh has accepted the position of pitching coach at Lake Sumter State College. Off the field, Welsh serves as an adjunct professor of sports media at Saint Leo University. 

West Orange will serve as home base for the Squeeze for the 5th year. Recent renovations, including a new set of lights and walkways, will make Heller Bros. Ballpark a prime location to catch Florida League action this summer.

Winter Park Diamond Dawgs
2017 Record: 19-18-1 (3rd Place)
Head Coach: Chuck Schall
Year with Team: 3rd (2nd as HC)
Home Field: Joe Skinner Field at Bishop Moore High School

The Diamond Dawgs fell one run shy of a Florida League championship last summer, keeping Coach Schall from becoming only the second coach in league history to win back-to-back titles. The Dawgs’ offensive prowess was impressive, as they led the league in multiple offensive categories. Building a roster full of talent has never been a problem for Schall, and he will look to have another great year in 2018. Over the past two summers, Schall has amassed 45 wins, including a championship with the Altamonte Springs Boom in 2016.

Coach Schall has an extensive baseball background that spans multiple decades in Central Florida. Schall was a player at Flagler College from 1982-85. He was named to the 1980s All-Decade team at the school, and currently ranks 5th all-time in school history in walks. Once his playing days ended, Schall moved on to coaching, where he has seen success at every level. His coaching resume includes stints with UCF, Rollins College, Ocoee High School, and Olympia High School. After taking over the Olympia program in 2013, Coach Schall helped the Titans to a #1 national ranking and an undefeated regular season in 2015. During his three years as head coach at Olympia, Schall has had two first round MLB draft picks (Nick Gordon and Juan Hillman), as well as more than a dozen college commitments.

Bishop Moore is a powerhouse program at the 6A level, with state titles and MLB alumni on their roster. Last year was the debut of their fully turfed infield. Further renovations made this fall included a new draining system in the outfield to help cut down on rainouts. The open air facility offers great views for all fans in attendance, and the air conditioned press box loved by interns and staff.