News

SANFORD, Fla – The River Rats enter the 2023 season with a familiar face at the helm and team is sight for a sixth Florida League title.

Coach Kevin Davidson will be the head man, returning to the River Rats for the first time since 2017 when Sanford went on to win the Florida League championship after a 32-win season. He is an experienced coach within the Florida League with three titles under his belt and second in-wins.

The coaching experience on his staff will be a key part on making a deep playoff run in 2023.

His counterpart, coach Josh Montero, will continue to be part of the club as a assistant after spending the last four seasons as the head coach of Sanford including a Florida League championship in 2020.

The River Rats ended the 2022 campaign with a 16-14 record, falling short losing in the FCSL semifinals to Leesburg. However, they set their eyes on looking to return back to the championship for the first time since winning their fifth league title.

Sanford will look to excel once again with the bat as they were second in all of Florida League in offense this past season.

The roster brings a returning player from 2022 including outfielder Dylan Brazil (Embry-Riddle) and pitcher Ethan Van Scoy (Allegheny College). Brazil was a mainstay in the River Rats lineup in 2022, appearing in 29 games in center while being named an FCSL All-Star. He had an impressive season with Embry-Riddle hitting over .340 in 2023. The veteran Van Scoy will depended on, making six appearances last year.

New faces on the roster bring loads of experiences on the diamond with outfielder Connor Hujsak (Mississippi State), who played in 25 games in the SEC. Outfielder Jack Duffy (Houston), and infielder Nick Collins (Houston) were top hitters in Polk State before moving on up with the Houston Cougars.

On the mound, Sanford will look to a hard-throwing newcomer in Malachi Witherspoon (Northwest Florida State) and veteran pitcher Justin Stewart (Florida Southern) who is making his second appearance in the Florida League.

The River Rats have four incoming freshman looking for more opportunities before heading off to college such as catcher Jacob Mckenzie (Florida International), outfielder Jaxon Goldberg (UCF), pitcher Zack Orloff (Palm Beach Atlantic), and pitcher Brayden Kintner (Daytona State)

Sanford will open up the 2023 campaign at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium against the Orlando Snapper on Thursday, June 1st at 7 PM.

Jonathan Mayer (FIU)