Former PHSC Players Selected in MLB Draft

Pasco-Hernando State College baseball coach Lyndon Coleman likes to say that junior college baseball in Florida is a launching pad for bigger and better things.

“In basketball and football, you have to go to one of the big schools if you’re going to play professionally,” Coleman said. “Baseball is a different story. A lot of kids come out of high school and they’re late bloomers. They can come to a junior college, especially one in Florida, and play every day. We’re like a bridge, a bridge between where they’re at and where they want to be. They come to a place like Pasco-Hernando and they can develop and put themselves back on the open market in a much better position.”

The proof is in the numbers. Just look at what happened in the course of a couple of hours Monday afternoon. Two former PHSC players were selected in the annual Major League Baseball Draft.

Right-handed pitcher Davian Garcia was chosen in the sixth round (#170 overall) by the Washington Nationals. Just three rounds later, the Nationals selected first baseman Jackson Ross (#260 overall).

“Davian and Jackson spent part of their journeys here,” Pasco Hernando President Jesse Pisors said. “I’m not just okay with that. I’m excited about that. Education, like every process in life, has multiple steps. Today, people are studying at multiple universities and there are many parts of their development. When I see baseball players coming here because of our coaches, our history and our facilities and moving on, I see that as post-completion success that we’ve played a role in. College sports reach a lot of circles that other areas don’t. They bring us attention and help build our brand. Those are big positives.”

With Garcia and Jackson in the mix, the total number of Bobcats drafted since former coach Steve Winterling started the program in 1992 is 33. That number could have been 34. But 2024 PHSC pitcher-designated hitter Chris Arroyo, who was rated as a first-round talent, was not drafted. Arroyo made it clear to Major League teams before the draft that he was content to move on to the University of Virginia unless a team was willing to meet his asking price (which he said was in excess of $1 million).

And the number could grow even higher in the future. Hernando High product Michael Savarese is projected to be a future draft pick as a right-handed pitcher. Savarese will spend his second season at PHSC after being named to two All-American teams in 2024. In past years, former Hernando High players Landon Hessler, Brian Dalton and Brent Stentz had stops at PHSC before they were drafted.

Both Garcia and Ross are prime examples of players who used their time at PHSC to keep climbing the baseball ladder.

Garcia started college at Flagler University but struggled with baseball and academics, Coleman said. He arrived at PHSC in 2023, quickly got himself in good standing in both areas and parlayed that into a scholarship to Florida Gulf Coast University, where he had a stellar 2024 season. At PHSC, Garcia went 1-0 with two saves and a 2.65 earned-run average. At Florida Gulf Coast last season, Garcia went 6-3 with a 3.10 ERA. But his most impressive statistic might have been his 71 strikeouts in 61 innings.
“Davian’s fastball has touched 98 miles per hour,” Coleman said. “There’s no reason it can’t be touching 100 very soon.”

Ross, 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds had a longer and more storied stay at PHSC. He came to the Bobcats after an outstanding prep career at George Jenkins High in Lakeland. Ross spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons at PHSC. He compiled a .346 batting average (fifth-highest in program history) while appearing in 84 games. He had 12 home runs, 90 RBI and scored 88 runs.

“Jackson Ross was an undersized shortstop,” Coleman said. “He was probably 5-11 and 170 pounds. He had really good hand/eye coordination and baseball skills, but he lacked the physicality. He was a late bloomer physically. He came to us and he put in the work every single day in the weight room and on the baseball field and he blossomed. When he left here, he was 6-1 or 6-2 and an absolutely chiseled 205 or 210 pounds.”

After PHSC, Ross moved on to Florida Atlantic University where he started 115 games over the 2022 and ’23 seasons and was a first-team Conference-USA Selection in his final season at the Boca Raton school.
Thanks to NCAA rules implemented due to COVID and the transfer portal, Ross had a fifth year of eligibility and transferred to Ole Miss in 2024. He was the only member of the Rebels to start all 58 games and he batted .280 with 10 home runs and 49 RBI.

Coleman, who played under Winterling and served as his assistant for three seasons before becoming head coach, said Ross and Garcia are just the latest examples of players who have used their time at PHSC to go on to careers in pro baseball.

“Both of these guys came to Pasco-Hernando and we gave them an opportunity,” Coleman said. “That’s all I can take credit for. They were the ones who made the most out of that opportunity. They lifted and worked out every day. They woke up in the morning and chose to go to work every single day and, now, it’s paying off for them.”

Pasco-Hernando State College MLB Drafted Players

Chris Cumberland – New York Yankees (1993)
Scott Norman – Detroit Tigers (1993)
Landon Hessler- Houston Astros (1993)
Brian Dalton – Milwaukee Brewers (1994)
Milton Anderson – Cleveland Indians (1995)
Warren Tisdale – Seattle Mariners (1995)
Brent Stentz – Minnesota Twins (1995)
Mike Bell – Montreal Expos (1995)
Frankie Sanders – Cleveland Indians (1995)
Ryan Snellings – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (1997)
Brandon Folkers – St. Louis Cardinals (1997)
Greg Jones – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (1997)
Keith Medosch – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (1997)
Mike Brunet – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (1997)
Simon Stoner – Anaheim Angels (1998)
Andrew Beattie – Cincinnati Reds (1998)
William Croud – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (1998)
Sherwin Lockridge – Minnesota Twins (1999)
Brady Williams – Boston Red Sox (1999)
Zack Roper – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2000)
John Halliday – Chicago White Sox (2000)
Kevin Collins – Chicago Cubs (2000)
Billy Phillips – Boston Red Sox (2005)
Matt Reed – Philadelphia Phillies (2006)
Lee Cruz – Chicago White Sox (2006)
Ronnie Lowe – Toronto Blue Jays (2006)
Norberto Navarro – New York Mets (2007)
Danny Keefe – Chicago Cubs (2009)
Zach Maxfeld – Detroit Tigers (2011)
Tyler Beck – Minnesota Twins (2019)
Chay Yeager – Toronto Blue Jays (2023)
Jackson Ross- Washington Nationals (2024)
Davian Garcia- Washington Nationals (2024)

BOLD – Former Hernando High Players