GAINESVILLE (June 20) – Senior catcher Caleb Roberts of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale has been selected as the Florida Dairy Farmers 2018 Mr. Baseball following a final round of voting by a statewide panel of high school baseball coaches and media representatives.
Roberts, who has signed to play baseball at the University of North Carolina, led his team to the Class 8A state championship with a .506 batting average with 18 doubles, six home runs and 53 runs batted in. Previously selected the Class 8A Player of the Year, Roberts tallied 112 points and garnered seven of the 20 first-place votes in winning this year’s overall award.
Finishing as runner-up was Class 6A POY Mason Denaburg of Merritt Island (89), while Class 4A POY Christian Scott of Calvary Christian Academy (66) finished third. Rounding out the voting were, Class 7A POY Rece Hinds of Niceville (56), Class 9A POY Bret Neilan of Timber Creek (47), Class 5A POY Hunter Barco of Jacksonville The Bolles School (24), Class 2A POY Parker Pillsbury of Lecanto Seven Rivers Christian (12) and Class 3A POY JD Tease of North Florida Christian (5) and Class 1A POY Landon Kennedy of Trenton (5).
The Florida Dairy Farmers High School Sports Awards program exemplifies Florida Dairy Farmers’ commitment to the state’s youth. This is the 26th year of these unique awards as we honor the state’s top athletes and coaches in all 30 FHSAA sanctioned and recognized sports. The program also emphasizes to young people the importance of keeping dairy products a primary part of their diet in their overall nutrition plan.
2018 FINAL VOTING RESULTS: (Points awarded on a 10-7-5 basis) – area players in bold
Player Total Points 1st-Place Votes
Caleb Roberts, St. Thomas Aquinas 112 7
Mason Denaburg, Merritt Island 89 7
Christian Scott, Calvary Christian Academy 66 3
Rece Hinds, Niceville 56 2
Bret Neilan, Timber Creek 47 1
Hunter Barco, Jacksonville The Bolles School 24 0
Parker Pillsbury, Lecanto Seven Rivers Christian 12 0
JD Tease, North Florida Christian 5 0
Landon Kennedy, Trenton 5 0
Past Mr. Baseball Winners:
1993 – Alex Rodriguez, Miami Westminster
1994 – Doug Million, Sarasota
1995 – Doug Blosser, Sarasota
1996 – Nick Stocks, Tampa Jesuit
1997 – Geoff Geotz, Tampa Jesuit
1998 – Felipe Lopez, Lake Brantley
1999 – Bobby Bradley, Wellington
2000 – Tony Richie, Jacksonville Bishop Kenny
2001 – Casey Kotchman, Seminole
2002 – Edgar Ramirez, Miami Southridge
2003 – James Houser, Sarasota
2004 – Warren McFadden, Davie Nova
2005 – Andrew McCutchen, Fort Meade
2006 – Max Sapp, Orlando Bishop Moore
2007 – Michael Main, Deland
2008 – Casey Kelly, Sarasota
2009 – Patrick Schuster, New Port Richey Mitchell
2010 – C. T. Bradford, Pace
2011 – Jose Fernandez, Tampa Alonso
2012 – Lance McCullers, Jr., Tampa Jesuit
2013 – Tyler Danish, Plant City
2014 – Brian Gonzalez, Archbishop McCarthy
2015 – Dillon Brown, Mosley
2016—Bo Bichette, Lakewood
2017—Logan Allen, Orange City University
