Going into its 5th full season of play the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League is one of the most notable up and coming collegiate summer leagues in the nation. Boasting 10 teams with over 300 active collegiate baseball players from all over the country who come to the South Florida area every summer to participate and develop their skills on and off the field. The South Florida Collegiate Baseball League is continuing to build a strong competitive baseball environment for players by placing emphasis on recruiting some of the best talent season after season.

In the 2015 MLB Draft, there were 20 SFCBL players drafted overall, 4 of which were in the top 10 rounds. The first being outfielder Donnie Dewees of the Boca Raton Blazers from the University of North Florida who was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2nd round (47th overall). This past spring he went on to lead all NCAA Division 1 baseball in hits (106), runs scored (88), slugging percentage (.749) and total bases (188). He also hit .422 which was second highest in all of NCAA D1. Donnie was also a semi finalist in the prestigious Golden Spikes Award which is given to the top amateur baseball player in the country. Notable players who have won this award have been Bryce Harper, Stephen Stroudsburg and Buster Posey. In his first minor league season DeWees started out in Low A Eugene and hit .266 with 75 hits in 282 at bats. He also had 14 doubles, 5 HR’s and 30 RBI’s. This Spring Training, Donnie was moved up for a game at the MLB level and laced a line drive into right field in his first ever at bat facing an MLB pitcher. Donnie is starting the season out hot as he is hitting .440 in 25 at bats with 3 triples and 2 doubles for South Bend in the Midwest League (A).

The next player to be drafted was pitcher Chase Ingram of the Delray Beach Lightning from Hillsborough C.C. by the New York Mets in the 6th round. The Pittsburg University commit put up outstanding numbers this past spring he threw 100.1 innings with a 1.88 ERA, 120 strikeouts and boasted an 11-1 record. Last summer for the Delray Beach Lightning, Chase posted a 1.74 ERA in 10.1 innings of work and struck out 14 batters. In his first season of pro ball Chase had 27 K’s in 20 innings of work and had a 3.60 ERA. This season he is in Columbia (A) and has thrown 10 innings with 15 K’s and a 1.80 ERA.

Florida State University catcher Danny de la Calle was the next SFCBL player to be taken in the 2015 MLB Draft as the Tampa Bay Rays selected him in the 9th round. This past season at Florida State Danny hit .251 with 8 HR’s, 15 doubles and 35 RBI’s. Danny was a member of the Florida Pokers and an SFCBL All-Star.

A pitcher from the Pompano Beach Clippers would be the next South Florida Collegiate Baseball League player to be drafted. Sarkis Ohanian from Duke University was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 9th round. The hard throwing righty was 4-1 with a 1.97 ERA and struck out 62 batters in 45.2 innings this spring at Duke. While playing for Billings (RK) he threw 37.1 innings striking out 54 batters and had a 4.10 ERA.

“I am beyond proud of what our league players have accomplished and as a whole we wish them the best of luck in their professional careers”, said Vince Farfaglia, President of the SFCBL. “We have come a long way in a very short time period to be able to provide a highly competitive baseball outlet right here in Palm Beach and North Broward County. I am thankful that we have been able to provide this to all of our league players and honored that we were able to watch these 20 players develop over the years into professional ball players.”

Here is the full list of South Florida Collegiate Baseball League players selected in 2015 MLB Draft:

-Donnie Dewees-2nd round-University of North Florida

-Chase Ingram-6th round-Hillsborough C.C.

-Danny de la Calle- 9th round-Florida State University

-Sarkis Ohanian-9th round-Duke University

-Danny Dopico-11th round-Florida International University

-Jason Morozowski-13th round-Mount Olive College (NC)

-Cedric Mullins-13th round-Campbell University (NC)

-Christian Williams-16th round-Gulf Coast C.C.

-Nick Vespi-18th round-Palm Beach State

-Mike Pierson-21st round-Appalachian State

-Ronnie Glenn-22nd round-University of Pennsylvania

-Alex Perez-23rd round-Virginia Tech

-Kirvin Moesquit-24th round-University of Miami

-Steven Dezzi-25th round-University of Tampa

-Alex Fernandez Jr.-25th round-Nova Southeastern University

-Shane McClanahan-26th round-University of South Florida

-Marcus Crescentini-26th round-Missouri Baptist

-Dalton DiNatale-32nd round- Arizona State University

-Josh James- 34th round- Western Oklahoma State

-Austin Glorius- Free Agent- Valdosta State University

While being able to find some early success as a young summer league the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League is still continuing to grow and build on this foundation. It is this drive and commitment for competitive greatness shared by the owners, coaches and players past and present that continues to drive this league to the top of its class. We are excited to see what the future holds for new players coming into the South Florida Collegiate League as well its alumni in 2016 MLB Draft as we continue to follow them through their careers with their respective major league organizations.

About the South Florida Collegiate Baseball League: The 10 team South Florida Collegiate Baseball League is a wood bat summer collegiate baseball league based in the heart of South Florida which gives amateur players an opportunity to showcase themselves in hopes of reaching the professional ranks. Players have an opportunity to develop their skills at a high level of play and be evaluated by scouts. Teams play a 40 game regular season schedule with games beginning in June and ending in the last week in July. All games are 9 innings, with most doubleheaders scheduled on the weekends. The All-Star game is played in early July, and the League Championship Series concludes in the first week of August.