Best FL Juco & CC's

MAKE SURE he goes to the Panahdle Conference!!

PJC --last year's state Champion and GREAT program that is much overlooked
OWCC -- FANTASTIC program that recruits LOADS of players looking to go via DNF
Chipola -- Needs NO explaination
GCCC -- Darren Mazoroski, YES, THAT Maz' son is the head coach
North Florida JC --- getting better by the year, but, normally at the bottom
TCC -- home of last year's National JUCO player of the year, A.J. Johnson, 7 players signed pro contracts after last season !!

NO better competition of JUCO in America unless you are in Tx. or Calif.

Get there, this conference is year in and year out the BEST not only in Florida, but, also in America !!

Tough competition breeds tougher competition, come to Florida's Panhandle Conference!!!

I'll throw in Indian River CC..great staff and tradition in a tough conference.

http://www.ircc.edu/portal/layout_web1.aspx?PortalPageID=341

Good Luck!

There are some great junior college programs in Florida - no question about it.

But I may be missing something here. Your son has a 3.8 GPA, so why are you wanting him to go to junior college? Are his SATs bad? Is he at a bad school where he overachieved academically? I just wouldn't be going right to the junior collge route with that type of grades.

But if you are going to the juco route with those grades I would have to consider Lake-Sumter Community College as they are the top academic juco in the state. Like all the schools in this state they play a great schedule in front of pro scouts and college recruiters.

The information that Baseball1 gave you is also highly accurate. Some other high academic juco schools not on the above lists are FCCJ (Jacksonville), Miami Dade, and Central Florida. I'm sure I left off some on the list.

Please feel free to PM me with questions on schools or Baseball1 as I know he is very familar with many jucos as well.

I believe the Panhandle Conference is the most competitive in the state (and it's extrememly well placed geographically for the players to be seen by programs throughout the SE), but that doesn't mean all of them will be terribly good academically. However, as JuCo's will cover the basic required courses, that may not be a major issue for your son. I know a number of bright students who went JuCo for PT and/or cost issues.

There are a few JuCo's in the state where baseball is so (hmmmm....no right word here) "emphasized" that steroids are tacitly encouraged. Ask questions before your son decides.

Thanks for the input. I take it from your comments that the jucos are second tier academically. That was one reason I asked if any the FL jucos are highly regarded academically or we talking about BB factories here (I'll look into Lake-Sumter CC).

Good info on the conferences. I was at the juco allstar game and saw some of what you were talking about.

Also, I would like to learn more about the coaches of each school, so how would you rate them? Which of them take pride in placing a large number of their players into D1 BB programs (a good example of this is the Young Harris coach in GA)?

Thanks again and Happy New Year.

I want to revisit this topic. I see that the Gulf Coast coach has retired. Is that going to throw the program back?

I would like some opinions on the coaches at the FL Jucos and CC's. We are now more sensitive to this than ever since my sons HS coach has got so many personal issues (that carry over to the team) that we are likely going to change schools. We would like someone who is hard working, honest and cares about his players.

Thanks for any comments.

Indian River
Saint Pete Jc
Lake City
With either one you can not go wrong.

Lake City has 9 drafted players which means lots of scouts are going to see your son.

Also, if your son is good enough to play professional baseball he will at least have an associate degree, unlike 3 years at 4 year school.

If you'd like some additional info on Lake City call me 414.732.0046, ask for Steve.