Taravella baseball coach Joe Giummule lands Jupiter job. Plus baseball and volleyball awards
Coach Joe Giummule is stepping down from his position at Taravella High School to become the new baseball coach at Jupiter High School.
Giummule replaces Coach Kyle Young, who after 10 seasons with the Warriors resigned to spend more time with his family.
Giummule has 20-plus years experience coaching high school baseball in South Florida, beginning with Deerfield Beach High School and then starting the program at Coral Glades High School. He later coached at Sebastian River High School, South Broward High School and Pompano Beach High School, before joining Taravella, where he spent the past six seasons.
In 20-plus years, his teams recorded four district championships, four regional finals, one region title and one state Final Four appearance. He coached four players who reached the pro level.
Also during that time, Giummule has amassed 299 career wins, one shy of the 300-win milestone, which will be attainable next season with Jupiter High School.
Giummule, who played baseball at Coconut Creek High School under standout coach Tom Hysell, helped the Cougars reach the state finals in 1994. A 1995 Coconut Creek High School grad, he is a former Miami Herald All-Broward first team third baseman who played in college for Coach Sonny Hansley at Nova Southeastern University in Davie. As a coach, he guided Pompano Beach to the state semifinals in 2017.
This past season Jupiter (21-8) reached a Class 7A region semifinal where it lost to Harmony 10-6. Taravella (15-12) was ousted by West Broward 10-0 in a Class 7A region quarterfinal.
Baseball state honors
The finalists for the state’s Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Baseball and Coach of the Year awards were announced, following balloting by a statewide panel of high school baseball coaches and prep media representatives.
Those who won state classification honors are eligible for the top state award. They include locals:
Devin Fitz-Gerald, Senior, Shortstop, Stoneman Douglas, Class 7A Player of the Year
Helped his squad to the Class 7A state title by hitting .407 with 10 doubles, 5 home runs, 34 runs scored and 26 RBI. Committed to North Carolina State.
Mateo Gray, Senior, Pitcher, North Broward Prep, Class 3A Player of the Year
Helped his team to the Class 3A state championship with an 11-0 record and an 0.83 ERA with 87 strikeouts and 17 walks in 76 innings pitched. Committed to the University of Central Florida.
Todd Fitz-Gerald, Stoneman Douglas, Class 7A Coach of the Year
Led his squad to a 26-5 record and a fourth straight Class 7A state title.
Brian Campbell, North Broward Prep, Class 3A Coach of the Year
Led his team to a 28-3 record and the Class 3A state title, the program’s third title in the past four years.
Jason Hamilton, Cardinal Gibbons, Class 4A Coach of the Year
Led his team to a 25-4-2 record and the Class 4A state title, the school’s first state championship in 37 years.
Of note: Coach Hamilton also played baseball at Coconut Creek High School, like Coach Giummule (mentioned above), for Coach Tom Hysell. A former Miami Herald All-Broward selection at catcher, Hamilton played from 1990-92 for the Cougars.
Softball state honors
The finalists for the state’s Florida Dairy Farmers Miss Softball and Coach of the Year awards were announced, following balloting by a statewide panel of high school softball coaches and prep media representatives..
Those who won state classification honors are eligible for the top state award. They include locals:
Arlette Caravaca, Senior, Outfielder, Western, Class 7A Player of the Year
Helped her team to the state title with a .413 batting average, 11 doubles, 7 home runs, 31 runs scored and 36 runs batted in. Committed to University of Iowa.
John Bradshaw, Western, Class 7A Coach of the Year
Led his squad to a 27-4 record and the state title. In three years at Western, Bradshaw has posted a 62-21 record with a Final Four appearance in 2022.
Boys’ volleyball state awards
Junior outside hitter/setter Jacob Little-Phillips of Winter Park High School is the state’s Florida Dairy Farmers 2024 Mr. Volleyball, and Winter Park’s Jesse Day has been selected the 2024 Boys’ Volleyball Coach of the Year in voting by a panel of Florida high school boys’ volleyball coaches.
Little-Phillips led his team to the state title by recording 833 assists, 82 kills, 43 digs, 45 aces and 34 blocks. He has committed to Stanford University.
Day led Winter Park to a 30-0 record and its second state title in the past three years in dramatic fashion with a five-set win over 2023 champion Southwest Miami, fighting off two match points in the fifth set for a 25-18, 25-18, 20-25, 14-25, 16-14 victory.
The Florida Dairy Farmers Sports Awards program exemplifies Florida Dairy Farmers’ commitment to the state’s youth. This is the 32nd year of these unique awards as we honor the state’s top athletes and coaches in sanctioned FHSAA 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.
Basketball camps
The Miami Heat offers youth basketball camp in Broward and Miami-Dade counties from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. throughout the Summer break.
Jr. HEAT Camps are for boys and girls, ages 7-17, of all abilities and skill levels. Camps focus on improving individual basketball skills and off the court character development. Campers will participate in a variety of competitions, fundamental drills and games.
On the first day of camp, the campers will be split into teams of about 8-10 kids and assigned a coach. They will be on that same team for the entire camp unless they make a trade to make the teams fair. They will play two; full court, 5-on-5 games each day, and will learn various basketball skills. One day out of the week, a current HEAT player or HEAT legend visits the camp, takes photos and signs autographs with the kids. Lunch is included, and the campers will receive giveaways daily.
June 10-14: Pick A Ball Sports Complex, Deerfield Beach.
June 17, 18, 20, 21: Cooper City High School.
June 24-28: Cooper City High School
July 8-12: SLAM Miami High School.
July 8-12: Cooper City High School.
July 15-19: SLAM Miami High School
July 15-19: Cooper City High School
July 22-26: SLAM Miami High School
July 22-26: Cooper City High School
July 29-Aug. 2: SLAM Miami High School
Email Santi Echavarria at SEchavarria@HEAT.com.
Submit summer sports info
If you have summer sports results with local top performers (with stats) for high school or middle school-aged athletes in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, email hssports@miamiherald.com.
They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. Send after the game, the next day or weekly. You will be alerted when it will appear in the newspaper and online.
New athletic directors, coaches
For high schools in Broward and Miami-Dade, if you have new sports administration and/or coaching hires to announce, email hssports@miamiherald.com.
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Roundup compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com
