Gio Rojas of Douglas baseball makes history. Major prep event returns to Miami. New college coach
Gio Rojas of Stoneman Douglas High School is the Florida Dairy Farmers 2026 Mr. Baseball, following a final round of voting by a statewide panel of high school baseball coaches and media representatives.
Rojas, who led his team to a 28-6 record and the Class 7A state title in his senior season, is the first repeat winner in the 34-year history of the Mr. Baseball award, and it marked the fourth time in the past five years a Stoneman Douglas player has won the honor (2022 Roman Anthony, Stoneman Douglas; 2023 Christian Rodriguez, Stoneman Douglas).
A 2026 Miami Herald All-Broward 7A-5A Pitcher of the Year, Rojas finished the season with an 11-1 record, an 0.58 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 73 innings pitched, with only 17 walks. He also had a .312 batting average with five home runs and 25 runs batted in. Over the past two years he had a combined record of 24-1 with an 0.77 ERA and 244 strikeouts in 141 innings pitched with 33 walks.
Rojas has signed to play baseball with the University of Miami.
Previously selected the Class 7A Player of the Year, Rojas tallied 152 points and garnered 10 of the 21 first-place votes in winning this year’s award. Finishing as runner-up with 130 points and nine first-place votes was Class 3A POY Coleman Borthwick of South Walton, while Class 1A POY Brayden Harris of St. Johns Country Day was third (69).
Rounding out the voting were Class 2A POY Tavis Honeycutt of Newberry (43), Class 6A POY Nick Sabatino of St. Thomas Aquinas (31), Class 5A POY Ryan Harless of Mosley (17), Class 4A POY Samir Mohammed of Tampa Jesuit (10), and Rural Class POY Jeffrey Brugh of Union County (10).
State baseball coach of the year
Nick Borthwick of South Walton High School is the Florida Dairy Farmers 2026 Baseball Coach of the Year, following a final round of voting by a statewide panel of high school baseball coaches and media representatives.
Borthwick led his team to a 30-4 record this season and won the Class 3A state title, the first state championship in school history.
In 16 years at South Walton he has a 213-86 record, including a 106-23 mark the past four years with state runner-up finishes in 2024 and 2025.
Previously selected as the Class 3A COY, Borthwick won the overall award with seven first-place votes and 128 points, followed by Class 7A COY Todd Fitz-gerald of Stoneman Douglas with seven first-place votes and 109 points.
Class 6A COY Joe Wardlow of St. Thomas Aquinas finished third (49), followed in the voting by Class 2A COY Jon Murphy of Trinity Christian (46), Class 5A COY Mike Gauger of Tallahassee Lincoln and Class 4A COY Miguel Menendez of Tampa Jesuit (43), Rural Class COY Jiwan James of Union County (34) and Class 1A COY Tom Lucas of St. Johns Country Day (5).
The Florida Dairy Farmers Sports Awards program exemplifies Florida Dairy Farmers’ commitment to the state’s youth. This is the 34th year of these unique awards honoring 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.
More baseball
The Prep Baseball All-American Game returns to loanDepot Park, home of the MLB Miami Marlins, for its fourth annual edition and third consecutive year in Miami.
The game is Saturday, Sept. 19, and the workout day is Friday, Sept. 18.
The choice to return to Miami for the All-American Game highlights its status as the premier event in amateur baseball and builds on the success established from its first three years ... with the past two hosted at loanDepot Park.
“Our goal is to create the ultimate big-league experience for these high-level players, so I’m thrilled to be back in Miami because the loanDepot staff have gone out of their way to roll out the red carpet for the players,” said Sean Duncan, president of Prep Baseball, via a press release. “I love the differentiated aspect of our All-American Game, pitting the top junior draft prospects against the best current draft prospects. I think it stokes the competitive spirits of the players, and ultimately, scouts and fans can watch the best high school players in the country get after it in a more meaningful way.
“This is a one-of-a-kind marquee event, not only for the players involved, but for the scouting community, fans and enthusiasts, who get to see the next wave of future stars on display.”
A key factor in elevating the All-American Game has been Mizuno, which returns as a signature partner for the 2026 event. Mizuno has outfitted players with custom uniforms, gloves, and additional gear, ensuring that every participant receives a locker full of world-class materials.
“The gear Mizuno provides is second to none – not just in the sheer volume they supplied to the players in attendance, but in quality,” Duncan said. “They’ve been a crucial part of this event’s success since day one, and we’re thrilled to see how they continue to elevate the All-American Game in 2026.”
Friday’s workout will also be at loanDepot Park, where players will compete in a home run derby and other baseball activities.
Continuing the momentum from previous editions, this year’s All-American Game will once again showcase the top talent in the country. Featuring elite seniors (Class of 2027) and juniors (Class of 2028), the game promises to highlight the best of the best. Both classes will face off in what is sure to be an exciting and competitive match-up.
The Class of 2027 will look to do what last year’s ‘26s did to them in Miami and that’s capture the victory now that it’s their turn to take the diamond as the now-seniors. They’ll take on an ambitious Class of 2028 group eager to announce themselves on the biggest stage in high school baseball.
“The All-American Game is a proving ground for the best high school players in the country,” said Shooter Hunt, vice president of scouting at Prep Baseball, also via a press release. “Each year, we see future first-rounders, eventual college stars, and ascending underclassmen battle head to head in one of the most competitive environments you’ll find at the amateur level. After the first three years, this event has hosted a staggering number of impact ballplayers who are already making their mark in pro ball or are about to, following July’s MLB Draft.”
Prep Baseball alum includes Rojas
Alumni Who Have Made Their MarkIn just three years, the Prep Baseball All-American Game has featured many eventual first-round MLB Draft picks, including four of the top-10 selections:
Ethan Holliday – Colorado Rockies, Round 1 (Pick 4) Seth Hernandez – Pittsburgh Pirates, Round 1 (Pick 6) Jojo Parker – Toronto Blue Jays, Round 1 (Pick 8) Billy Carlson – Chicago White Sox, Round 1 (Pick 10) Kayson Cunningham – Arizona Diamondbacks, Round 1 (Pick 18) Xavier Neyens – Houston Astros, Round 1 (Pick 21) Josh Hammond – Kansas City Royals, Round 1 (Pick 28) Brady Ebel – Milwaukee Brewers, Round 1 (Pick 32) Jaden Fauske – Chicago White Sox, Round 2 (Pick 44) Angel Cervantes – Pittsburgh Pirates, Round 2 (Pick 50; did not sign) Johnny Slawinski III – Los Angeles Angels, Round 3 (Pick 79) Landon Harmon – Washington Nationals, Round 3 (Pick 80) Briggs McKenzie – Atlanta Braves, Round 4 (Pick 127) Plus four other Day Two picks
The inaugural 2023 All-American Game in Milwaukee saw eight players eventually selected in the 2024 MLB Draft, including:
Cameron Caminiti – Atlanta Braves, Round 1 (Pick 24) JD Dix – Arizona Diamondbacks, Round CB-A (Pick 35) Carter Johnson – Miami Marlins, Round 2 (Pick 56) Ryan Sloan – Seattle Mariners, Round 2 (Pick 55) Griffin Burkholder – Philadelphia Phillies, Round 2 (Pick 63) Tyler Bell – Tampa Bay Rays, Round 2 (Pick 66; did not sign) Dasan Hill – Minnesota Twins, Round CB-B (Pick 69) Kale Fountain – San Diego Padres, Round 5 (Pick 151)
The 2025 Prep Baseball All-American Game featured many of the nation’s highest-ranked players in the ‘26 class. Names like SS Jacob Lombard (Prep Baseball Draft HQ, No. 3 overall prospect), LHP Carson Bolemon (No. 6), LHP Gio Rojas (No. 8), OF Eric Booth Jr. (No. 9), RHP/3B Coleman Borthwick (No. 16), RHP/INF Cole Koeninger (No. 21), C Sean Dunlap (No. 22), OF/LHP Jared Grindlinger (No. 23), and OF Trevor Condon (No. 26) among several others with first-round aspirations, so we’ll add to the list of AAG players in the pros shortly.
About Prep Baseball
Prep Baseball operates with the largest scouting infrastructure in North America, employing more than 160 scouts across America and Canada. Each year, the organization stages more than 1,600 showcases and tournaments, including the Super 60 Pro Showcase (the No. 1 preseason draft event) and the Prep Baseball Report Future Games (the No. 1 college scouting event).
College coach from Cooper City
Cooper City High School alum Brett Marks is Penn College’s new head baseball coach.
“Brett rose to the top of a very strong candidate pool,” Penn College Director of Athletics Scott Kennell said. “We’re excited for him to join our coaching staff, and we believe the future of the baseball program is in very good hands.”
Penn is an NCAA Division III program, based in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Marks spent the 2026 season as an assistant coach at Penn State Abington and helped guide the Nittany Lions to a 32-13 record and a United East playoff berth.
Prior to last season, Marks was the head coach from 2022-25 at Cairn University, where he compiled a 101-70 record and led the Highlanders to the postseason each year. He was named the 2024 United East Skye Division Coach of the Year and mentored 24 all-conference selections, including the Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year, and five all-region selections.
“I am excited for the opportunity to be the next head coach at Penn College,” Marks said. “The program has a great deal of talent returning, and a rich history of success, and I’m thrilled to take the reins and lead this program.”
Marks was a four-year member of the Cairn baseball team as a catcher and earned both his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Master of Business Administration from Cairn. After graduation, he spent three seasons as an assistant coach for the Highlanders.
A native of Cooper City, Marks played baseball for 2015 district champion Cooper City High School. He also played and coached with the Miami Marlins Foundation’s RBI program, helping the team win a MLB RBI World Series in 2015 and 2019.
Marks will assume his new college coaching role on July 13.
Send sports results
If you have spring and summer sports results (with stats) on high school-aged athletes or middle school-aged athletes -- who are from Broward or Miami-Dade counties -- email hssports@miamiherald.com.
They will run in the newspaper and online. Photos accepted, too. No deadline. You will be alerted when it will appear.
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Compiled by Jim Varsallone
jvarsallone@miamiherald.com
