Former Cardinal Gibbons star who was bypassed in MLB Draft will pitch for Florida Gators

There was very nearly another Manning quarterback.

Cardinal Gibbons senior Timmy Manning — no relation to ex-NFL stars Peyton and Eli Manning — said he was a “pretty good” quarterback as a high school freshman.

Manning led the Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons junior varsity to an 8-0 record, but found his path to football superstardom blocked by Nik Scalzo, a first-team All-State passer who is now approaching his redshirt freshman season at the University of Kentucky. Scalzo threw 74 touchdowns passes at Cardinal Gibbons, leading his school to a 32-6 record in three years.

“I might have stuck with football if not for Nik,” Manning said. “But I can have a longer and healthier career in baseball.”

Manning seems to have made the right choice in sports. He went 4-0 with a 1.17 ERA at Cardinal Gibbons this past season, striking out 38 batters and walking only seven in 24 innings. For his career, he went 20-14 with a 2.53 ERA, eight complete games, five shutouts and four saves.

But after going undrafted by Major League Baseball earlier this month, Manning is now set to play for the Florida Gators while pursuing a degree in sports management.

“I told Timmy that millions of kids would love to be in his shoes,” Chiefs baseball coach Jason Hamilton said. “He has a scholarship to play baseball at Florida while pursuing a degree.

“His comment to me after the draft was: ‘I’m ready to go tear up the SEC.’”

Before that can happen, however, the Gators — who were ranked No. 1 in the nation when the 2020 season was stopped by the coronavirus pandemic — will look to hone Manning’s gifts, which includes a lethal curve that already has major-league average or better spin rate.

“I don’t try to slow my arm down when I throw the curve,” said Manning, whose goals beyond his playing days involve becoming a baseball scout, general manager or agent. “If anything, I try to throw it harder.”

Manning’s fastball is not overpowering — 89 to 92 mph — but Hamilton said it’s an underrated pitch.

“His two-seamer and changeup are very good,” Hamilton said. “But when he gets in a tight spot, he throws his curve.

“I haven’t seen a lefty curve like his maybe ever. He throws it so hard, it’s devastating. It’s hard for high school kids to practice hitting that pitch.”

Hamilton said Manning should get even better as he continues to fill out his 6-2, 190-pound frame.

There has already been progress made in that area as Manning has gained 40 pounds since entering high school, and he has never missed a start due to injury.

“I’ve learned about proper mechanics and arm care,” Manning said of his ability to remain injury-free.

Hamilton said Manning put on 15 to 20 pounds of “good weight” within the past year alone. In fact, there were many times during that span that Manning would practice with the Cardinal Gibbons team and then go directly to the gym for weight training.

“I never really took pride in working out until about eight months ago when I started training at Cressey Sports Performance,” Manning said. “Since then, I’ve seen results.”

Those results included a 16-strikeout no-hitter in his first start of the 2020 season. In his second start, he had a perfect game entering the seventh inning.

Those performances filled Manning with confidence, and he voiced his self-belief by saying he has the best stuff of any pitcher in the Class of 2020, including the players who were drafted.

“It may sound cocky,” Manning said of his proclamation. “But it’s me being confident.”

This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 2:02 PM.