Although much of pitcher Billy McKay’s work has come as a reliever, Plant City High School head coach Mike Fryrear called him a “co-ace” not long ago. Now the incoming senior has made a good enough impression to earn a scholarship to the University of Florida.
With his June 30 verbal commitment, McKay became the first Raiders pitcher to get an offer from the Gators baseball team. The offer came while McKay and teammates were playing a few games of summer ball, after Fryrear encouraged Florida staffers to come take a look for themselves.
“I called the coaching staff, and they came out to watch Billy pitch,” Fryrear says. “They offered him on the spot at the third game.”
In 17 appearances for the Raiders this past season, McKay posted a 1.14 ERA over 61.1 innings pitched. The righty led the team with 69 strikeouts, including 10 in the team’s Feb. 20 win over Tampa Bay Tech, and gave up just two hits and no earned runs over the course of the 7A-District 7 tournament in mid-April.
The Florida Gators just finished the second-best regular season in the program’s 103-year history, with a 52-18 record, and finished one postseason win shy of facing Vanderbilt for its third-ever College World Series national championship appearance. Four of the team’s nine total appearances (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015) have come with current skipper Kevin O’Sullivan.
McKay appears to be in position to lead the Raiders’ pitching staff, which will retain fixtures Ryan Boyd and Jarrett Joyner, in the 2015-16 season.
Also happening for the Raiders this summer is the emergence of Joyner and incoming junior Dalton Wingo in the recruiting scene. Fryrear says that Joyner, who will be a senior in the fall, is getting looks from junior colleges and NCAA Division I and II schools, such as Hillsborough Community College and Ave Maria University, and is likely to make a commitment by the end of summer. Wingo, a middle infielder, is mainly drawing interest from the University of Central Florida.
For all Plant City High students involved in the baseball program, Mike Fryrear says that the first day of weight training and conditioning will be Monday, August 3. All athletic packets, which can be picked up at the school gymnasium, must be turned in to Fryrear by that date.
OTHER SCHOOLS
At Strawberry Crest High, two players — pitchers Mark Moclair and Brandon Harris — had college commitments going into this summer. Moclair, the Chargers’ ace of the last two seasons, will play for the University of Tampa in the fall; Harris, who committed to the University of North Carolina-Asheville during the school year, has not changed his commitment for 2016.
Also making waves this summer are Colin Allman, Logan Fernandez and Alex Kachler. Kachler, along with Matt Trzeciak, are looking to go Ivy League: both are IB students with grade point averages in the 6.0 neighborhood. Allman has offers from UNC-Asheville and Florida Southern College but has not made a commitment.
The versatile Jonah Scolaro, one of Durant High’s top dogs, is being looked at by Florida State University, UCF and UT. Scolaro, an incoming junior, is a former Plant City Times & Observer Athlete of the Week, who led the team with 105 plate appearances and a .343 batting average, as well as nine doubles.
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.