E.J. Cumbo Headlines Sunshine State Conference Awards as Two-Time Player of the Year
MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Sunshine State Conference presents its 2024 baseball postseason awards. Tampa collects 13 accolades, including Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, after winning the 2024 conference championship. Thirty-seven student-athletes earn recognition across the league's First, Second, and All-Defensive Teams. Voting for the All-SSC baseball awards is conducted among the league's head baseball coaches.
SSC Baseball All-Conference History: All-SSC Teams | Players & Coaches of the Year
E.J. Cumbo from Tampa becomes the first baseball athlete in SSC history to win Player of the Year twice. The senior outfielder ranks Top-3 in league batting average (.390), slugging percentage (.615), OPS (1.062), hits (73), RBI (54), and home runs (9). Cumbo also eclipsed the NCAA Division II career hits record this season, following his 367th hit on May 4th. The East Meadow, New York product remains the eighth Spartan to win Player of the Year honors1. The Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year award is presented by College Ave Student Loans.
Skylar Gonzalez collects Pitcher of the Year accolades following a 13-0 record on the hill for Tampa. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida senior recorded a league-leading 2.24 earned run average across his 16 appearances and 84.1 innings pitched. Gonzalez struck out 60 batters, registered a WHIP of 1.02, and held opposing hitters to a .228 batting average. Gonzalez is the second consecutive Spartan to be named SSC Pitcher of the Year and the 13th overall2.
Eckerd's Alex Brazer is selected Freshman of the Year by league coaches. The infielder from Ruskin, Florida, saw action in 38 games this season, earning 37 starts. Brazer tallied a .311/.397/.444 slash line following 42 hits, 12 extra-base hits, 22 runs scored, and 27 runs batted in. He is the third Eckerd player named SSC Freshman of the Year and the first since 20173.
SSC baseball coaches vote Joe Urso as Coach of the Year for the 14th time in his career4. Urso guided the Spartans to the program's fourth consecutive SSC championship and 23rd overall league trophy, following a 43-7 overall record and 24-6 conference mark. Across 30 league games in 2024, the Tampa offense finished first in 10 statistical categories, including batting average (.301), slugging percentage (.475), and on-base percentage (.426). Spartan pitching led the SSC in various statistical categories, including ERA (3.52), BAA (.252), and WHIP (1.276).
Cumbo highlights the repeat All-SSC winners for 2024. The two-time Player of the Year makes history again by becoming the first SSC baseball athlete to be named First Team All-SSC four times. Alex Canney, the 2023 SSC Pitcher of the Year, repeats as First Team All-SSC from last year, while Rollins' Nick Berger and Saint Leo's Nick Jennings make the climb from Second Team to First Team in 2024. Altogether, eight baseball athletes repeat as All-SSC in 2024.
Player of the Year: E.J. Cumbo, Tampa
Pitcher of the Year: Skylar Gonzalez, Tampa
Freshman of the Year: Alex Brazer, Eckerd
Coach of the Year: Joe Urso, Tampa
2024 All-SSC Baseball First Team |
||||
| 1B | Callan Moss | Saint Leo | Jr. | Brooklyn, New York |
| 2B | Chase Bruno | Embry-Riddle | Sr. | Summerville, South Carolina |
| 3B | Cole Fowler | Lynn | Jr. | Mantua, New Jersey |
| SS | Camden Traficante | Embry-Riddle | Jr. | Ormond Beach, Florida |
| C | Santiago Garavito | Tampa | Jr. | Plantation, Florida |
| UT | Mikey Scott | Saint Leo | Jr. | Cutler Bay, Florida |
| DH | J.P. Gates | Tampa | Sr. | Brooksville, Florida |
| OF | E.J. Cumbo*†‡! | Tampa | Sr. | East Meadow, New York |
| OF | Leon Paulino | Lynn | Jr. | Lawrence, Massachusetts |
| OF | Mike Valdez | Tampa | Sr. | Miami, Florida |
| OF | Justin Wachs | Nova Southeastern | Jr. | Pembroke Pines, Florida |
| SP | Skylar Gonzalez | Tampa | Sr. | Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
| SP | Luke Lashutka | Saint Leo | Gr. | Fairview Park, Ohio |
| SP | Alex Canney*$ | Tampa | Jr. | Valrico, Florida |
| SP | Nick Berger^ | Rollins | Jr. | Winter Park, Florida |
| RP | Nick Jennings^ | Saint Leo | Gr. | Land O' Lakes, Florida |
2024 All-SSC Baseball Second Team |
||||
| 1B | Boris Peña | Nova Southeastern | Gr. | Miami, Florida |
| 2B | Freddy Rodriguez | Barry | So. | Wellington, Florida |
| 3B | Anthony Nunez# | Tampa | Jr. | Hialeah, Florida |
| SS | Jose Perez | Rollins | Jr. | Kissimmee, Florida |
| C | Josh Davis | Saint Leo | Sr. | Bothell, Washington |
| UT | Tyler Cox~ | Eckerd | Sr. | Winfield, West Virginia |
| DH | Reid Lisle | Eckerd | Jr. | Apopka, Florida |
| OF | Chris Sparber | Rollins | Jr. | Lincroft, New Jersey |
| OF | Shawn Dougherty | Lynn | Sr. | Mickleton, New Jersey |
| OF | Kevin Noriega^ | Barry | Sr. | Caracas, Venezuela |
| OF | Dylan Mass | Saint Leo | So. | Franklin, Wisconsin |
| SP | Jake Stipp | Tampa | Sr. | Danville, Illinois |
| SP | Dillon Moran | Embry-Riddle | So. | Stuart, Florida |
| SP | Ryan Furey | Rollins | So. | Gotha, Florida |
| SP | Angel Cespedes | Barry | Sr. | Passaic, New Jersey |
| RP | Andrew Carson | Tampa | Sr. | Rochester, Michigan |
2024 SSC Baseball All-Defensive Team |
||||
| 1B | Callan Moss | Saint Leo | Jr. | Brooklyn, New York |
| 2B | Chase Bruno | Embry-Riddle | Sr. | Summerville, South Carolina |
| 3B | Rohsean Riley* | Florida Southern | Sr. | Winter Haven, Florida |
| SS | Jason Blackstone | Florida Tech | Jr. | Indialantic, Florida |
| C | Jorge Braceras | Nova Southeastern | Sr. | Miami, Florida |
| OF | El'Rico Riley | Florida Southern | Sr. | Atlanta, Georgia |
| OF | Shawn Dougherty | Lynn | Sr. | Mickleton, New Jersey |
| OF | Alex Britton | Embry-Riddle | Sr. | Orlando, Florida |
| P | Skylar Gonzalez | Tampa | Sr. | Fort Lauderdale, Florida |
= 2023 First Team All-SSC
^ = 2023 Second Team All-SSC
~ = 2023 All-SSC Honorable Mention
† = 2022 First Team All-SSC
‡ = 2021 First Team All-SSC
# = Former SSC All-Defensive Team
! = Former SSC Player of the Year
$ = Former SSC Pitcher of the Year
1 Previous Tampa Player of the Year winners: Brian Zaletel (1992), Rodd Kelley (1993), Ronnie Merrill (2000), Tom Carrow (2001), Lee Cruz (2006), Mike Schwartz (2010), Yorvis Torrealba (2019), EJ Cumbo (2023)
2 Previous Tampa Pitcher of the Year Winners: Ricky Burton (1996), Mike Valdes (1998), Charlie Manning (2001), Eric Beattie (2003), Sergio Perez (2006), Kevin Ferguson (2007), Sean Bierman (2012), Mike Adams (2013), Preston Packrall (2014), David Lebron (2017-18), Jordan Leasure (2021), Alex Canney (2023)
3 Previous Eckerd Freshman of the Year Winners: Mitchel Calandra (2016); Sam Cochrane (2017)
4 Previous Tampa Coach of the Year Winners: Ken Dominguez (1987), Lelo Prada (1989 & 1993), Terry Rupp (1997 & 2000), Joe Urso (2002-03, 2006-08, 2010, 2012-14, 2016-18, 2021)