Alex Rodriguez {Sidney Berthiaume}
By: Matt Rothman
After winning a pair of State Championships with the Marjory Stoneman Douglas baseball team, outfielder Alex Rodriguez is officially committed to playing college baseball at the University of Central Florida, where he will be joining MSD teammate Gavin Gargiulo, who is set to play his first season at MSD before the two head to college.
Rodriguez says it is a dream come true but still knows there is plenty of areas he can improve in and does not want to get complacent.
“It feels great knowing that I am playing college baseball, said Rodriguez. “It feels like a sense of relief knowing that the pressure of trying to get committed is out the way.”
Rodriguez started playing baseball when he was seven in the Pony League. After quickly falling in love with it, he knew it was what he wanted to do when he grew up. Not only has he played two years on the varsity baseball team, where he won a pair of State Championships, he also played for the Florida Pokers with Head Coach Todd Fitz-Gerald.
“He has helped and continues to shape me into the player I am today and has always kept me on the right track, Rodriguez added. “He’s been preparing my teammates and me to play at the next level from day one.”
Rodriguez recently helped the Pokers win the BCS National Championship, where he was named MVP. His team went 9-1-1 in the tournament and had a pair of doubles in the championship game. Rodriguez was also selected for the Futures All-Star Game earlier this summer.
As a sophomore with Coach Fitz-Gerald, Rodriguez scored 30 runs and stole 22 bases helping his team to a record of 30-2 this past season and 58 wins over the past two years.
“He has a great chance to be our starting center fielder this year,” said Coach Fitz-Gerald. “He does many things extremely well and is a key piece for the Florida Pokers and MSD Eagles.
Rodriguez will play two more years on varsity before joining a university that went 35-25 in 2022. The Knights have been to 12 NCAA tournaments, five regular-season championships, and six first-place finishes in the Conference Tournament.
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