Tournament of Champions - Preview
March 15, 2019
JACKSONVILLE, FL - The 12 annual Tournament of Champions is set to begin this weekend at Trinity Christian Academy and Providence School. The event is a round-robin setting featuring six of the top teams across the state of Florida.
WHO: #5 Trinity Christian Academy, #8 Venice, #11 Providence, #19 North Florida Christian, #20 Stoneman Douglas, Trinity Catholic
WHAT: Tournament of Champions
WHERE: Trinity Christian Academy and Providence School in Jacksonville, FL
WHEN: Friday, March 15th and Saturday, March 16th
Schedule:
| Friday, March 15th | ||||
| Location | Time | Home | Visitor | |
| Trinity Chrisitan | 4:00 PM | Trinity Christian | vs. | Trinity Catholic |
| Providence | 4:00 PM | Providence | vs. | North Florida Christian |
| Trinity Christian | 7:00 PM | Trinity Christian | vs. | Stoneman Douglas |
| Providence | 7:00 PM | Providence | vs. | Venice |
| Saturday, March 16th | ||||
| Location | Time | Home | Visitor | |
| Providence | 10:00 AM | Trinity Catholic | vs. | North Florida Christian |
| Trinity Christian | 11:30 AM | Venice | vs. | Stoneman Douglas |
| Providence | 1:00 PM | Providence | vs. | Trinity Catholic |
| Trinity Christian | 2:00 PM | Stoneman Douglas | vs. | North Florida Christian |
| Trinity Christian | 5:00 PM | Trinity Christian | vs. | Venice |
Team Previews
No. 5 Trinity Christian Academy (8-0)
The Conquerors have enjoyed a perfect start to the season, winning the first eight games of the season. They begin the season by traveling up to LaGrange, GA to participate in the 2019 LaGrange Toyota Invitational. Coach Gil Morales’ and tournament MVP Dylan Simmons (Florida State recruit) rattled off four straight wins against stiff competition en route to winning the invitational (South Forsyth, Niceville, LaGrange, and Brookwood). The hot streak continued on the return trip as they have still not lost a game. Trinity has a real chance to run the table with a lineup that has little-to-no holes in itTop Players
| Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Commitment |
| Bryan Muniz | FL | Trinity Christian | 2020 | SS | Miami |
| Tyson Tucker | FL | Trinity Christian | 2019 | OF/P | |
| Dylan Simmons | FL | Trinity Christian | 2019 | 1B/P | Florida State |
| Austin Thomas | FL | Trinity Christian | 2019 | RHP/C | Miami |
| Conner Aldrich | FL | Trinity Christian | 2019 | 2B | College of Charleston |
| Justin Parish | FL | Trinity Christian | 2019 | P | North Florida |
| Dawson Fietsam | FL | Trinity Christian | 2020 | P | East Florida State |
| Jared Donald | FL | Trinity Christian | 2019 | OF | Stratton College |
| Matt Crump | FL | Trinity Christian | 2019 | 3B | |
| Ethan Dage | FL | Trinity Christian | 2019 | OF | East Florida State |
| Kishon Frett | FL | Trinity Christian | 2020 | INF/C |
No. 8 Venice (4-1)
Venice makes the trip up to Jacksonville coming off their first loss of the season. Despite the loss, Venice pitching staff and defense and been superb, limiting their opponents to only 1.6 runs scored per game. Although their own offense is only averaging 3.2 runs per game. This weekend will be a good test for one of the most talent laden rosters in Florida.Top Players
| Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Commitment |
| Kevin Dubrule | FL | Venice | 2019 | SS | Army |
| Mac Guscette | FL | Venice | 2020 | C | Florida |
| Mike Robertson | FL | Venice | 2021 | OF | Florida |
| Clayton Callan | FL | Venice | 2019 | RHP | FGCU |
| Orion Kerkering | FL | Venice | 2019 | RHP | USF |
| Danny Rodriguez | FL | Venice | 2019 | RHP/OF | FGCU |
No. 11 Providence (6-1)
Providence could very well be undefeated currently if it were not for a 1-0 loss to Brookwood (GA) in the 2019 LaGrange Toyota Invitational. At the event, the Stallions took down some of the top teams in GA and AL: Mobile Christian (AL), Buford (GA), and South Forsyth (GA). Providence returned from the trip and have since taken care of business in the three games. The Stallions will boast one of the most dangerous top of the orders in the entire state with Tyler Callihan (South Carolina recruit), Nathan Hickey (Florida recruit) and Tuck Talbott (Florida recruit).Top Players
| Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Commitment |
| Tyler Callihan | FL | Providence | 2019 | INF/RHP | South Carolina |
| Nathan Hickey | FL | Providence | 2019 | C/INF | Florida |
| Tucker Talbott | FL | Providence | 2019 | RHP/OF/3B | Florida |
| Josh Gray | FL | Providence | 2019 | 1B/OF | Tallahassee CC |
| Miller Murdaugh | FL | Providence | 2019 | RHP | Trinity Baptist |
No. 19 North Florida Christian (5-1)
Coach Mike Posey and the Eagles are riding a four game win streak into Jacksonville and are currently outscoring opponents 45-1 over the current streak, and 60-5 on the season. Id the offense and pitching keep churning out results like that, North Florida Christian could come away from three ranked matchups undefeated. The pitching staff certainly has the depth and star power to do so, the question is will the bats be able to hang with the elite level pitching?Top Players
| Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Commitment |
| Brandon Walker | FL | NFC | 2019 | RHP | Florida State |
| Major Posey | FL | NFC | 2019 | RHP | USF |
| JD Tease | FL | NFC | 2019 | INF/RHP | Florida State |
| Josiah Miller | FL | NFC | 2019 | INF | Florida State |
| Carson Neal | FL | NFC | 2019 | C/RHP | Valdosta State |
| Jacob Granger | FL | NFC | 2019 | INF | Tallahassee CC |
No. 20 Stoneman Douglas (4-1)
Douglas make the trip up from southern Florida on a two game win streak, with back-to-back shutout wins after suffering a shutout loss to Calvary Christian (Ft. Lauderdale). The Eagles might have the deepest roster out of any team at the Tourmanet of Champions. They have options galore throughout the entire diamond and on the mound.Top Players
| Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Commitment |
| Kevin Heinrich | FL | Stoneman Douglas | 2019 | RHP | Arkansas |
| Hunter Fitz-Gerald | FL | Stoneman Douglas | 2019 | 3B/1B | Florida Southern |
| Andrew Jenner | FL | Stoneman Douglas | 2019 | 1B/OF | Winthrop |
| Luke Schiltz | FL | Stoneman Douglas | 2019 | RHP | Florida SouthWestern |
| Gabe Cabrera | FL | Stoneman Douglas | 2019 | OF | UCF |
| Kyle Yeoward | FL | Stoneman Douglas | 2019 | RHP | Stetson |
| Coby Mayo | FL | Stoneman Douglas | 2020 | SS/3B | UCF |
| Colin Flynn | FL | Stoneman Douglas | 2020 | C | UCF |
| Carter Brady | FL | Stoneman Douglas | 2020 | OF | Charleston Southern |
Trinity Catholic (0-3-1)
The Celtics have got off to a slow start, being plagued by early season injuries. They have yet to field a full lineup in their first four games. Tyler Owens (Florida recruit) and Bryce Boone (Florida State recruit) will lead the Celtics. Owens will give the Celtics a chance against anyone with his mid-90s fastball.Top Players
| Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Commitment |
| Tyler Ownes | FL | Trinity Catholic | 2019 | RHP | Florida |
| Bryce Boone | FL | Trinity Catholic | 2019 | C | Florida State |
| Hayden Muecke | FL | Trinity Catholic | 2019 | RHP | Air Force |
| Deric Fabian | FL | Trinity Catholic | 2021 | SS | Florida |