Archbishop McCarthy Seniors Set Lofty Goals

In high school baseball, most competitive teams will be fortunate enough to have a star player or two, with a few college-bound players and maybe some promising underclassmen. But things are a little different at Archbishop McCarthy High (Southwest Ranches, Fla.). The Mavericks aren’t a normal high school program.

- Hudson Belinsky

The 2011 national champions began the season ranked as the No. 3 team in the nation, poised for another run at the 6A Florida state championship, which would be McCarthy’s seventh state championship in eight years.

Head coach Rich Bielski has a seasoned group of seniors, led by second-team All American Alex Toral, one of the nation’s top power hitters, and third-team All-American Joe Perez, a two-way talent who offers plus power, a mid-90s fastball and a plus slider. The Mavericks have several players who could go on to play professionally, and they have a total of 13 players committed to play college baseball. That group of seniors has carried the program for several years.

“This senior group is most definitely special,” Bielski said. “Most of them have been on varsity since their sophomore year, and as a coaching staff we recognized at that time that this was going to be a special class. I was telling people at that time, ‘If you’re going to get us, you better get us now because these 10th graders are amazing.’”

But no one in Florida was able to take advantage of McCarthy’s youth. In 2015, the Mavericks rolled through powerhouse Florida programs such as Merritt Island and Mosley en route to a state title. They did it again in 2016, going 29-2 and taking a 10-4 victory over Mosley to win cap off another magical championship run.

“They’re seasoned. They’re battle-tested,” Bielski said of his seniors. “They’ve been through the fire. They’re ready for a great year this year.”