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The 2025 Southwest Florida Sports Awards rolled out the red carpet on May 29 for more than 1,000 area high school athletes, coaches, administrators, their families, and friends.

First Baptist Academy’s Zara Stewart and Fort Myers High’s Madrid Tucker earned the marquee honors at the show, held at Suncoast Arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College. The pair was crowned the Girls and Boys Athletes of the Year by The News-Press and Naples Daily News. In all, 39 awards were handed out for the 2024-25 school year.

Stewart, who will play volleyball at San Diego State, carried the Lions to the Class 2A Final Four. On the basketball court, she led FBA to the regional finals. Stewart ended her prep volleyball career with 1,231 kills and 1,927 digs, while on the hardwood, she finished with 1,288 career points and 445 rebounds.

“It’s so special to me,” Stewart said. “I just love my teams and this wouldn’t be possible without my teammates and the coaching staffs, and my family, and all the sacrifices everybody makes for me.”

The other Girls Athlete of the Year finalists were Gateway’s V’Davrielle Stewart and Gulf Coast’s Ciara McCloskey.

Tucker, a finalist for the Boys Athlete of the Year award last year, was the leading receiver on Fort Myers’ district championship football team and top hitter on the Green Wave’s regional championship baseball team. He also contributed to the school’s 4×100 relay team that placed fifth at the state track and field championships.

The other Boys Athlete of the Year finalists were Mariner’s Maximus Brady and First Baptist’s Jayden Petit.

The Barron Collier soccer team won the Boys Team of the Year Award. The Cougars won their school’s first state title in boys soccer after defeating Mater Lakes 4-2 for the Class 4A championship. Led by an experienced senior class and head coach John Damasco, the team set a program record with 20 wins.

Winning four consecutive state championships places a team in rarified air, which is why Seacrest volleyball earned Girls Team of the Year honors. The Stingrays defeated Boca Raton Christian in the title game for the third straight year as first-year head coach Andy Wimmer helped deliver yet another trophy for Seacrest.

The Team of the Year awards were presented by East West Sports Cards & Custom Card Lab.

The Jeff Sommer Memorial Coach of the Year Award, named after the late Estero High cross country and track mentor, has been presented annually to the Southwest Florida coach who not only succeeds in the athletic arena, but also best exemplifies the 3Ds that Sommer championed — Discipline, Desire, and Dedication. This year’s recipient was Canterbury baseball coach Frank Turco.

Turco was inducted into the LCAC Hall of Fame, and capped his year by leading the Cougars to the Class 1A state championship. It was the fourth state championship for the coach at Canterbury, including three in a row from 2016-18. Turco has an overall career record of 533-191-1 between Estero from 2001-14 and with Canterbury starting in 2015, when he took over as baseball coach and athletic director. He won his 500th career game against Bonita Springs on April 11, 2024.“This is the best award I could win,” an emotional Turco said. “This means more to me than anything. I didn’t expect to win this may be until I retired.”All the hard work and dedication (Jeff) put in and the friendship we had, how he molded kids and how he treated everybody, he was just great. Nobody will ever match what he’s done for this area.”Fort Myers baseball coach Brad Crone, Barron Collier boys soccer coach John Damasco and First Baptist volleyball coach Marci Walker were finalists for the Jeff Sommer Award.Unified Sports, a division of Special Olympics, is continuing to grow in Southwest Florida. Immokalee’s Eduardo Pablo Campos was honored as the Special Olympics Athlete of the Year.

Eduardo excelled on the football field, basketball court, and track. Doubling as a defensive back and wide receiver on Immokalee’s Unified flag football team, Eduardo led the team in touchdowns, winning the 2024 FHSAA State Championship and the SOFL Unified Flag Football Division 1 Senior Level State Championship. As Center on the Unified basketball team, Eduardo averaged double digits in points and rebounds, leading Immokalee to the 2025 FHSAA Unified Basketball State Championship. He also earned three silver medals with the Unified Track & Field Team.

The other finalists for the award were Lehigh’s Yasef Carbon, Lely’s Nicholas Harrigan, and Cape Coral’s Sol Rosas.Mike Lowell, who played 13 Major League Baseball seasons and won World Series championships with the Marlins (2003) and Red Sox (2007), was the show’s special guest speaker. The 51-year-old Lowell, a four-time All-Star is currently an analyst for the MLB Network.Lowell shared a piece of advice he received from a mentor with the assembled athletes.”It sounds cliche, but just enjoy every step of the way,” he said. “Things go by so fast that sometimes the journey is going to be one I’m not sure everybody’s going to enjoy it throughout.”No matter what level you get to, there are a lot of things that are going to happen that were good and I don’t think everyone stops and celebrates the good things.”

Celebrated for her academic achievements as well as her athletic ones, Gulf Coast’s Ciara McCloskey received the Southwest Florida Scholar-Athlete Award.

McCloskey, who had a 5.2 weighted GPA and scored 1470 on the SAT, plans on majoring in computer science at Notre Dame. She was involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Student Government, Model UN, Student Athletics Leadership Team (SALT), and National Honor Society. McCloskey is a National Center for Women and Technology (NCWIT) Aspirations in Computing Southwest Florida Affiliate Winner, an AP Scholar with Distinction, she founded the Underclassmen Honors Society, and was Mindset Matters president.

Athletically, McCloskey earned Southwest Florida All-Region honors in cross country, lacrosse, and track. She placed 47th at the state cross country meet and won the Class 3A gold medal in the 3,200 as a senior. She was also a four-year lacrosse letter winner.”I think this kind of shows all the hard work and dedication I put into all aspects, not just athletics,” she said. “I’m just completely honored to win this award. It means so much.”The other finalists were Fort Myers’ Masha Dorofeev and Cypress Lake’s Ezekial Dube-Garrett.The Courage Award is annually presented to an athlete who overcomes long odds to succeed in the sporting arena. This year’s winner was Estero’s Lily Jason.Jason lost her 41-year-old father Steven unexpectedly on December 30. Steven Jason always supported and encouraged his daughter in her athletic endeavors. As her soccer team and the Estero community rallied around her, Lily helped lead the Wildcats to their first regional final since 2020.

Here’s a complete rundown of all of this year’s award winners.

Premier Awards

Male Athlete of the Year

Madrid Tucker, Fort Myers

Female Athlete of the Year

Zara Stewart, First Baptist

Courage Award Recipients

Lily Jason, Estero

Jeff Sommer Memorial Coach of the Year

Frank Turco, Canterbury

Scholar-Athlete of the YearCiara McCloskey, Gulf CoastSpecial Olympics Athlete of the YearEduardo Pablo Campos, ImmokaleeUSA Today Studio Title IX TrailblazerMargaret Sirianni, Fort MyersBarron Collier soccerSeacrest volleyballPlayer of the Year AwardsBaseball Player of the YearJoey Lawson, Bishop VerotBoys Bowler of the YearDaniel Lynn, Cape CoralGirls Bowler of the YearBrooke Pabst, Cape CoralSpencer Clayton, Barron CollierNalah Smith, Evangelical ChristianBeach Volleyball Players of the YearGabby Dywer and Ashlee Tenkley, Fort MyersBoys Cross Country Runner of the YearAngel Cruz, MarinerGirls Cross Country Runner of the YearMasha Dorofeev, Fort MyersDefensive Football Player of the YearKhari Bendolph, NaplesOffensive Football Player of the YearDeshon Jenkins, Bishop VerotFlag Football Player of the YearLila Dinkel, Bishop VerotBoys Golfer of the YearSpencer Ives, Community School of NaplesGirls Golfer of the YearEva Lye, First BaptistBoys Lacrosse Player of the Year, Presented by OrthoPedia by Arthrex

Michael Slusar, Community School of Naples

Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year, Presented by OrthoPedia by Arthrex

Stella Lynch, Community School of Naples

Softball Player of the Year

Abby Hynes, North Fort Myers

Boys Soccer Player of the Year, Presented by Zak’s Jewelry

Emerson LaOrden, Barron Collier

Girls Soccer Player of the Year, Presented by Zak’s Jewelry

Hannah Busenbark, North Fort Myers

Boys Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year

Nick Fabian, Community School of Naples

Girls Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year

Madison Bates, Naples

Boys Tennis Player of the Year

William Freshwater, Barron Collier

Girls Tennis Player of the Year

Chelsea Casapu, Barron Collier

Boys Track & Field Athlete of the Year

Ryan Peterson, Bishop Verot

Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year

Ava Heskett, Gulf Coast

Volleyball Player of the Year

Zara Stewart, First Baptist

Boys Weightlifter of the Year

Nick Bloomston, Fort Myers

Girls Weightlifter of the Year

Imani Greaves, LaBelle

Boys Wrestler of the Year

Maximus Brady, Mariner

Girls Wrestler of the Year

Kiera Partello, Barron Collier

Emerson LaOrden Barron Collier

CIF San Diego Section Softball Championships

When: Friday

Where: SDSU Softball Stadium, on campus at San Diego State

Tickets: $17 for adults, $10 for students and seniors. Available on Gofan.co.

Division 2: (2) West Hills (20-9-1) vs. (1) Point Loma (24-6-1), 4 p.m.

Preview: Gianna Burgin (11-2, 1.83 ERA) is West Hills’ ace. Four players hit .316 or higher — Katy Spargo (.547, 41 RBIs); Kristina Deal (.429); freshman Kiara Rabaya (.326); and Burgin (.316).  … Freshman Ella Poulin (11-4, 2.38 ERA) gets the start in the circle for the Pointers. Point Loma averages 5.8 runs per game. Seven players hit .322 or higher: Avery MacPherson (.411), Annika Isaacson (.403), Nanako Schroth (.380), Siena Balistreri (.372), Ryoko Schroth (.362), Leyton MacPherson (.353), and Poulin (.322). The Pointers’ JV and varsity coaches are all Point Loma graduates. …  Point Loma, which began playing softball in 1974, is playing in its first section championship game. West Hills has hung one championship banner, winning the Division 1 title in 1999.

Division 1: (8) Rancho Bernardo (13-13-1) vs. (2) Eastlake (19-11-1), 7:30 p.m.

Preview:  RB has gotten hot at the right time, running off four playoff wins by a combined score of 29-6. The Broncos came into the playoffs having lost six of seven. Center fielder Ellery Housand is batting .537 with 25 RBIs. Three other starters are hitting .301 or higher. Junior Zoey Meadows and freshman Charlotte Savarese share the pitching load. … Mackenzie Olshenskie leads Eastlake, hitting .461 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs. Kaili Balajadia hits .357 and Bri Ayap .350. Balajadia (2.51 ERA) and Addison Suriano (2.91 ERA) divide the pitching. … Rancho Bernardo has won four section championships, the last in 2018 (D1). Eastlake is looking for its first section title.

— DON NORCROSS

Originally Published: May 29, 2025 at 3:03 PM PDT

The Pine Bluff School District met Tuesday for their regular monthly meeting and District Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree talked about what happened at the meeting when she appeared on the Oldies1013 Morning Show.

Morning Show host Greg Horne asked Barbaree if she thought the Capturing Kids Hearts program has had a positive effect and she answered this way.