FORT MYERS — Exactly a year ago, Buchholz baseball left Fort Myers optimistic for the future. Coach Ron Brooks told the Sun he expected the Bobcats to come back hungrier in 2025.
The odds were stacked against them. BHS lost two power four commits. Yet, here the ‘Cats were Saturday – right back at Hammond Stadium and the heat of mid-May baseball. This is in large part to the team’s seven seniors.
Even though Buchholz’s season ended in the state title game once again, the seniors are leaving a lasting imprint on the program.
“I’m just really proud of our guys,” Brooks said. “I love our players. I’m really going to miss our senior class and all that they provided, and they’re really passing a torch of success.”
A different mentality this season
It wasn’t supposed to end this way for the Bobcats. Last season, senior Wyatt Clarke admitted the team wasn’t as locked as necessary, and a hungry Dwyer squad took advantage.
This season, though, Buchholz made the 260 mile trip south to Fort Myers with a different mentality. It took care of business over Wharton Friday behind dominant pitching. Brooks said the team knew St. Thomas Aquinas hitting strength.
Yet, the sheer magnitude of the Raiders lineup was stunning: 80 doubles, 68 home runs.
Zack Malvasio, a UCF commit, leads Florida with 16 home runs. Andrew Alvarez, a USF commit, is second with 13 long balls.
STA’s offense explodes
The Raiders hung three runs in the first, but BHS responded with two from one swing by JJ Gardner. Brooks called the second inning the crucial one, and he’s right. STA tallied another three, and from that moment on, the Bobcats fought uphill.
“Pitching wise, we didn’t execute as well as we did yesterday,” Brooks said. “They stayed on a lot of pitches today. They covered the plate extremely well.”
The Bobcats pitchers of Aidan Kastensmidt and Cohen Lafler didn’t phase the Raiders. They played the best of South Florida – Stoneman Douglas, Doral Academy, Key West.
STA coach Joey Wardlow called the schedule immensely helpful.
“There’s no such thing as taking an inning off when we played those teams,” Wardlow said. “We do play a hard schedule, but everywhere we went, we try to make it that they’re playing a tough schedule too when they’re playing us.”
Buchholz learned both those lessons, and after Gardner’s home run, the ‘Cats struggled to generate offense.
‘I’ll cherish these relationships forever’
The overwhelming emotion from Brooks, Clarke and fellow seniors Kai So and Cedaris Smith was disappointment.
“If you’re a competitor, you want to win, so we had a great year, but we didn’t accomplish that ultimate goal,” Brooks said.
Like last season, he hopes this loss will motivate the returners, especially Kastensmidt. He didn’t pitch in Fort Myers last season and failed to make it out of the first inning Saturday.
“He’ll be hungry, he’ll be ready to go, he’ll want to compete and want to get his taste out of his mouth,” Brooks said.
The coach added that the Bobcats have spent years chopping wood. The tree hasn’t fallen yet, but it will soon.
The outgoing seniors hold confidence for the future after the example they’ve set for them.
“I would say we as a senior class. I say we set a pretty good example of what needs to be done to continue playing baseball high level,” Smith said. “I think a lot of the guys were pretty receptive to that.”
Before fully turning the page to 2026, Brooks wants to savor his remaining time with seniors before they jet off to Harvard, Jacksonville and others.
“My heart’s full. I love these guys, and I’ll cherish these relationships forever,” Brooks said.
Buchholz ends the season with a 33-3 record.
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at Nram@gannett.com and follow him @Noah_ram1 on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Buchholz baseball seniors leave legacy after two straight FHSAA title games