In the second day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, local baseball players began to be selected by big league clubs. Below is a look at who they were, where they were picked, and what team made the call.

– 2010 MLB Draft Top-10 Local Picks –

– LHP Justin Nicolino (University) selected No. 80 overall by Toronto in 2nd round. WESH Video

– RHP A.J. Cole (Oviedo) selected No. 116 overall by Washington in 4th round.

– CF Mason Williams (West Orange) selected No. 145 overall by NY Yankees in 4th round.

– LHP Alex Burgos (Osceola/State College of Florida) selected No. 163 overall by Detroit in 5th round.

– LHP John Gast (Lake Brantley/Florida State) selected No. 199 overall by St. Louis in 6th round.

– RF Jose Dore (The First Academy) selected No. 244 overall by San Diego in 8th round.

– SS Mike Freeman (Edgewater/Clemson) selected No. 331 overall by Arizona in 11th round.

– RHP Cody Allen (Boone/UCF/St. Petersburg JC) selected No. 480 overall by Cleveland in 16th round.

– RHP Owen Dew (UCF) selected No. 630 overall by Cleveland in 21st round.

– C Shane Brown (Winter Park/UCF) selected No. 715 overall by NY Yankees in 23rd round.

– More Local MLB Draft Picks –

LF Chris Duffy (Cypress Creek/UCF) at No. 801 overall to Philadelphia (26th round); CF Jay Gonzalez (Freedom) No. 833 overall to Boston (27th round); RHP Tim Griffin (Rollins College) No. 852 overall to Seattle (28th round); LHP Ronald Schreurs (Freedom) No. 1,296 overall to Toronto (43rd round); LHP Jimmy Hodgskin (Bishop Moore) No. 1,311 overall to Philadelphia (43rd round); OF Tyler Marincov (Timber Creek) No. 1,453 overall to Detroit (48th round).

– Draft Notes –

– The UCF Knights have had nine different players selected in the MLB Draft over the last three years, including Brown, who has now been drafted twice by the Yankees. Last season he was picked in the 47th round. In all, UCF has had its baseball players drafted by MLB organizations 73 times since 1979. Dew was taken in the 33rd round in 2009 by the Los Angeles Angels. Duffy, who was selected in the 9th round out of high school, completed his four-year career as a finalist for the 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award as one of the top amateur players in the nation.

– The Florida Collegiate Summer League had the highest number of current or former baseball players drafted over the three-day MLB selection process as 25 FCSL players were taken, including five in the first eight rounds. A complete list of draftees is available at Florida League.

The award recognizes the top programs in each men’s and women’s divisions among the conference’s nine schools.

The Rollins women retain the Cup for a second straight year and have earned the honor for the fifth time in school history. They earned the maximum nine points in two sports with outright SSC titles in women’s soccer and softball, and were runners-up in women’s basketball and golf. The women’s tennis team took third in the conference.

The Tars totaled 41 points and edged second-place Florida Southern (39.0) by two. Nova Southeastern (37.5), Barry (35.5) and Tampa (34.0) follow the Tars and Mocs in the top-five. The Rollins women also won the Cup after the 1998-99, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2008-09 seasons.

The Rollins men won the trophy with 37 total points behind conference titles by both the soccer and basketball teams. The baseball team finished runner-up this year while the tennis team took third and the golf squad came in fifth.

Florida Southern was second on the men’s side with 34 points. Barry (30.5) finished third with Lynn and Nova Southeastern (27.0) tying for fourth. The Rollins men also earned the cup following the 2002-03 and 2003-04 sports seasons.

First presented following the 1986-87 academic year, the Mayor’s Cup Trophy has traditionally been sponsored by the mayors of the nine communities in which SSC member institutions are located. Points are awarded for each team’s final standing, and depend on how many conference schools sponsor that sport.

In addition to the Tars’ four conference championships in 2009-10, nine sports competed in NCAA postseason play.

Women’s golf finished as runners-up at the NCAA Division II National Championship while the men’s basketball team earned a spot in the championship game of the NCAA South Region Tournament. Women’s soccer advanced into third round of the NCAA tournament and the baseball team finished third in the NCAA South Regional. Softball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s golf and men’s soccer also earned postseason bids.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –

2009-10 Rollins College Women's Golf

It’s the eighth-straight season the Tars have placed at the event. They won Division II titles between 2003-06 and in 2008, behind a then-NCAA record score of 1181.

Rollins turned in rounds of 306-306-303-306 and posted a tournament score of 1220 last week, taking second place for the fifth time in program history (1996, 2000-01, 2007). Nova Southeastern won its second consecutive title by posting rounds of 298-285-296-301 for a new NCAA-best score of 1180. Florida Southern (1221) and Tarleton State (1222) rounded out the top four spots.

Sandra Changkija of Nova Southeastern won individual honors with a record score of 285 (74-67-71-72), which eclipsed the 287 posted by Rollins College All-American Joanna Coe when she won a national title as a freshman in 2008.

Rollins, who started the season ranked fourth in the country, were led by Coe with a third-best score of 295 at the competition. Daniela Vargas tied for 21st overall with a score of 309 and Fabia Rothenfluh totaled a score of 311 (81-79-74-77) and finished tied for 27th overall in her first national championship competition.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –

Myk Brown was named conference tournament most outstanding player. He led the team in the championship game by going for 16 points as Nikola Baran (14 points), Nick Wolf (13) and Ian Scott (12) also scored in double figures.

Myk Brown (Photo by Jim Hogue)

Wolf joined Brown on the all-tournament team after helping the second-seeded Tars get past Tampa 73-54 and Eckerd 72-65 in the opening two rounds. It’s the third conference title for the Rollins program and its first since 2006. They also brought home the hardware in 1992.

The Tars (25-5) earned a No. 2 seed in the South Region and will begin tournament play this weekend against Alabama-Huntsville (23-6) in Russellville, Arkansas. The winner advances to play either Barry (19-11) or Florida Southern (25-4).

It’s the fifth time in the past seven years that Rollins is competing in the postseason and serves as their first trip since 2007, when they defeated Valdosta State before falling to Eckerd in the second round.

Should Rollins get past the opening two games of bracket play, the Tars would meet up with the survivor between Arkansas Tech, Tuskegee, Valdosta State and Clark-Atlanta on Tuesday, March 16.

Wolf (17.9 points per game) and Brown (15.9) led the Tars in scoring this past season. Wolf also led the team in rebounding (8.3) and assists (3.2) while draining 57 3-pointers. Scott recorded 56 steals on the year.

Keep up with the Division II Men’s Tournament at NCAA and Rollins Sports.

Nick Wolf (Photo by Jim Hogue)

Earlier in the week junior Nick Wolf was awarded his third conference player of the week award following big contributions in each of those victories.

Against Barry, Wolf scored 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Tars came away with a 70-59 win on the road, before returning home and getting past Tampa, 61-59.

In that game, Wolf scored the go-ahead bucket with 17 seconds to play and added a free throw for good measure as he finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Wolf leads the Tars this season with team-highs of 18.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

On Wednesday, in a 76-68 win over Nova Southern, Wolf suffered a scratch to his eye but nearly finished the night with another double-double as he went for 12 points and nine rebounds.

Rollins College enters the final three games of the season having won 11 of its last 12. Their lone loss in that stretch came at No. 11 Florida Southern on Feb. 6.

Next up is a road game at Saint Leo (11-16 overall, 4-9 in SSC) on Saturday and home games against Florida Tech (13-11, 3-10) on Wednesday, Feb. 24 and Eckerd (15-8, 8-5) on Saturday, Feb. 27 before the start of the conference tournament on March 3.

– More Rollins College Basketball –

2009-10 season schedule

2009-10 season roster

2009-10 Sunshine State Conference page

More importantly, the Lady Tars currently sit at No. 2 in the Sunshine State Conference standings with a 9-4 mark in league play (17-7 overall) as just three games remain in the regular season.

Amber Heistan (Photo by Jim Hogue)

With Tampa looking to hold onto the top seed with a 12-2 record entering tournament play on March 3 in Ft. Lauderdale, Rollins must continue to win games in order to fend off Barry (8-5 in SSC) and Florida Southern (8-6 in SSC) down the stretch.

In the 61-48 upset of Tampa at Warden Arena, junior Amber Heistan hit four 3-pointers in leading Rollins with 18 points and eight rebounds while sophomore Jasmine Bradley scored 12 points and junior Brooke Burgess tallied 11 points and seven rebounds.

Heistan leads the team in scoring with 10.6 points per game while averaging 5.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists per contest. Senior Brittainy Daiger, out of Lake Howell High School, averages 10.1 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Tars.

Rollins dominated the affair in the first half, getting out to a 22-10 advantage before leading 38-20 at the halftime break. Tampa would rally though, but could not get any closer than five points late in the game before the Tars extended the lead to double digits for good.

Also making big contributions in the win was sophomore Kristina Mingos, who set a new career-high with 14 rebounds (six offensive) and scored nine points.

Rollins shot 29-percent (19-of-65) from the field, held Tampa’s offense to just 24-percent (15-of-62) shooting – including 5-of-25 from long distance – and outrebounded them 56-44.

The Tars had previously lost on the road at then-No. 17 Tampa 60-53 and dropped two games against ranked Clayton State, 75-53, and, 68-62, earlier in the season.

The remainder of the schedule for the Lady Tars includes a road game at Saint Leo (13-11 overall, 6-7 in SSC) on Saturday and home games against Florida Tech (12-12, 4-9) on Wednesday, Feb. 24 and Eckerd (9-13, 3-10) on Saturday, Feb. 27.

– More Rollins College Women’s Basketball –

2009-10 season schedule

2009-10 season roster

2009-10 Sunshine State Conference page

Nick Wolf (Photo by Jim Hogue)

Last week Rollins went on the road to beat Florida Tech 79-61 before turning away Saint Leo at home 73-60.

Wolf scored 28 points on 12-of-17 shooting, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out three assists in 40 minutes of play against Florida Tech, then dropped 14 points and snagged 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season – and 23rd of his career – against Saint Leo.

Wolf earned player of the week recognition for the first time this season the week prior when he led Rollins past Nova Southern, 86-83 in overtime, then to a big win over Tampa, 72-55, three days later.

Against Nova Southeastern, Wolf finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds, three steals and two assists as he scored eight in overtime and hit the game-winning three-pointer with two seconds to go. Rollins then went on the road to handle Tampa, where Wolf drained 22 points along with 10 rebounds, six assists and a steal.

On the season, Wolf leads the team with 19.6 points and 8.2 rebounds per game as he’s shooting 51-percent from the field.

On Wednesday, Rollins (14-3, 6-1 SSC) takes its five-game win streak on the road against Eckerd (10-6, 4-3). The Tars then return home to take on Lynn (10-8, 4-3) on Saturday at 4 p.m.

The remaining home slate features matchups against non-conference foe Palm Beach Atlantic (2-17) on Wednesday, Feb. 3; Tampa (8-8, 3-5) on Saturday, Feb. 13; Florida Tech (10-8, 0-7) on Wednesday, Feb. 24; and Eckerd (10-6, 4-3) on Saturday, Feb. 27. The Sunshine State Conference Tournament gets underway Wednesday, March 3 in Ft. Lauderdale.

Rollins is currently atop the conference standings with Florida Southern (16-2, 5-2) one game back. The Tars defeated Florida Southern, then-No. 2 in the nation, on Jan. 9. The two teams meet again on Feb. 6 in Lakeland.

– More Rollins College Basketball –

2009-10 season schedule

2009-10 season roster

2009-10 Sunshine State Conference page

Myk Brown

On Saturday the Tars took down the No. 2 team in Division II when they got past Florida Southern, 91-88, thanks to a three-pointer by Nikola Baran with three second to go in front of a season-high 853 fans at Warden Arena.

The Tars were led by a career-high 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting from sophomore Myk Brown and 26 points (10-of-15) and six rebounds from junior Nick Wolf.

Rollins entered the contest ranked No. 20 after previously cresting at No. 7 in the national poll. A 78-66 loss to top-ranked Central Missouri at the Las Vegas High Desert Classic on Dec. 18 dropped them from the top-10 and ended a seven-game win streak for the Tars. They would go on to split their next four games before scoring the big upset over their Sunshine State Conference foe.

Leading the way this season for Rollins under head coach Tom Klusman has been the tandem of Wolf and Brown, who have the Tars out to a 10-3 mark overall and a 2-1 record in conference play.

Nick Wolf

Wolf, who became the 36^th player in program history to score 1,000 career points, is averaging 18.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game as Brown averages 16.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game this season. While they are the sharpshooters of the bunch, Greg Sweeney and Julian Wilkinson are averaging 2.5 assists per game, Ian Scott of Mt. Dora has recorded 27 steals thus far, and Matt Robertson averages 5.8 rebounds per outing.

In the upset win on Saturday, Robertson scored 12 points and grabbed six boards while Sweeney dished out a career-best eight assists.

After already turning away Lynn back in December, then later losing to Barry last week, the conference schedule continues for the Tars with a home game on Wednesday against Nova Southern (8-5, 2-2) at 7:30 p.m.

Rollins then goes on the road to take on Tampa (Jan. 16) and Florida Tech (Jan. 20 in Melbourne) before returning to host Saint Leo (6-10, 1-3) on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. The month closes out with a road game in St. Petersburg against Eckerd (Jan. 27) and a rematch at home against Lynn (8-6, 3-1) on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 4 p.m.

– More Rollins College Basketball –

2009-10 season schedule

2009-10 season roster

2009-10 Sunshine State Conference page

Michelle Dillingham (Photo by Jim Hogue)

Sophomore goalkeeper Michelle Dillingham recorded nine saves as the Rollins College women’s soccer team advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second year in a row after scoring a 3-0 win over Florida Tech on Saturday.

The win marked the 13^th time that Rollins has shut out an opponent this season. This Friday the Tars (16-1-2) take on unbeaten West Florida (20-0-0).

Against Florida Tech, Meagan Thomas scored a goal in the 31^st minute on a soft header into the net while Jessica Deese and Chelsea Brady added goals in the second half.

The winner between Rollins and West Florida will take on either Carson-Newman (19-2-1) or Columbus State (16-2-3) in the quarterfinals on Sunday, Nov. 22. The Division II semi-finals and final will be held Dec. 3 and Dec. 5 in Tampa, FL.

Division II Women’s Tournament Bracket

–– Rollins Men’s Soccer ––

Tampa ended the season for the top-seeded Rollins men’s soccer team after getting out to a 2-0 lead in the first half and holding off the Tars 2-1 in the second round of the Division II Tournament.

The Tars got on the board when Jacob Deloach sent the ball in the box where Bradley Welch was there to score on a header in the 66^th minute. The loss ended the season for Rollins, who finished with the best season in program history and a 17-3-1 record.

–– UCF Women’s Soccer ––

The No. 3 seeded UCF women’s soccer team scored a 3-0 first-round win in the NCAA Division I Tournament on Friday against UW-Milwaukee behind two goals from Courtney Whidden and a shutout by keeper Aline Reis. But two days later they succumbed to host Wisconsin, 1-0, in the second round on Sunday.

The loss ended the season for the Knights, who were competing in the tournament for the 14^th time, with a 17-5-1 record after being ranked as high as No. 8 in the country. UCF has been unable to advance past the second round since 1987. The Knights also advanced to the tournament in 2004, 2007 and 2008.

Reis had seven saves in the opening-round win as she held off four shots from Sarah Hagen, the nation’s leading goal scorer, to notch her 13^th shutout in just two seasons at UCF. Alex Brandt scored the third goal of the game for the Knights in the 77^th minute.

With the loss in the second round, senior Becca Thomas ended her career fourth all-time in assists with 29 while Whidden ended her career ranked sixth in goals scored with 33, second in game winner with 13 and eighth all-time in total points with 77.

Thomas and Whidden were part of a senior class that over the course of four years won 57 games, two Conference USA titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times.

–– UCF Men’s Soccer ––

The UCF men’s soccer team failed to advance to the postseason tournament after finishing the season 6-7-3 overall and 2-5-1 in Conference USA. Midfielders Yaron Bacher and Kevan George were selected to the All-Conference USA Second Team while forward Nicholas Robson was named to both the Third Team and all-conference Freshman Team.

– To nominate athletic performances for inclusion each Wednesday to the Top-5 list of Orlando Sports Central Standouts, send over an email to JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com –

Ali Schrader (Photo by Jim Hogue)

1.) Ali Schrader – Rollins Tars – The freshman forward helped the Rollins College women’s soccer team win its first Sunshine State Conference tournament title when her goal in the 50^th minute held up in a 1-0 win over Florida Southern over the weekend. With the win, which came on their home field, the Tars (15-1-2) earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament against the winner between Florida Tech and Saint Leo on Saturday. Schrader was named SSC Tournament Most Outstanding Player after scoring her first three goals of the season at the tournament.

2.) Han Kim – Lake Mary Rams – Last week Kim dominated the field at the Class 2A Golf State Finals in Ocala as he shot a 9-under par 135 over two days at Silver Springs Shores to earn the gold medal. His day one score of 70 and day two efforts of 65 (on the Par 72 course) were six strokes better then all other competitors and helped Lake Mary win the team title by two strokes.

3.) Tom Smith – Apopka Blue Darters – The junior running back rushed for 152 yards on 11 carries, scoring four touchdowns and three two-point conversions in the first half for Apopka as they raced out to a 66-14 win on the road over Ocoee last week to claim the Class 6A, District 5 title. (Game Recap)

Mike Sims-Walker

4.) Jalen Singleton – Bishop Moore Hornets – By scoring three touchdowns in the second half and making big plays in the secondary for the Hornets, Singleton helped Bishop Moore wrap up the Class 2A, District 4 title in a 23-0 win at Jones. Singleton rushed for 162 yards on 22 carries, which included scores from 43, 5 and 5 yards out. (Game Recap)

5.) Mike Sims-Walker – Jacksonville Jaguars – The former Edgewater and UCF football standout posted the best receiving-yards effort for the Jaguars since 2000 on Sunday when he caught six passes for 147 yards and a touchdown in a 24-21 win against Kansas City. It was his third 100-yard game of the season.

More ––

Orlando Sports Central Standouts – 11/4/09

Orlando Sports Central Standouts – 10/28/09

Orlando Sports Central Standouts – 10/21/09

Orlando Sports Central Standouts – 10/14/09