Preseason Power25 Countdown: No 3 Calvary Christian Ft Lauderdale

February 7, 2019
Doug Freeman
Florida Scouting Director

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the Top 25 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage:

C Ben Rozenblum

Team: Calvary Christian
Preseason Rank: 3
2018 Record: 17-15
FHSAA Class: 4A
Head Coach: Alan Kunkel
Playoff Run: 4A State Champion
Returning Starters: 9

TOP PLAYERS
Name, Position, Class (College Commitment)
Ben Rozenblum, C, 2019 (FIU)
Dante Girardi, MIF, 2020 (FIU)
Jacob Howard, INF, 2019 (NYU)
Mykanthony Valdez, INF, 2019 (Miami)
Skylar Gonzalez, RHP, 2019 (West Virginia)
Andrew Painter, RHP, 2021 (Florida)
Ryan Keenan, OF, 2019 (Vanderbilt)
Tyler Knierim, OF, 2019 (Duke)
Irving Carter, RHP, 2021 (Miami)

X-FACTOR

Ben Rozenblum. Rozenblum led the team in RBIs with 28 in 2018 and batted .379. A team leader and gamer who plays with a lot of energy will look to lead the offense this year.

KEY PLAYERS LOST

Raynel Delgado
Christian Scott
Roberto Pena
Timothy Watkins
David Judge

OUTLOOK
The defending 4A state champions are loaded with talent again in 2019. Despite losing a pair to Florida in Roberto Pena and Christian Scott and one of their top hitters to the Indians in Raynel Delgado, they return 5 of their top hitters from 2018. The offense will be led by a pair of FIU recruits Ben Rozenblum and Dante Girardi. Rozenblum led the team in 2018 with 28 RBIs while batting .379 and Girardi led the team in average at .388. A pair of Division 1 outfielders in Ryan Keenan and Tyler Knierim will look to make a larger impact as well as Division 1 commits Jacob Howard and Mykanthony Valdez in the infield. Despite losing their top arm in Christian Scott, they return Skylar Gonzalez and Andrew Painter while adding Irving Carter. Gonzalez was 6-1 with a 0.92 ERA and Painter was 5-0 with a 0.30 ERA in 2018. Carter is also the top ranked arm in 2021 and has present tools with feel to pitch to make him a frontline starter. Overall, despite losing some impact players, they maintain a strong and talented core with depth both offensively and on the mound to make another run at the 4A state title in 2019.