By Justin Burgess
Florida Area Scout

Today’s preseason top 25 school comes in ranked at number 12 and is another reigning state champion. A year ago, this 6A team was probably the most well-rounded unit the state as they had great pitching depth, played sound defense, were great situational hitters, and were probably the best-coached team in Florida.

The Venice Indians, as previously mentioned, were an impressive bunch to watch play. They finished with a 29-3 record in 2015 and boasted the 6A player of the year in Cole Kragel and the 6A coach of the year in Craig Faulkner. The Indians were also recognized by multiple websites and magazines as a top ten team in the country, and in some cases even top five. To add to their long list of 2015 accolades, they ended up being tied for first place with highest team GPA in Class 6A in Florida. Venice also appears to be building a nationally-recognized program as they have now won four state championships, including three in the last four years.

So what has changed for the Indians in 2016? How have they gone from being one of the best teams in the country in 2015 to now not even cracking the top ten in the preseason top 25 in Florida? The answer has everything to do with their pitching. The young man who was previously mentioned for winning the player of the year (Cole Kragel) is now pitching at Virginia Tech, and in 2015 he was virtually impossible to hit. They also lost two other vital arms in LHP Kade Hunkapiller and RHP Colin Christello—Hunkapiller is at State College of Florida and Christello is at Florida Tech. Another reason that Venice is not ranked in the top ten is that the 6A classification does not appear to be as strong as it was a year ago so it will be hard to gauge how good they really are until later in the playoffs.

Other than the Indians losing those three arms, they return almost their entire lineup from last year and will still be the most fundamentally-sound team in just about every game they play. Some of their top players in 2016 will include SS and Florida commit Shane Shifflett, Jacksonsville Signee and 2B Scott Dubrule, 3B/RHP and High Point Signee Trevor Holloway, and OF/LHP Brent Killam. Shifflett is one of the top shortstops in the 2017 class in Florida as he is able to run a 6.5-6.6 in the 60 yard dash, plays sounds defense, and can really square up quality pitching on a consistent basis. Dubrule will be one of the leaders of this team and will surely be responsible for many of the runs scored for Venice. Holloway may be the best asset for the Indians as he can run his fastball up to 92 mph and he drives in runs in clutch situations. As for Killam, not only is he probably the main player responsible for bolstering the team’s GPA, but he plays outstanding defense in the outfield and shows off plus arm strength with accurate and on line throws. Killam can also really swing the bat and wreak havoc on the base paths.

As previously mentioned, the road to the 6A state tournament, and even a 6A state championship, appears to be much smoother than it will be for some of the other classes this spring. The toughest challenge Venice will face before states, assuming they make it to regionals, will probably be from either Gaither or Brandon. Also, if the Indians do in fact make it back to Ft. Myers, they will have just as good of a chance to win as anyone because of their experience and fan base.