Douglas’ Fitz-Gerald, NBP’s Campbell led respective Eagles’ squads to repeat state titles
For the second consecutive season, Todd FitzGerald and Brian Campbell saw their teams end their seasons as state champions. Their programs asserted themselves as two of the best in the state and in Fitz-Gerald’s case one of the best in the country.
It’s why the two are the Miami Herald’s Broward Baseball Coaches of the Year.
Fitz-Gerald’s Stoneman
Douglas team finished the season 30-2, won its third state title since 2016 and has a legitimate case to win a national championship this season. The Eagles cruised through their schedule and rattled off 22 consecutive wins to end the season, with their lone losses being one-run defeats to Taravella (4-3 on Feb. 22 to open the season) and Park Vista (4-3 on March 22). Douglas won the 2022 USA Baseball National High School Invitational, going 4-0 in Cary, North Carolina, crushing its first three opponents by a combined score of 38-1 before beating Orange Park St. Johns Country Day 5-3 in the title game.
“It’s so rewarding because these guys give it every day at practice,” Fitz-Gerald said. “These guys make me who I am. I just keep their minds and focus in the right place.”
As for Campbell, he led North Broward Prep to its second state title in school history after the Eagles won their first title a year ago.
After starting the season 7-8, North Broward Prep went 16-1 over the final two months of the season and had their share of big and wild moments in the playoffs to claim their second consecutive state title.
There was an 11-inning, 9-8 win over Coral Springs Charter to win the district title, a game that was immediately followed by a 5-1 win over CSC to begin regional play.
After an 8-2 win over Gulliver Prep in the regional semifinals, North Broward Prep endured a 14-12 slugfest against Westminster Christian for the regional title and relied on ace Yoel Tejeda to win a pitchers duel in a 1-0 win over Cardinal Newman in the state semifinal.
The Eagles then capped their season with a 5-3, come-from-behind win over Berkeley Prep for the Class 3A title.
“They stayed the course. There were tough times in our season,” Campbell said. “We had a little roller coaster there for a bit. We had a two week stretch where we weren’t playing very good baseball. But the boys just
kept working and never gave up. They kept grinding.”