Springs Charter’s Montimurro, Western’s Bradshaw led their teams back to state
It’s easy to see why Coral Springs Charter’s Mark Montimurro and Western’s Johnny Bradshaw are the Miami Herald’s Broward Softball Coaches of the Year.
They were the only two coaches to guide their teams to regional titles and make their way to Clermont’s Legends Way Ball Fields and a berth in the state final four.
While neither team came home with a trophy — Coral Springs Charter lost in the Class 3A state semifinal and Western fell in the Class 7A semifinal — both teams exceeded expectations and are set up for continued success.
Montimurro has made getting to state a standard. Coral Springs Charter won five consecutive state titles from 2015-2019 before COVID-19 canceled the 2020 tournament and the Panthers lost in the regional finals in 2021.
Despite only having two seniors and fielding an underclassman-heavy lineup this season, Montimurro’s Coral Springs Charter team marched its way back to state and finished with a 23-4 record. This included the team rattling off 11 consecutive wins after a loss to Cooper City in the BCAA Big 8 Tournament final and outscoring opponents 122-2 in that span before falling 3-1 to Brooksville Hernando in the state semifinal.
Montimurro will have to replace ace Brianna Godfrey and outfielder Taylor Golden, but the rest of his team returns for next season.
“There’s a good core here,” Montimurro said.
Bradshaw was in a similar spot this year as Montimurro in terms of his roster construction.
Eight of his 13 players were either freshmen or sophomores, but he managed to guide his young Western back to state in his first season after taking over for Jeffrey Poole, who guided the school to its lone state title in the sport in 2018.
Bradshaw’s Wildcats had to beat three district champions — Goleman 10-1, West Broward 4-1 and Palmetto 3-0 — to get out of its regional before falling 11-3 to eventual state champion Lakewood Ranch.
“I think with a lot of hard work we definitely can make it back,” Bradshaw said after the loss. “That’s going to be our goal.”