Archbishop McCarthy hires Vorachek as coach
With seven state titles in the past eight seasons, Archbishop McCarthy has been one of the nation’s premier baseball programs over the past decade, but the Southwest Ranches juggernaut will have a very different look come spring.
The Mavericks, who were hit with significant FHSAA violations in July after finishing the season as the nation’s No. 1 team by MaxPreps, will have a new leader atop the program following the departure of longtime coach Rich Bielski and director of baseball operations Alex Fernandez.
The school has hired former Bossier Parish Community College (La.) coach Aaron Vorachek as the program’s new head coach. Vorachek, who spent 11 seasons with the school, made national headlines in 2015 when he signed female pitcher Sarah Hudek on scholarship. She was believed to be the only female college baseball player in the country, per the Shreveport Times.
Vorachek previously served as a major league scout for the Marlins and Expos. He spent the past year coaching at Southwood High School in Shreveport, La.
The Mavericks’ new coach will have a major rebuilding task ahead of him. Hammered by hard by graduation and a mass player exodus after the departure of the previous staff, the Mavericks return only one varsity player from last season, according to a source.
In June, the Florida High School Athletic Association fined Archbishop McCarthy $16,000 and forced the school to vacate all 22 of the team’s regular-season wins for fielding three players who were found to be ineligible and received impermissible benefits. The Mavericks were allowed to keep its state title because none of the ineligible athletes played in the postseason.
Two months later, the school elected to part ways with Bielski, who accumulated a 225-53 record with seven state titles during his nine seasons with the school. Fernandez, a pitcher for the Florida Marlins 1997 World Series team, decided to leave soon after.
Behind the duo, the Mavericks reeled off four consecutive state titles from 2010-13 and have won the past three in a row, capped off by the team’s Class 6A championship in June.
In addition to Bossier Parish, Vorachek college assistant coaching stints in Portland State, University of Portland, Glendale Community College and Centenary College. He also has head coaching experience with the Northwest Collegiate League, the Mississippi Collegiate Summer League and the Shreveport Muckdogs.
A baseball powerhouse unaccustomed to losing, the Mavericks suddenly find themselves in the position of underdogs this season. The player exodus included four University of Miami commits — senior shortstop Luis Tuero, junior pitcher Yordani Carmona, sophomore pitcher Edwin Hernandez and sophomore second baseman M.C. Sagago — who all transferred to Monsignor Pace.