Eduardo Miranda
The Daily Independent
Cerro Coso Gym was the site for the Cerro Coso baseball team to hold its awards and signing ceremony for the previous season. Head Coach Justus Scott conducted the ceremony that included Assistant Coach Ryan Cantrell, Cerro Coso Community College President Sean Hancock, Athletic Director John McHenry, and the members of the Coyotes baseball team.
Scott started the ceremony by handing out the All-Conference awards to three Coyotes: outfielder Jonluke Hobdy and infielders Gavin Fraser and Seth Moore. Hobdy and Moore were both selected to the First Team and Fraser was selected to Second Team, and both Moore and Fraser were recipients of the Golden Glove award.
"It was nice. Its always good for the program to get awards but especially the players," he said on his three All-Conference players. "The Golden Glove award they were both on the right side. We were very poor defensively and everybody knows, but those two guys on the right side at first and second really shored up that half of the defense. And they did really, really well."
After naming the All-Conference players, Scott invited Moore to the table where the sophomore first baseman signed his letter of commitment to University North Carolina Pembroke. Moore will be trading his Coyotes uniform for a Braves uniform, and joining an NCAA Division 2 program. The Braves ended the season as the 2024 Conference Carolinas champions with a 42-12 overall record and 19-11 conference record.
"It's great for him," the Coyotes coach said on Moore signing. "I know he went on a visit about a month ago and absolutely loved it. He had some other offers but once he set foot on campus, he told me this was it and he knew it after just a few hours. It's great and he is very excited. Seth was a one-year guy for us and I'm happy for him. Glad we got him and glad he is moving on."
During Moore's signing, Scott mentioned that unfortunate the other sophomore players who have interest from schools could not be at the table with Moore but he expects to hear that they also accepted an offer to continue their baseball careers and educations at another prestigious school.
"It's great for the players. This is what they come here for to do well at school but also improve and develop with baseball, and given the opportunity to move on. Right now, this is their job and they feel this is all they have and its very, very important to them. So, it's good and a priority in our program to get guys moved on. I've said it before its self-serving, so the next recruiting class comes in, and it's also the right thing to do for these guys. And a lot of places don't do it, believe it or not, but Ryan Cantrell and myself work really hard to get them moved on. But it's all about the players, it really is, do they have the talent to do it, do they have the grades to do it, and if they are high character kid then they get to move on. We have six or seven other sophomores; they are all getting offers to some degree. Jonluke Hobdy is probably a day or two away from making his decision and same thing with Gavin Fraser and JJ Neal as well. It would be nice to get them on the stage and get their photos taken, but it will happen here in the next month when it is all said and done."
The ceremony is a chance for Scott, the coaching staff, the players, and the program as a whole to celebrate the players who wore the Coyotes uniform, their success at Cerro Coso, and celebrate their future.
"It's nice for us. It does me proud and I have a feeling of pride with it that you are only with these kids for two years, sometimes three, but it goes quick and it goes fast. And here comes another group, the two-year level makes it tough," Scott said. "But again, it's great for our program, it's great for the players, and your just happy for them because this is what they want to do. And they have another opportunity to do it and a lot of times their school is paid for."