Baseball: 8 at State!

With one convincing victory on May 20, the Jesuit baseball team accomplished a whole heck of a lot.

The Tigers' 9-0 triumph over Orlando Bishop Moore in Fort Myers captured the Class 4A State Championship, and:

• Earned the program’s 8th State crown, one more than Jesuit soccer, to become No. 1 all-time at Jesuit.
• Moved into a tie for 4th place all time for baseball State titles among Florida schools behind co-leaders Key West and Miami Westminster Christian with 11.
• Earned Jesuit’s 33rd State title overall, which have been achieved in eight different sports.
• Won the 4th State title for 12th-year head coach Miguel Menendez, all of which have been claimed in the past seven years (2019, 2022, 2024, 2026).
• Earned Jesuit the No. 1 final ranking among all schools in Florida by Prep Baseball Florida.

The Tigers came into the season nationally ranked and featuring a high-profile pitching staff led by three right-handed power arms. Wilson Andersen ’26 (Mississippi State signee), Kaden Waechter ’26 (Florida State signee), and Samir Mohammed ’27 (LSU commit) were talked about in national outlets as among the greatest right-handed trios in prep baseball history.

It played out that way during the season. Andersen-Waechter-Mohammed combined to go 22-5 against an elite schedule, with a 1.20 ERA and 257 strikeouts in 163 innings, allowing just 89 hits, while leading the Tigers to a 28-6 overall record en route to the title.

Andersen, who earned top honors as Hillsborough County’s best player from 813preps.com as well as the Boggs Award and Saladino Award, was an offensive star as well, leading Jesuit with a .426 avg and 1.246 OPS. He was followed closely by 1B/OF Griffin Boesen ’27 (.415 avg., 1.243 OPS, Duke commit); the Andersen-Boesen mid-order, righty-lefty combo pummeled the opposition. Appalachian State-bound P/OF Ben Burke ’26 was a table-setter with a .467 OBP, 12 SB, and team-high 30 runs, and was also the top left-handed pitcher. Burke went the distance in Game 3 of the 2-of-3 Region Final win over Osceola, and he nailed down the last two outs in the State Championship game.

Mohammed also was a two-way standout (.370 avg., .958 OPS) before an injury sidelined him for the final month of the season, and other top players included OF Cannon Murtagh '26 (.900 OPS, 8 SB), C Brady Marshall '27 (.375 avg.), and mid-season JV call-up OF Mason Greco '28 (.476 avg.).

Waechter went the distance in the 5-2 State Semifinal win vs. Green Cove Springs Clay, allowing 3 hits, 0 walks, and getting 9 strikeouts. In the final vs. Bishop Moore (30-3), Andersen was plunked by a fastball in the 1st inning on his non-throwing elbow, and with the baseball-sized welt on his immobile left arm he threw 6 1/3 innings, allowing just 1 hit, 2 walks, and 1 HBP with 12 strikeouts.