Basketball
Jesuit basketball has a decades-long tradition of hardwood success, beginning with the first of its 12 State Tournament appearances in 1941 and including three State Championships, in 2013, 1984, and 1950, when the Tigers became the first Catholic school in Florida to win a state title.
That winning tradition continued in 2025-26 as Jesuit advanced to the Final Four for the 12th time with 75-56 win over St. Petersburg in the Region Final, before the Tigers succumbed in the 5A State Semifinal in Jacksonville to Fleming Island. Jesuit was led in 2025-26 by seniors Tyler Caouette (17.5 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and Damien Ross (15.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and a quartet of sophomores - Dre Taylor, Mike McLendon, Zach Larson, and Junior Arroyo. The TIgers finished the season 24-7 for the program's 12th straight 20-win season.
Head coach Neal Goldman enters his 40th season in 2026-27 with a career record of 761-334 and 18 District titles. Last season, the Tigers captured the District with a 63-57 win over Braden River. The top returnees for 2026-27 are Taylor (10 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.0 bpg), McLendon (12 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2.7 spg), Larson, (54 3-pointers, 37% 3-point shooting), and Arroyo (10 ppg, 4.3 apg).
The 2012-13 Jesuit basketball team is considered by many to be the greatest boys basketball team in Tampa Bay-area history. The Tigers won 30 games by 10 or more points that season and were unbeaten against Florida competition en route to finishing 31-1 as State Champions. In December 2022, that historic team was honored at the Tiger Palace during the 10th anniversary of its championship season at the inaugural Cookie Garcia Jesuit Invitational.
Jesuit basketball also continues to excel in the classroom, finishing in the Top 5 annually in the FHSAA's Academic Team Champion standings. The Jesuit basketball page on MaxPreps.com is regularly updated with team statistics and results after every Varsity game. Announcer John Pedrero '81 is on the livestream call for Jesuit basketball on the Jesuit Tigers Sports Network on YouTube, youtube.com/@JesuitTigersSportsNetwork.
COACHING STAFF
Varsity Head Coach
Neal Goldman (40th season in 2026-27)
- 761-334 career record entering 2026-27
- Titles: 18 District, 4 Region, 1 State title
- ngoldman@jesuittampa.org
Varsity Assistant Coaches
Joe Sansonetti
David Ritchie '91
Seth Ravenna, P '18, '21
JV Head Coach
Orloff Civil
JV Assistant Coach
Stevie Adamchak '14
Freshman Head Coach
Jonathan Barlaan '07
PA Announcer
Andrew Lusher '97
Livestream Announcer
John Pedrero '81
youtube.com/@JesuitTigersSportsNetwork
2026-27 Schedule
The Athletic Calendar on the Jesuit website has the most recently updated Jesuit sports schedules
The Jesuit basketball page on MaxPreps.com is regularly updated with statistics and Varsity results.
ROSTERS
*2026-27 Roster Coming Soon*
2025-26 VARSITY
No. Name Yr. Ht
2 Brooks Milazzo Jr. 6-0
3 Junior Arroyo So. 5-10
4 Curtis Ward Jr. 6-2
5 Mike McLendon So. 6-1
10 Damien Ross Sr. 6-2
11 King Powell Jr. 6-0
15 Zach Larson So. 6-2
23 Dre Taylor So. 6-3
25 Tyler Caouette Sr. 6-4
30 Joe DeLuciano Jr. 6-3
2025-26 JV ROSTER
No. Name Yr. Ht
1 Hayes Grabill So. 5-9
2 Xavier Ross So. 5-10
3 Drew Branagan So. 5-10
4 Braylon Civil So. 5-10
5 Evan Wilson So. 5-10
10 Cutler Cool So. 5-10
11 Luke Stanton So. 5-10
15 Griffin Corr So. 5-9
20 Dominic Diaz Fr. 5-11
21 Kiran Kulkarni Fr. 6-0
23 Charlie Stanton So. 5-10
25 Jackson Hernandez Fr. 6-2
30 Arness Hayes So. 6-0
33 Landon Kane So. 6-2
35 Brady Black So. 6-2
1,000 POINTS
On January 16, 2026, Tyler Caouette '26 became the 18th player in Jesuit basketball history to score more than 1,000 points, and he finished his career with 1,187 to crack the top 10 all-time at Jesuit. Athletic director Terry Rupp '84 is the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,705 points. View below the full list of Tigers who have achieved 1,000 career points.
- Terry Rupp - 1,705 - 1981-84
- Lou Piniella - 1,549 - 1959-61
- Reggie Reed - 1,372 - 1971-74
- Travis Johnson - 1,303 - 2009-13
- Jack Fleming - 1,280 - 2009-13
- Bob Bacon - 1,276 - 1956-58
- John Williams - 1,272 - 1978-81
- Gary Godsey - 1,210 - 1995-99
- Andrew Darst - 1,202 - 2003-07
- Tyler Caouette - 1,187 - 2023-26
- James Bunn - 1,177 - 1999-02
- Stevie Darst - 1,161 - 2014-16
- Alan Schonbrun - 1,146 - 1999-03
- Thomas Kaiser - 1,138 - 2003-06
- Nate Boakye - 1,108 - 2021-24
- Ryan Weir - 1,082 - 2018-21
- Everette Egun - 1,060 - 1999-02
- Bob Gooding - 1,012 - 1953-55
PROGRAM RECORDS
Points (career) - 1,705 - Terry Rupp '84
Points (season) - 825 - Terry Rupp '84
Points (game) - 57 - Lou Piniella '61
Rebounds (career) - 972 - Terry Rupp '84
Rebounds (season) - 456 - Ed Flom '74
Rebounds (game) - 26 - Dirk Twine '74
Assists (career) - 568 - Ricky Bajo '85
Assists (season) - 271 - Ricky Bajo '85
Assists (game) - 19 - Ricky Bajo '85
3-pointers (career) - 275 - Jack Fleming '13
3-pointers (season) - 88 - Jack Fleming '13
3-pointers (game) - 10 - Tiger Bales '20
Charges drawn (career) - 40 - D.J. Snyder '16
Steals (career) - 307 - Nate Boakye '24
CHAMPIONSHIPS
STATE TITLES (3)
- 2013 - Class 5A Champions, d. Boca Ciega 63-50, Gibbs 65-38, Lake Wales 97-72, Jacksonville Bishop Kenny 46-41, Plantation American Heritage 79-58
- 1984 - Class 3A Champions, d. Bartow 78-65, Orlando Jones 64-60, Stuart South Fork 58-53, Tallahassee Godby 88-71
- 1950 - Class B Champions, d. St. Petersburg 58-53, Jefferson 39-38, Jacksonville Jackson 55-48
REGION TITLES (12)
2026 - Class 5A, l. State Semifinal to Fleming Island, 86-58
2021 - Class 5A, l. State Semifinal to Pembroke Pines Charter, 63-57 (OT)
2016 - Class 5A, l. State Semifinal to Jacksonville Bishop Kenny, 55-54
2013 - Class 5A State Champions, d. Plantation American Heritage 79-58
1985 - Class 3A, l. State Semifinal to Crestview, 52-50
1984 - Class 3A State Champions, d. Tallahassee Godby 88-71
1977 - Class 3A, l. State Semifinal to Leesburg, 51-36
1976 - Class 3A, l. State Semifinal to Titusville Astronaut, 57-54
1950 - Class B State Champions, d. Jacksonville Jackson, 55-48
1946 - Class B, l. State Final to Fort Lauderdale, 43-40
1944 - Class A, l. State Semifinal to Plant, 44-30
1941 - Class B, l. State Semifinal to Jacksonville Bolles, 38-36
