King senior pitcher Brandon Caples has signed with College of Central Florida in Ocala, according to Lions coach Jim Macaluso.
Caples teamed with UF signee Brett Morales to form a dominant pitching duo that led King to its best record in school history (25-4) and into the Class 6A state semifinals.
A four year-varsity starter, Caples compiled an overall record of 23-4 with 142 strikeouts in 37 starts at King. As a senior, Caples went 9-0 with a 1.43 ERA and 57 strikeouts in nearly 59 innings.
He pitched the Lions to victories over Leto in the District 6A-11 championship, then over Osceola in the region semifinals. It was in the playoff game, Macaluso said, when coaches from the College of Central Florida came down to watch Caples.
“They really liked him after that,” Macaluso said.
The College of Central Florida is a junior college that competes in the Florida College System Activities Association against other schools like Palm Beach State College and Lake Sumter State College. The Patriots went 29-23 this spring, finishing fourth in their conference.