Three More Bucs Headed Division I

Three More Bucs Headed Division I

FORT MYERS, FLA.- The list of Division I signees for the Florida SouthWestern State baseball team continues to grow as Nate Madej (South Alabama), Shamir Morales (Bethune-Cookman), and Josh McAllister (Georgia) will all play at the top level of NCAA Baseball next season as announced recently. 

Madej will head to South Alabama after seeing action in 16 games for the Buccaneers this season.  He was outstanding on the mound for FSW, going 2-0 with a 2.05 ERA in 30 2/3 innings pitched.  He averaged more than a strikeout an inning with 31 on the year while walking 14.  Madej was lights out down the stretch for FSW, allowing just one earned run in his final 16 1/3 innings of the regular season. 

He joins a South Alabama squad which has reached at least the semifinal round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in four of the past five seasons, including a pair of NCAA Tournament berths.  This season the Jaguars went 16-14 in conference play and 30-26 overall while playing a rigorous non-conference slate which included Clemson, LSU, Alabama, Auburn, and Mississippi State. 

The 2019 Suncoast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Morales will travel from the West Coast of the Sunshine State to the East Coast where he will suit up for Bethune Cookman next season.  Morales was rock solid on both sides of the ball for the Bucs, hitting .305 with six doubles, a pair of home runs, and 23 RBI's this season, while fielding .994 with just two errors in 363 chances behind the dish.  He gunned down 16 would be base stealers on the season, suiting up behind the plate for 47 games for FSW. 

Morales will join a Bethune program that is used to success, playing in the NCAA Tournament in two of the past four seasons.  The Wildcats struggled some this season, finishing just 17-38 overall and 10-14 in MEAC action.  They will return the bulk of their team next season however, with 20 of their 28 players eligible to return in 2020. 

The Bucs leading hitter this season, McAllister is headed home to the Peach State where he will play at Georgia.  McAllister hit .318 in 41 games for FSW as a sophomore this season, finishing the season with eight doubles and 16 RBI's.  He was 14 of 18 in stolen base tries this season and scored 17 runs for the Purple and Aqua. 

The Bulldogs are in the midst of their best season in recent memory, entering Friday's NCAA Tournament at 44-15 after a 21-9 finish in the SEC this season. Georgia earned a national seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season, this year garnering the #4 spot, the highest in program history, putting them in position to host a Super Regional if they can get through their Athens Regional that includes Mercer, Florida State, and Florida Atlantic. 

With their commitments, FSW now has eight players off of their school record 40 win squad headed to the NCAA Division I level next season.