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The 16 scholarship recipients and representatives of the Boston Red Sox and the Red Sox Foundation.
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The 2026 Red Spx and Red Sox Foundation scholarship winners and team representatives on the field before the Spring Training game last weekend.
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Local high school students were bestowed scholarships by a Major League Baseball team that calls Lee County home each spring for the 11th consecutive year this past weekend.
Saturday afternoon before the first pitch of a Spring Training game, 16 students looking to further their educational journey were honored and presented with $5,000 scholarships by the Boston Red Sox and Red Sox Foundation. Prior to the game, each recipient walked onto the field at JetBlue Park to meet Sox manager Alex Cora, received a personalized bat and got a rousing applause from the crowd on hand.
The 2026 recipients were:
• Cape Coral High School: Kadence Christine Holcomb
• Cypress Lake High School: Madison Bazile
• East Lee County High School: Astrid Rodriguez
• Estero High School: Jeamee Dominguez
• Gateway High School: Ellier Cabrera
• Ida Baker High School: Laila Farley
• Island Coast High School: Daneisha Maycock
• North Fort Myers High School: Emma Cuevas Moreno
• Florida Southwestern Collegiate High School: London Daniels
• Lehigh Senior High School: Meytana Dorvilien
• Bonita Springs High School: Bella Tu
• Dunbar High School: Kimora Jackson
• Fort Myers High School: Sebastian Canizares
• Mariner High School: Elyssa Vazquez
• Riverdale High School: Kesleine Mesidor
• South Fort Myers High School: Heaven Johnson
Once again this year, all Lee County charter and ALS schools were included, with one $5,000 scholarship also being awarded to a student from this category for a total of 16 scholarships worth a total of $80,000.
The scholarships are for academically talented students who have shown a commitment to community service and are pursuing a two- or four-year degree at any college or university.
Scholarship funds are raised annually from proceeds of the Red Sox annual Swings for the Sox Golf Tournament. To date, the Swings for the Sox has raised more than $759,000 for local charities and specifically $674,000 for the scholarship program.
David Doran, principal of ReRoute Americas, was the title sponsor of the Swings For The Sox for the 10th consecutive year. Doran has donated well over six-figures to the Red Sox scholarship program.
“This is something I look forward to every year,” Doran said. “These kids just get smarter and smarter every year. It’s so impressive how they are so exuberant. And for me, who never graduated college, to see these kids going to do things that I didn’t think were possible, is beyond impressive.”
Doran said its a motto of his business to give back locally, and providing scholarships to local students couldn’t be a better way to do so.
“To support these kids is everything,” he said. “It’s a privilege to do anything I can to make their lives that much better.”
Doran said the future is bright for Southwest Florida with the way these students operate and traverse life’s challenges.
“I think the future locally, state-wide and country-wide, there’s a lot of hope,” he said. “These are some smart, good kids, that will hopefully take our area locally, and country nationally, to a different level.”
Ida Baker’s Farley said it was an exciting day that was mixed with nerves as she walked out onto the filed at JetBlue Park, but that overall she was proud of her accomplishments and to meet the other scholars.
Farley will be heading to Florida Gulf Coast University in the fall, where she will major in exercise science with hopes of becoming an occupational therapist.
“I’ve been interested in (occupational therapy) all my life. I’ve always wanted to be in the medical field,” Farley said. “Just exploring and researching my options, that feels like the best fit for me.”
Farley said coming from a single-parent household, the scholarship funds will help her tremendously.
“This will be able to help me accomplish my dreams,” she said.
Island Coast’s Maycock said Sunday was her first-ever baseball game, and that the reason she was even there in the first place was encouragement from her school to apply for the scholarship.
The news she had been selected came on an already joyous day, as her mother was getting married.
Maycock will attend Southern University and A&M University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a Historically Black College and University. She plans to major in psychology to become a therapist, while minoring in dance.
“I’ve always been the friend that everyone goes to for advice,” Maycock said of what made her want to get into psychology. “People say my mindset and the way I think is very above my age. It has always made me happy to hear that, and the advice I would give them would help and they would keep coming back. Just the feeling of helping my family and my friends is amazing.”
As for why she thinks her brain operates that way, Maycock said, “I’m the eldest of eight, so I’m always helping out my family. I’ve always had an open mind. I’ve always been taught there’s three sides to a story, and I need to know all three before I understand what’s going on.”
Coming from a large household, Maycock said the scholarship will assist her in a big way.
“Just having this really solidifies things for me,” she said. “Today has just been amazing.”
North Fort Myers’s Cuevas Moreno called the day “exciting,” and was surprised to receive the commemorative baseball bat all the scholars received.
Cuevas Moreno will attend Florida State University where she will study history and psychology, with plans to attend law school following her undergraduate degree.
“I really like learning about history, especially how people used to think and how that influenced history, either through war or experiments or technology,” she said. “I think that really relates to psychology. Law is a fairly historical field. You have to know about past cases, and I think it translates well into I want to do.”
Cuevas Moreno said she wants to become a lawyer in the realm of property or business law.
She said the scholarship will benefit her with housing and other necessities.
“It’s a privilege to be here, and I’m very honored to have won for my school,” Cuevas Moreno said.
Mariner High’s Vazquez, also experiencing her first baseball game, said she loved connecting with her fellow scholars and making connections that can last beyond an afternoon.
Vazquez is attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach this fall, where she will study aeronautical science and be part of the school’s flight program.
“I’ve always wanted to be a pilot. I thought Embry-Riddle would be a really good school for that,” she said. “Every time we would travel or be in a plane, I thought, ‘This is so cool.’ Then I figured why not do it for a career?”
Vazquez will participate in ROTC in college and take on military aviation for 10 years in either the Air Force or Army.
With the price of the university (flight training being an additional expense), Vazquez said the scholarship is a tremendous benefit for her continued education.
“Any amount of money helps out a lot,” she said.
Cape Coral’s Holcomb said she “loved” her first baseball game experience, getting to walk out onto the field and interact with other scholarship recipients.
Holcomb will attend Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota this fall, studying in the fine arts and business program.
Her end goal? “To start my own art business and become very successful, hopefully,” she said.
Holcomb said art has always been a passion of hers from a young age.
“My father inspired me to be an artist,” she said. “I just want to do my best and stand out for my work.”
While Holcomb’s father is not an artist by trade, she said he possesses artistic skill that was shared between the two. She said her primary mediums are painting, drawing and scratch art.
“I wanted to work on my artistic talent and get where I’m at today,” she said.
Holcomb’s art can also have a message and benefit beyond the page.
“Art is therapeutic and I use it to help others,” she said. “I’ve crocheted things for kids at the hospital, I do art work that speaks out against things like pollution or domestic abuse. I try to use my art to help people, and to bring joy to myself and others.”
Holcomb said she’s “honored” to receive a scholarship that will assist her financially as she takes the next steps in her life.
The Red Sox Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official team charity of the Boston Red Sox. The foundation’s primary focus locally is in serving the health, education, recreation and social service needs of children and families across Southwest Florida.