Island Coast High baseball standout Austin Schoolcraft.<\/p>\n
PHOTO PROVIDED<\/p>\n
The votes have been tallied, and after a tight race, the Breeze Newspapers\u2019 2025-26 Reader\u2019s Choice Athlete of the Year is Austin Schoolcraft of Island Coast High School .<\/p>\n
The senior was a major contributor to the Gators\u2019 25-4 record, which included a District Championship and trip to the FHSAA Regional Semifinals. <\/p>\n
Schoolcraft led the team in home runs, slugging percentage and extra base hits, batting .407, and was second on the team in hits and RBI. <\/p>\n
Schoolcraft was arguably the team\u2019s ace on the mound, pitching to a 2.24 ERA in 11 appearances (nine starts). He struck out 58 batters across 50 innings pitched, allowing just 28 hits. He threw two complete games, including a no-hitter. <\/p>\n
This year\u2019s nominees alongside Schoolcraft were: Kaliyah Williams of North Fort Myers High School; Austin Kluener of Bishop Verot High School; Kelsi Longabardi of Mariner High School; Bennett Sweitzer of Bishop Verot High School; Jaelyn Hoefer of North Fort Myers High School; Jermaine Skinner of Cape Coral High School; and Nikolas Korf of Ida Baker High School.<\/p>\n