Athletes commit to colleges

MANATEE COUNTY — After years of hard work and dedication to their respective sports, three East County seniors’ dreams of playing collegiate athletics are finally coming to fruition.

Braden River point guard Caitlyn Benedetto and place-kicker Kadin Kerns and Lakewood Ranch soccer forward Marco Padilla all signed national letters-of-intent this month to play at the next level.

Benedetto is headed to Ave Maria University in Naples, while Kerns has committed to play football for Kent State University in Ohio. Finally, Padilla signed with Flagler College in St. Augustine.

“I (know I) will still be doing something that I love,” Benedetto said. “I can also concentrate on finishing my senior year and having fun while looking forward to the upcoming years instead of worrying about where to go for college.”

In her senior season, Benedetto helped lead the Lady Pirates to 14 wins this season — the most in school history — and a berth in the district semifinals.

Benedetto finished her career at Braden River as the all-time leading scorer for both boys and girls basketball with 1,257 points. She also holds the record for most points in a game with 37.

Benedetto, who plans to major in either biology or psychology, chose Ave Maria over the University of Tampa and Florida Southern.

“I loved the campus, the people, and especially my basketball coach and teammates,” Benedetto said. “They made me feel like family.“

Benedetto will spend the summer working out before heading down to Naples this fall where she hopes to play a predominant role for the Gyrenes as a freshman.

While at Braden River, Kerns helped lead the Pirates into the regional semifinals two of the past three seasons, including kicking a game-winning field goal in double overtime of the regional quarterfinals as a junior. Kerns finished his senior season with eight field goals and 18 PATs.

Kerns chose Kent State over a number of other DI and DIII schools, including Mount Union, Florida Atlantic, Capital, Ohio Northern, Jacksonville and Ave Maria, among others.

“I really liked the coaching staff,” Kerns said. “Coach (Darrell) Hazell and all of the coaches made me feel at home. I’m looking forward to competing in big stadiums in front of many fans and students.”

Kerns plans to major in criminal justice, serve in the military and then join the FBI. Kerns will be the first football player at Kent State to join the ROTC program and play football. The Pirates kicker will report to Kent State Aug. 7, where he’ll begin working with the team in preparation for the Golden Flashes season opener Sept. 3 at Alabama where he’ll have to adjust to kicking off from the 30-yard line and into narrower goal posts.

“I’ve been practicing kicking off of the ground, and I have always practiced angle kicks to narrow my target,” Kerns said. “Kicking in cold weather will be different for me. Coach Hazell told me to come and compete and earn a spot.” 

At Lakewood, Padilla, who aspires to be a professional soccer player one day, helped lead the Mustangs into the Class 4A-Region 3 finals for the first time in school history while finishing with a team high 27 goals.
Padilla, who plans to major in political science with a minor in international relations, chose Flagler College over colleges in New York, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

“I think I made the right choice,” Padilla said. “My parents and I thought this was the best option for me. It’s close to my family, and the school is so nice. It’s a small school, which I’m not used to, but I like it. And I love everything about the team — the coaches and the players. When I was up there trying out, it felt like I had been there for a year already.

“It’s going to be a whole different level,” Padilla said. “My ultimate goal is to become a professional soccer player, and I’m no different than anyone else (out there). This is a very big step for me.”

The Mustangs forward now will spend the next three months playing soccer for Alpha Z, which is ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 12 in the nation, before heading up to Flagler in August.

“It’s helped me adapt to playing college soccer,” said Padilla, Alpha Z’s leading scorer. “It’s all about the speed of play. I’m going to be playing forward, and my goal is to score. I’m going to try and be the best, which in my case means being the best scorer because there’s always someone better than you. For me it’s a challenge, and I love challenges.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].