- December 23, 2024
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East County's Austin Brinling always knew he was a good baseball player.
He always knew he wanted to be a college athlete.
But he wasn't sure how he was going to get there.
When Brinling became a Taylor Emmons Scholarship recipient, he knew his dream of becoming a college baseball player had received a huge boost.
The Taylor Emmons Scholarship provides an opportunity for socio-economically diverse students to attend the Out-of-Door Academy's upper school in Lakewood Ranch at no cost.
Brinling's connections and relationships he developed as a baseball player at ODA were what helped him play at the University of North Florida, where he is a junior majoring in sports management.
"I didn't know the path I needed to go in order to get to that point," he said. "The (ODA) coaches were able to point me in that direction. These coaches were able to get me in touch with travel coaches to help me travel around Florida and Georgia and play in tournaments where all these recruiters would be there to help me go places I never thought I could go."
Brinling, who is hitting .386 for North Florida through 12 games, said being a Taylor Emmons Scholarship recipient makes him feel like he has more at stake than other ODA students and graduates.
"That's something that very few people get a chance to do," Brinling said. "Since I was able to get this opportunity, I feel like I've been able to take full advantage of it. It's a great honor. I don't know where I would be without it."
Here is a look at what the 11 other Taylor Emmons Scholarship recipients are doing:
Years at ODA: 2011-2015
After ODA: Drafted by the New York Mets and has played minor league baseball for the past seven years. He is working toward earning his bachelors degree while taking a break from baseball to tend to injuries.
School: Northeastern University
Major: Financial accounting and management
Years at ODA: 2012-2016
After ODA: Graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelors in bioengineering with a concentration in solid tissue engineering
Job: She works for a life science company, Solid Biosciences, working to find treatments for diseases such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Friedreich's ataxia.
Years at ODA: 2013-2017
After ODA: Graduated from Florida State University with a degree in psychology
Job: Recruiter at Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers
Years at ODA: 2014-2018
After ODA: Graduated from Florida State University with a degree in psychology. She’s considered enrolling in a physician assistant graduate program or getting a doctorate in psychology
Job: Medical scribe at Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Years at ODA: 2015-2019
After ODA: Attending University of North Florida where he plays baseball
Major: Sports management
Years at ODA: 2016-2017 and 2019-2020
After ODA: Attended and played football at Albright College until the football program was shut down as a result of the pandemic. Now he’s enrolled at the University of South Florida.
Major: Political science (planning to go to law school)
Job: He works part time at a Mexican restaurant and coaches youth basketball for the Manatee YMCA
Years at ODA: 2017-2021
After ODA: Attending Harvard University
Major: Neurobiology
Years at ODA: 2018-2022
After ODA: Attending Berry College where she plays lacrosse
Major: Pre-med
Years at ODA: 2019-2023
Involvement at ODA: Baseball and fishing club
Plans for the future: Attend and play baseball at Daytona State College
Years at ODA: 2020-2024
Involvement at ODA: Tennis player, taking three Advanced Placement courses
Plans for the future: Attend Florida State University, University of Florida, University of South Florida or Florida Gulf Coast University to major in biology and go into pre-med
Years at ODA: 2021-2025
Involvement at ODA: Baseball player
Plans for the future: Play baseball at the college level and earn a degree in physical therapy
Years at ODA: 2022-2026
Involvement at ODA: Baseball and fishing club
