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RAIDERS BASEBALL

Brian Kelley, Head Baseball Coach

Brian Kelley enters his 14th year as Head Coach at Rickards High School. The Class of 1992 Alum and starting Catcher, led Rickards to their first district title since 1992 in 2009. Kelley's 1992 team was also a Regional Finalist. In 2010, the Raiders were again District Champion and Regional Semi-Finalist in 2010. The 2010 team was also the first Rickards UNDEFEATED district team with a 10-0 record. The 2018 team reached historic heights by winning a program best 19 games, capturing the District Title, and advancing to the Regional Finals! Coach Kelley has also been voted District Coach of the Year in 2008, 2009, 2010, and now 2018. He has led the Tallahassee Babe Ruth 15U All-Stars to the Babe Ruth World Series finishing 5th in the country. Most notable are the first two players ever drafted out of high school, Mallex Smith (Padres), 2012 and Tramayne Holmes(Rangers), 2015.

Words from Head Coach, Brian Kelley

When I came back to my alma-mater it was my first coaching experience. I was an Assistant my first year and then promoted to Head Coach the year after. My first goal was to make Rickards Baseball relevant here in the baseball-rich city of Tallahassee. Many coaches had come and gone maybe seeing that Rickards wasn't a "baseball school" and moved on to what they may have thought were greener pastures. I was here to build a program and to stay and maintain a program here on the Southside we could all be proud of. We have been able to do that and beyond. With dedicated assistants coaches, we worked endless hours to get our players on the map. With hard work, dedication to school, the weightroom, and the game of baseball, our players hard work started to pay off with scholarship offers and professional scouts just wanting to come see us take batting practice. It has been my honor to be a part of every kids life that has come through our program as well as the student body of James S. Rickards High School for the last decade. My mission here today is to raise the bar even higher for the next decade and to continue to give our kids the opportunity to play at the next level and beyond. Dream BIG! Every waking moment is an opportunity for greatness.