Accolades abound, but Kurland desires signature senior moment

Berkeley Prep senior Rivers Kurland has been the staff ace for three years, and has accumulated some staggering career stats in his four varsity seasons, including 382 strikeouts. He will lead the Buccaneers into Tuesday’s Class 2A state semifinal, taking the mound against Jacksonville Trinity Christian.

By Jarrett Guthrie, Editor

TAMPA – Senior lefty Rivers Kurland has attached his name to nearly every pitching milestone in the history of Berkeley Prep baseball.

Total wins record ✔.
Career strikeouts ✔.
Innings pitched ✔.
Lowest career ERA ✔.

“He’ll graduate with the most wins in Berkeley Prep history, the most strikeouts in Berkeley Prep history, and the lowest ERA,” Berkeley Prep head coach Richie Warren said. “Like, what? Just think about the talent that has come through the county and this team. Those numbers don’t just happen. It’s his ability to throw every pitch in any count, keep hitters off balance, and really being able to throw each of his pitches differently … he’s done that since his freshman year.”

The milestones are stacked up for the Florida State bound Kurland. But there is still something to be accomplished, according to Buccaneers ace.

“Everyone needs a senior moment,” he said.

In his four varsity seasons, Kurland has seen plenty of big moments from seniors of the past to his current teammates.

“Ones that come to mind are JT Quinn (c/o ’22) beating Calvary (Christian) and winning the state semifinal game, my brother (2022 All-813Preps MVP Cade Kurland) obviously hit that home run in the state championship, and Jojo (Joseph Troupe) got his senior moment in the last game (with a game deciding three-run homer),” Kurland said. “And I’m still missing that moment, I want that signature moment, and that’s what keeps me going.”

His own toughest critic, perhaps, as the county’s most consistent arm, he had both six double-digit strikeout performances this year and a no-hitter against Carrollwood Day in the region semifinals.

Kurland will chase that desired “signature senior moment” as he takes to the mound at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers on Tuesday in the FHSAA Class 2A state semifinal against Jacksonville Trinity Christian at 10 am.

The start will be the second of his career in the state final four, as Kurland took the mound for the 2022 championship final, after bursting on the scene as a freshman while going 4-2 with six saves.

Just getting started, Kurland pitching as a freshman in his start in 2022 state title game.

Though he lost the decision in that game 5-2, despite going seven innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out eight – and the moment lit a spark.

“I said the moment I left there the last time, I was going to come back,” Kurland said, “I needed to come back. I have unfinished business and to be honest, it hasn’t ever sat right with me. We were so close and so talented.”

Delivering a pitch in his sophomore season in a win over River Ridge.

That motivating game was just the beginning of a standout career, which has featured a 27-6 record over 274-plus innings, with 382 strikeouts – finishing fifth in Hillsborough County as a sophomore, then leading the county the next two seasons – earning All-813Preps first team honors the last two years.

Last season Kurland was 9-1 with a county-leading 118 strikeouts. He’ll need five in Tuesday’s state semifinal to tie that single-season mark.

“I think that’s a testament to how hard he works to prepare in the offseason,” Warren said. “He is so prepared, then so competitive and refuses to come out of games. He puts himself in situations to continue in games. And go look, he has not thrown against slouches. He’s always gotten the ball in the best game of the week for us.”

Kurland as a freshman pitching in the region final win against Lakeland Christian, where he earned the save in the 8-5 win.

As a freshman Kurland got an inning here and there through the first month of the season, before Warren stretched him out in a mid-March home game against St. Johns Bartram Trail. In that game the Bears paced out an early lead, and Kurland came on in the fourth as the Bucs rallied to tie the game, forced extras and won on a solo home run in the eighth by Kurland’s older brother, Cade.

“Go back and look at the boxscore from that Bartram Trail game,” Warren said. “They’ve got the shortstop now at Florida State (Alex Lodise) that’s going to be a first-round pick, we had six (NCAA) Division I players and they had seven or eight. That game was insane with talent on that field … it started there and he’s had his moments in some incredibly big games.”

His senior year started with errors costing him three unearned runs in an opening night loss to Tampa Catholic, but then seven wins over his next 12 appearances, including region round opening wins over the Community School of Naples and CDS.

However, his last start again went pear-shaped after errors gave Bishop McLaughlin four unearned runs (and one earned) and his second loss of the year.

Fortunately, Berkeley Prep (25-9) won the next two over the Hurricanes to give their ace one more start.

“As awesome as it is that his teammates gave him one more chance to throw for us,” Warren said, “(today) is going to be bittersweet. The last time he’ll walk on that mound in a Berkeley uniform. But however that game ends is not going to define what he means to this school, this program and to me.”

“Obviously, I lost last week (actually two weeks ago on May 5th) but the guys came back and got it done for me,” Kurland said. “This is all gravy at this point. Nobody gave us a shot … it’s all fun for us. We’re ready to be the villain and prove everyone who said we wouldn’t get here wrong.”

Today’s challenge is a daunting one in Trinity Christian (29-4), ranked No. 2 in the state, and No. 6 in the nation by MaxPreps.com.

But Warren knows he has a literal ace in his hand when it comes to his semifinal starter, and he said he couldn’t think of a better option.

“It’s crazy how many guys careers start then end and they don’t ever get to pitch in playoffs or final fours, and I hope our guys never take that for granted,” Warren said. “It’s not easy in to get to the final four, but when you’ve got a guy like Rivers, you’ve got a chance. And that’s all I could ever ask for.”

2025 Class 2A State Semifinal
Berkeley Prep (25-9) vs Jacksonville Trinity Christian (29-4)

Where: Hammond Stadium, Lee County Sports Complex
14100 6-Mile Cypress Parkway, Fort Myers, FL 33912
When: Tuesday, May 20 at 10 am

Berkeley Prep Summary: A deep junior class has led the Berkeley Prep offense this season. OF/RHP Parker Mitzel is just one off the county-leading RBI mark with (41 and) a chance to take the lead this week, while batting .374 (40 hits), 25 runs, 13 doubles and seven home runs; he’s also gone 4-1 with a save, a 1.02 ERA and 51 strikeouts. Catcher Carson Binder matched Mitzel in batting average and hits, while driving in 19, scoring 25 times, hitting 11 doubles and two home runs; CF and leadoff Josh Herrmann led the Bucs with 31 runs scored and 18 stolen bases, driving in 24 with 10 doubles. Like Kurland, senior Joseph Troupe makes his second final four appearance where he had in RBI triple in Berkeley’s state final game. This year Troupe battled some injuries, but hit .347 with 13 RBI including a game-winning three-run home run in the region finale, 5-3 win at Bishop McLaughlin. Ben O’Brien has been impressive on the mound, going 9-1 with a 1.76 ERA and 78 strikeouts, while also playing second base. And sophomores SS Lucas Farrar (.306, 23 runs, 18 RBI, 18 stolen bases) and 1B Jett Walters (.260, 17 runs scored) have been key contributors.

How the Buccaneers got here: Despite a district semifinal exit (a 5-4, extra-inning loss to Carrollwood Day), Berkeley Prep’s strength of schedule and 19 wins earned the Bucs the No. 2 spot in the region tournament (behind district champion Tampa Catholic). BPS went on the road to the Community School of Naples, where Rivers Kurland threw a five-inning one hitter in a mercy-rule 10-0 win, then the Bucs scored early and advanced on a 6-4 win. The semifinal round matched Berkeley up with CDS, where Kurland pitched his third six-plus inning game against the Patriots – this time a complete-game no-hitter with eight strikeouts; and the Buccaneers wrapped up that series behind two RBI apiece from Troupe and JD Haughey. Kurland dropped just his second game of the season as errors helped Bishop McLaughlin take an early series lead, but the Buccaneers won decisively in Game 2 with Herrmann going 3-for-3 with four RBI and three runs scored, and earned its region title with a 5-3 road win. Berkeley Prep makes its eighth final four appearance, looking for the school’s second state baseball championship, previously winning in 1976. It is the third trip to the semifinal in head coach Richie Warren’s 11-year tenure at the school, though Warren won a state title as a player (2000) and a head coach at Jesuit (2014).

Trinity Catholic Summary: Currently ranked No. 6 in the nation and No. 2 in Florida by MaxPreps.com, the Conquerors went 29-4, dropping games to 6A runner-up Gainesville Buccholz, IMG, 4A state semifinalist Jesuit, and 7A region finalist Venice by a combined five runs. TCA had seven batters with at least 30 hits this season, and nine batters with double-digit hits, runs and RBI. The offense is started with senior OF Aiden Arnett (a Virginia Tech signee), who hit .376, with seven doubles, 30 runs, 19 RBI and 11 stolen bases in the leadoff position; junior 3B Jordan Martinez has hit five home runs, while batting .337 with 29 runs and 24 RBI; DH/1B/RHP Ethan Wheeler had 31 hits and 24 RBI in his junior season, while going 8-2 on the mound with a 2.01 ERA and 85 strikeouts; and junior SS Parker Loew also had 31 hits this season, drove in 27 and scored 20, while hitting three homers. Senior RHP Aaron Watson (Virginia signee) went 8-0, with a 1.52 ERA and 115 strikeouts this year, while junior lefty Tyler Ellis was 6-1, with a 0.91 ERA and 66 K’s in 38 innings.

How the Conquerors got here: After dropping a 3-2 decision to Venice in its regular-season finale, Trinity Christian took district and region titles with eight-straight wins. The Conquerors defeated Episcopal School of Jacksonville in both the district and region semifinal; and claimed the 2A-3 district title with a 5-1 win against Jacksonville Bishop Snyder with Loew going 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI. All three region rounds featured two games, with TCA winning a one-run game and one by a total greater than five – including mercy-rule wins over Tallahassee McClay and Panama City Bozeman. Trinity Christian is in search of its second state title in school history, defeating Naples Bishop Verot for the Class 4A championship in 2015.