Steve Winterling, Pasco-Hernando State College athletic director and men’s baseball team head coach, reached his 700th career win against Florida Southern JV, in Lakeland on April 12, 2018. It was his 683rd win at PHSC and he won 17 games serving as the head coach at Florida College in 1982. In a 15-1 win, starter Dan Nicholls pitched eight innings of one-hit baseball. He struck out 10 batters while walking only two. Brayden Lyman hit for the cycle going four for five with two RBIs. Lyman tripled in the third, doubled in the fourth, homered in the sixth and singled in the seventh. Brad Hession, Alex Mangome, Taj Porter and Zach Ghelfi each had two hits in the game that sealed Winterling’s 700th win.
Winterling is in his 27th year as the head coach at PHSC. He started PHSC’s first intercollegiate baseball team in March 1991 and built the PHSC program by recruiting quality student-athletes to play against top competition throughout the state of Florida. More than 30 players have signed professional contracts and many others have gone on to outstanding four-year institutions.
Prior to his role at PHSC, he served as an assistant coach at Florida State University for six years under Mike Martin. His tenure included three College World Series in Omaha, including a national runner-up finish in 1986. He coached several professional athletes that included Deion Sanders, Paul Sorrento, Luis Alicea, Eduardo Perez and Orestes Destrade.
In addition to his baseball and director of athletics duties, he teaches health and physical education courses, is an avid runner, and has completed seven marathons and 45 half-marathons.
A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Winterling played two years of baseball at Florida College before moving on to the University of South Florida, where he received his bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1981. He completed his master’s degree from Florida State University in 1986. Winterling has been a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association for 39 years.
Winterling was recognized as Regional Coach of the Year by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and American Baseball Coaches Association in 2014, the same year the PHSC team made its first-ever trip to the NJCAA Division II College World Series where they placed fourth. In 2016, the team finished fifth at Districts in Burlington, NC and finished 32-2-1 on the season. Last season they went 25-20 and lost in regional play.
Winterling’s PHSC Bobcats (35-16) hosted a best of three series against ASA College of Miami last weekend. The Bobcats took the series 2-1, advancing them to the Southeast District Tournament in Burlington, N.C. The 35 wins are the second most in school history and four behind the record of 37 set in 2009.
