High School Sports Blog

St. Thomas Aquinas hires Troy Cameron as baseball coach

 St. Thomas Aquinas announced Monday it has hired baseball alum Troy Cameron as its new baseball coach. Cameron, a graduate of St. Thomas in 1997, was a USA Today first team All-American and was drafted in the first round (29th overall) that year by the Atlanta Braves.

Cameron played 10 seasons making it as high as Triple-A with the Braves, Indians, Rockies, White Sox and Padres before retiring in 2005.

Hialeah-Miami Lakes running back Hakeem Lawrence hoping to land at Akron

When it came to running the football, nobody in Miami-Dade or Broward County had a better regular season than Hialeah-Miami Lakes senior Hakeem Lawrence.

The 5-8, 175-pound senior ran for 1,818 yards and 22 touchdowns and averaged a whopping 10.6 yards per carry for the Trojans, who finished 6-4 and played against three playoff teams -- American, Hialeah and Apopka. Lawrence, though, didn't sign a National Leatter of Intent back in February because nobody in the country wanted him.

His grades -- from his first two years at North Miami -- were a mess according to coach Kenan Lawhorne.

"His test score was pretty good. He had a 17 on his ACT. But when people looked at his transcript, they thought it was too big a black eye, didn't think he was capable of transforming himself. He's been playing catch up ever since," Lawhorne said.

Lawrence may have finally caught up to a scholarship. Monday, Lawhorne said he faxed Lawrence's transcripts over to Akron's compliance office. With all the classes he's taken to make up for his struggles, Lawhorne said: "if everything computes correctly Hakeem should get in."

"The kid deserves it," Lawhorne said. "He's worked really hard to make up for his mistakes. [Former N.C. State coach and Florid State assistant] Chuck Amato knows the kids from this area well. So, do those Bowden boys. They know the kids from this area can be special, special players with some guidance."

-- MANNY NAVARRO