TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Saint John Paul II Panthers have a new head baseball coach and he brings quite the resume into his very first head coaching job.
Dustin McGowan is the Panther's new skipper. He was drafted in the first round out of high school by the Blue Jays in 2000, playing eleven years of Major League Baseball before retiring in 2018.
McGowan said he's been asked to coach before, but wasn't ready to jump in until the Panthers position opened up. He said he's a little anxious, but excited to do something he's never done.
More importantly, McGowan says he's ready share the knowledge he's gained over the years.
"The goal is to build the program up for a long time, to succeed, and give these kids a chance to go to college or even have their dreams come true of playing in the Major Leagues one day," said McGowan. "You run out of things to do when you're retired. Getting back into baseball is one thing that I love to do and I can't wait. Baseball's given me a lot. It's time for me to give back to baseball a little bit."
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McGowan said he hasn't had a chance to meet the kids yet, but says he plans to have a meeting with them soon and then hopefully start conditioning with them.
