New coach, star transfer, deep roster: Dwyer baseball believes it has elite recipe for 2024

PALM BEACH GARDENS — Start with a core of returning players who have made deep playoff runs the past three years, including a trip to the state tournament in 2021.

Add in the best pro prospect in Palm Beach County, a center fielder and leadoff hitter who has committed to Ole Miss but could be an early-round draft pick this summer.

Then bring in a 27-year-old head coach who was a high school phenom himself only a decade ago and spent parts of three seasons as a major league pitcher.

That's the recipe that Dwyer High School is hoping will bring unprecedented success to a baseball program that has continually ranked among the county's best. State championship banners for football and boys basketball hang in the Panthers' gym; now the baseball team wants to add one of its own.

"Take it to the house," Dwyer coach Jordan Yamamoto said when asked about his first-year goal. "Win a state championship. If you're in this high school game and you're not trying to go for that every year, then you might be in it for the wrong reason."

Of course, that has been the goal ever since the Panthers made their surprise run to the state Class 6A semifinals in 2021. That year, they were able to get past Miami-Dade County power Doral Academy in the regional finals. But in the past two years, the Firebirds ended the Panthers' season one step away from the state tournament.

Here are three reasons why the Panthers think this year will be different.

New face in the dugout

After the frustrating finish to 2023 — Dwyer built a 5-0 lead against Doral but wound up losing  8-7 on a walk-off hit in the seventh inning — Principal Corey Brooks decided to "move in a different direction" with the baseball program.

Alex Morales, who never had a losing season in five years with the Panthers, was dismissed. To replace him, Brooks turned to a former MLB pitcher whose coaching resume amounted to one season as an assistant in travel ball.

Yamamoto was called up to the Marlins in 2019 and showed promise in 15 starts, going 4-5 with a 4.46 ERA and striking out 82 in 78⅔ innings. Shoulder problems limited him to 18 innings over the next two seasons with the Marlins and Mets. He didn't pitch at all in 2022, and when the Dodgers released him last March, he announced his retirement.

When he learned of the opening at Dwyer, where his wife and brother-in-law attended, he decided to apply.

"I was doing a little bit of travel baseball here and there, but when this job opened up ... I was like, 'Why not give it a shot?'" Yamamoto said. "This team has a bunch of good kids, there's a great community over here, so I figured this was the best place to be."

But Yamamoto had to convince Brooks that he could run a top-tier program despite having no high school coaching experience.

"In the interview, I said I've run travel teams, I've done the head coaching duties, I've done it all," he said. "It's nothing new, just a matter of learning the ins and outs of high school baseball.

"Travel baseball is more about showcasing players, but high school baseball is more about growing the talent you have. ... It's all about how can we get this program on track so that every kid that goes here makes an impact, and every kid wants to come here."

The Panthers' veterans have reacted favorably to the coaching change.

"He's like one of us," said third baseman Bryce Jackson, a South Florida commit. "He's like our friend out here. We joke around with him all the time, but we can talk to him about anything. He just knows so much about the game of baseball, so many workouts, strategies, drills."

Pitcher Kody Morgan, another South Florida commit, concurred. "It's awesome because that's just a guy that you want to talk to," he said. "Everyone here has a goal, and that's to make it to MLB. And to have a coach that was in MLB, had a pretty good couple of years, he teaches us how to play the game, how to practice and just how to be a better team."

The Jackson Miller effect

Yamamoto inherited a loaded roster. The Panthers lost a few key players — notably slugger Matt Davis, now at Florida State — but their returnees include Jackson, Morgan, shortstop Dawson Thrush (Air Force), pitchers Nick Rovitti (The Citadel) and Ben Lubeck (uncommitted), and outfielder/first baseman Trevor Majer (Tampa).

Now the coach can add Jackson Miller to the mix.

How good is Miller? Benjamin, which finished 24-3 last season, had three Virginia commits — Tristan Head, Walker Buchanan and Freddie Beruvides — yet some considered Miller, then a sophomore, to be the best player on the team.

His numbers were off the charts: a .457 batting average and .556 on-base percentage; 17 extra-base hits, including five homers; 20 RBIs, 13 walks and eight stolen bases. He also showed excellent range and a strong arm in center field.

After an outstanding summer playing for Canes National, one of the nation's top travel teams, Miller reclassified to the Class of 2024 and transferred to Dwyer.

"What he brings is a new level of baseball adding to the level of baseball we already have," Yamamoto said. "It's never one player to make or break a team, but when you have a star athlete like that, a potential leadoff hitter, it makes it a lot easier."

Yamamoto believes Miller can be even better atop the Panthers' stacked lineup.

"When he was at Benjamin, I don't know what kind of protection he had, but here you have Dawson behind him, you have Bryce behind him, you have all these guys behind him," he said. "Teams have to worry about all these other guys who can hit home runs like nothing. Now he's going to be an even harder hitter to get out."

Miller made a splash at the heavily scouted WWBA World Championship in Jupiter last fall, batting .385 with six walks and only two strikeouts in 23 plate appearances. That raised his draft stock, leading some to believe that he'll pass up Ole Miss and sign a pro contract.

"I'm looking for any opportunity," Miller said. "I still love Ole Miss. ... Getting that state championship ring and my teammates, that's what matters to me the most right now. After the high school season, we'll see what's best for me."

Getting over the hump

With their deep lineup and "the best pitching we've ever had," according to Morgan, the Panthers will be favored to win District 13-6A this season. (They could face a challenge from West Boca Raton, which upset the Panthers in the district final last year but then lost to them in the regionals.)

After that, the usual South Florida powers threaten to block their path to Fort Myers, notably Fort Lauderdale-St. Thomas Aquinas and Doral Academy.

After two season-ending losses to Doral, Morgan said: "Obviously the goal is to get past that — that one bridge that we have to hit every year, which is Doral. The goal is for a ring. We want to win, we have a great team this year, we've been working out every single day. That's our main goal, nothing less."

Miller, who has gotten a warm welcome from his new teammates, believes the Panthers' chemistry will give them an advantage this year.

"I feel like we have a bunch of talented guys," he said. "But with talent, you also need to mesh well with your teammates, and I feel like we do that really well. ... We've all got each other's backs. I feel like that creates something bigger than the game of baseball, and it helps us be a better team."

Yamamoto may be lacking in experience but certainly not confidence. He said he wants to build a program so successful that "people look at us as a Stoneman Douglas, as an IMG, as we're the top dogs in the state."

For some perspective, Broward County power Stoneman Douglas has won three consecutive state championships (four overall) and is riding a 51-game winning streak.

"When I came in, the first thing I told (the players) was that I believe they deserve better than what they got," Yamamoto said. "I'm not taking away from any of the previous years, but I believe that with this team, this talent, this camaraderie that I see, they should take it very, very far."

As for the Doral roadblock, he said, "I'm not too worried about the guys we play. I've heard about some teams, but the reality is, if our team is on their A game, there's not many people that are going to stop us."

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dwyer baseball confident in 2024 with new head coach, deep roster