Dwyer baseball parts ways with head coach Alex Morales
Dwyer is going back to the drawing board on the diamond. After five years at the helm of Panther baseball, coach Alex Morales has been removed from the position.
The news came in a Thursday press release from the Palm Beach County School District.
Dwyer Principal Corey Brooks announced that the school opted to ”move in a different direction with the baseball program” just two days after the team’s walk-off loss to Doral Academy in the Class 6A region finals.
The three-seed district runner-up Panthers finished 18-8-2.
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Dwyer’s season came to an end at the bats of the Firebirds last spring, too. The Panthers’ attempt to return to the state semifinals was squashed by a 10-run shutout from the 2022 state champs.
“This decision is based on several factors, including ensuring the program is in line with our school's vision to best support the new generation of student-athletes,” Brooks said.
Morales never had a losing season, taking the rebuilding Panthers on a 15-11 run to the region quarterfinals his first year in 2019 after the departure of longtime coach Frank Torre.
Dwyer entered 2023 as an early favorite to make a postseason run, fielding a host of Division I talent including junior South Florida commits Kody Morgan and Bryce Jackson, Florida State signee Matt Davis and Michigan Wolverine-to-be Bradley Link.
Still, Dwyer baseball has yet to win a state championship like the school’s basketball and football programs have.
Now, the Dwyer administration is on a nationwide search for a new coach to “lead the Panthers, both on and off the diamond.”
Emilee Smarr is the high school sports reporter for The Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dwyer baseball parts ways with Alex Morales to move in 'different direction'
