Vote: Who is the Florida high school softball Class 5A Coach of the Year?

We nominate 10 candidates from each classification who they think will be the Florida high school softball coach of the year. We start with Class 1A and will work our way through the highest classification in the state, which is 7A

Middleburg's Lily Bennett (9) relieves Karleigh Sanford (22) as head coach Ashley Houston talks with Bennett during the sixth inning of a high school softball matchup at Baldwin Middle-Senior High School Tuesday, April 22, 2025 in Baldwin, Fla. Baldwin defeated Middleburg 5-3. / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Florida high school softball season has officially concluded, and now we turn our attention to the coach of the year nominees. High School on SI will nominate 10 coaches who they think will be the coach of the year in their respective classifications.

Voting will end on Sunday, June 29th, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Here are the nominees for the Class 5A softball coach of the year.

Editor’s note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the players that have been nominated and in no way discredits any other player that may not be mentioned in our poll.

Here are the nominees:

Bryan Baucom, St. Thomas Aquinas

Baucom led the St. Thomas Aquinas softball program to their first state semifinal appearance since 2017, where they had their season come to an end against Niceville back on May 22.

Chris Chronister, Gainesville

Chronister just finished his 9th season as the head coach of the Gainesville High School softball program, where they have made regional playoff appearances in seven of the nine years. Gainesville finished the 2025 season with a 17-8 record and reached the regional finals.

Farrah Sullivan-Gordon, Winter Springs

Gordon just finished her 5th season as the head coach of the Winter Springs softball program, winning the school's second state title.

Danny Hensley, Niceville

Hensley just finished his 20th season as the head coach of the Niceville softball program, finishing the 2025 season with a 22-7 record and reached the Class 5A Championship Game before losing to Winter Springs.

Brian Hodgson, Gulf Coast (Naples)

Hodgson led the Sharks to their first 20-win season in program history and reached the regional quarterfinals.

Ashley Houston, Middleburg

Houston led the Broncos to a 19-9 record and reached the regional semifinals before having their season come to an end against Matanzas on May 13.

Cynthia Jeyvak, Chiles (Tallahassee)

Jeyvak just finished her 10th season as the head coach of the Chiles softball program where they finished with a record of 20-4. The Timberwolves reached the regional semifinal before their season came to an end against Niceville.

Sabrina Manhart, Matanzas

Manhart just finished her 6th season as the head coach at Matanzas High School where they won 23 games, marking their most wins in a single season since 2019.

Dan Mills, Fort Myers

Mills just finished his 4th season leading the Green Wave, where they finished the 2025 season with a 22-7-1 record.

Jeff Miner, North Fort Myers

Miner led the North Fort Myers Lady Knights to the Class 5A semifinal before coming up short against Winter Springs.

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Reach Ross Van De Griek on X/Twitter @RossVDG14 or send him an email at rossvdg14@gmail.com