Pasco baseball pitcher Rollins signs with Florida Southern

The 6-foot-7 senior has shined on the mound for Pirates

Pasco High pitcher Jayce Rollins signs with Florida Southern College on Nov. 19, 2024. Photo provided by Pasco High / Photo provided by Pasco High

Standing 6-foot-7, Pasco High senior Jayce Rollins has uncommon size for a high baseball team.

So far it has served him well on the pitching mound for the Pirates as he looks to finish off a strong prep career this spring. But his baseball journey won’t end there.

On Tuesday, Rollins signed to play with Division II Florida Southern College next year, allowing him to make the short move from Dade City to Lakeland.

“It’s always been a dream of mine and not many high schools athletes are able to end up signing,” Rollins said. “So I feel like it’s a big deal and I’m excited for what’s to come.

“… They have really good academics and a very competitive baseball team, and I didn’t want to go too far away from home. So it’s a good place to be at.”

On the bump for the Pirates was a great place for him last season, as he went 5-1 with a 2.33 ERA. Across 36 innings the right-hander struck out 61 batters and held opponents to a .164 batting average.

“He really flourished about the last year or so,” Pasco head coach Ricky Giles said. “Being 6-7, he’s getting able to control his body and he threw the ball around 86-87 (mph) and probably 88. You figure a kid like that gets in a real pitching program like where he’s going, he can be in the 90s quick. He’s just one of those guys, he does a good job.

“He was the type of the guy, if you hit him, you hit him. But he never really was that guy to just lag back. He’s a competitor.”

Rollins said he looked into a few out-of-state schools and some JUCO programs, but Florida Southern was his main option. The Moccasins have won nine national championships, the most recent in 2005, and 17 Sunshine State Conference titles.

However, the Mocs are coming off a rare losing season, having gone 18-30 in the spring. They have a new head coach in Rick O’Dette, who spent the past seven years guiding the St. Leo program just up the road from Pasco High.

Pasco has a history of sending baseball players to Florida Southern, which makes sense due to the proximity. Meanwhile, O’Dette has a resume that includes 32 players who have gone on to play professionally.

“To be able to go to a rich environment toward baseball, I would say Florida Southern is the place to go,” Giles said.

“… Jayce is about 6-7, 6-7 1/2. Great kid and coachable. You couldn’t ask for a better athlete. Not only can he pitch, he plays the infield. He plays third, he plays first. He can play numerous positions. But he signed to go there to pitch. He’s a great competitor. He’s a workaholic. He does it all.”

He did also have his finest season at the plate as a junior, hitting .406 over 64 at-bats in 24 games. He tallied four doubles, two home runs, 19 runs scored and 25 RBI. He mostly played first base when not pitching.

Yet it is the pitching that is his trademark. It’s something he has done since he started playing baseball at 6 years old. He hasn’t had mechanical issues common among taller pitchers, pointing to his accuracy and strike-throwing as strengths.

“I’ve always been a taller kid,” Rollins said. “I did go through a couple growth spurts where stuff had to change but I’ve been pretty accurate with pitching.”

Still he enjoys hitting and playing the field, and he’ll get to do more of that in the spring with the Pirates.

“I would say I think I’m going to continue to climb in velo,” Rollins said. “I’m really excited for my jump once I get into college and being able to work with the coaches and strength and conditioning and all that. I think I’m going to see another big jump then.

“… This season I hope to just go out there and give my team the best chance to win every time I’m on the mound. And even if I’m not, I’m in the lineup or in the field, just help the team get as many wins as possible and make a run this year.”

The long-term outlook would to be eventually getting drafted and get some years in at the professional level.

“From the beginning I called him D-I because even at that point I thought he would kind of get to that level. But being the level he is, to me it’s just as good,” Giles said. “They’ve got good baseball within the state of Florida. They play UT (University of Tampa), they play Barry (University), they play all them teams down in Miami. He’s going to see some of the better athletes and better ballplayers in the state.”

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school baseball news.

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App