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2010s
Corey Kluber ’07
Jacob deGrom ’10
Two Hatters Win Top Baseball Honors Two Hatter alumni, Corey Kluber and Jacob deGrom, recently received top Major League Baseball honors. Former Stetson Hatter Kluber capped a great season with the Cleveland Indians by being selected as the American League Cy Young Award winner. Kluber, who played for the Hatters 2005-07, completed his first full season in the big leagues with an 18-9 record and 2.44 ERA in 34 starts. His 235.2 innings of work this summer ranked third in the American League. He tied for the league lead in wins and was second in strikeouts with 2.69. During his three seasons with the Hatters he posted a 20-9 record in 32 starts. His 20 wins are tied for second in school history. Kluber downplayed winning personal awards when he was at Stetson for Homecoming. “I don’t try to set personal goals for myself,” he says. “I focus on the big picture, on improving. I don’t look at the numbers, because that becomes counterproductive. I just try to get my work in and try to get better every day.” He was inducted into the Stetson Athletics Hall of Fame, along with former teammate and current Atlanta Braves third baseman Chris Johnson ’07. He says that seeing other former Hatters succeed in the big leagues is fun. “It is pretty cool that we have three guys in the Majors right now,” Kluber says. “CJ and I played together for two years, and that is pretty cool. I never got a chance to play with Jacob but to have three guys from our school all playing is cool. We see each other from time to time, and it is always good to catch up.” Similarly, deGrom capped a stellar first season with the New York Mets by earning National League Rookie of the Year honors. DeGrom, who played at Stetson from 2008-10, finished his rookie season in New York with a 9-6 record and a 2.69 ERA in 140.1 innings of work. He recorded 144 strikeouts, including tying the MLB record with eight consecutive strikeouts to start a game against Miami. DeGrom was twice named National League Rookie of the Month this season. Kluber’s Cy Young Award and deGrom’s National League Rookie of the Year award put the Stetson baseball program on the map. It is just the second collegiate program to ever have two former players win a Major League Baseball post-season award in the same year. —Ricky Hazel
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STETSON
▲ Jennifer LaRocco, JD ’07, Palmetto, has joined the law firm of GrayRobinson, P.A., in the firm’s public finance practice in Tampa. She will represent Florida cities, counties, universities, school boards, aviation, port and other governmental authorities, and community development districts, as well as banking and other financial institutions. Phoenix Ayotte Harris, JD ’07, Fairfax, Va., has formed a new law partnership, Harris & Carmichael, PLLC. Brian A. Watson, JD ’07, Orlando, is on the board of directors for the Orlando Economic Development Commission (EDC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to attracting, retaining and growing jobs in the region. Erin Lovell Ebanks ’08, Orlando, has had her first book published, Happy Professor: An Adjunct Instructor’s Guide to Personal, Financial, and Student Success. Nicole Tilton Gross ’08, MBA ’09, Chicago, Ill., was featured in Reno Magazine’s article “Power at Any Age.” She was profiled as the project manager for the Whitney Peak Hotel project. She is the youngest person to run a hotel in Northern Nevada. John Miller, JD ’08, Fort Myers, was elected a stockholder at Henderson Franklin. He is also in Florida Super Lawyers® magazine (2011, 2013-2014) as a “Rising Star” in the field of civil litigation defense. In addition, he received the James A. Dixon Young Lawyer of the Year Award from the Florida Defense Lawyers Association. Miller is AVrated by Martindale-Hubbell.
Katie Nadolny ’12, Belleview, graduated from the University of Michigan with a master’s in music for vocal performance. She has completed her first season with the Des Moines Metro Opera as an apprentice artist and started a position as an adjunct voice instructor with Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. Chrissie Fernandez, JD ’13, St. Petersburg, has been appointed assistant public defender in the 16th Judicial Circuit of Florida. Justin W. Weber ’14, Mount Dora, was featured in an Orlando Sentinel article highlighting his performance of A Musical History of Jazz.
Marriages & Unions
▲ Lucia Hegel ’07 to Eric Diaz ’08, MBA ’09 on Nov. 22, 2014. John Baker ’07 to Claire Griggs on Sept. 27, 2014. Lilly Sadler ’08 to Scott Van Houten ’09 on Aug. 31, 2014. Andrea Strong ’08 to Daniel Grill ’07 on Aug. 2, 2014.
▲ Katelyn Whitney ’09 to Jess Lanza ’09 on Oct. 18, 2014.