Palm Beach Gardens Living - September 2025

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 5 | PA L M B E A C H G A R D E N S L I V I N G 7 athletics and academics are both excelling at Palm Beach State with teams currently boasting a 3.2 average GPA. Director of Athletics John Scarpino emphasizes this expectation of excellence in the classroom and in competition. “The goal of Palm Beach State Athletics is to prepare student athletes for their next steps in life. While Women’s Golf finished 6th in the nation during its first year of competition and men’s and women’s basketball teams received national recognition, 95% of our sophomores also transferred to a four- year institution.” Whether in a high-tech lab or on the court, course, or sand, young people are embracing a winning, successful spirit that is defining today’s Palm Beach State College. BASEBALL During the past twenty years, Palm Beach State College has produced 58 Major League Baseball players, with some winning a World Series, all under the leadership of Coach Kyle Forbes. With 90% of the College’s players coming from local high schools, there is no shortage of ball-hitting, base-stealing talent in the area, advantageous for Palm Beach State baseball. In 2013, Coach Forbes and the Baseball Panthers earned Palm Beach State its first Florida College System State Athletics Association title since 1984. While the team’s first appearance in a national championship game did not prove victorious, the Panthers finished an impressive sixth nationwide in 2015 as a state runner-up and have earned the Southern Conference championship three times in a seven-year period. As the program grows and the victory flags fly, the Baseball Panthers look to expand their diamond as well as their following. Perhaps the now iconic line from the film Field of Dreams says it best, “If you build it, [they] will come.” On March 24, 2025, the Palm Beach State College Baseball team hosted a clinic for the East Boynton Beach Little League, allowing Panthers student-athletes to share their skills with the next generation of baseball and softball players. BEACHVOLLEYBALL With Palm Beach State College Women’s Beach Volleyball, the Panthers have joined the select pantheon of teams able to do the back-to-back-to-back dance as national champs. Furthermore, these Panthers have been the most successful team in the school's history. During this year’s postseason, the Panthers demonstrated their dominance, winning all three matches on their way to clinching their third Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) Region 8 Championship in as many years. That feat was followed by securing the National Junior Collegiate Athletics Association (NJCAA) National Championship, garnering a trio of trophies now sitting proudly on a Palm Beach State shelf. Head Coach Drew Colvin and Assistant Coach Jessica Colvin have built together not only a championship team but also a winning culture of excellence that has propelled these Panthers to the height of their sport. WOMEN’S GOLF In its first season after a long hiatus, the Panthers women's golf team finished in the top ten at the NJCAA Division I Women's Golf National Championship. Winning the Jefferson State Invitational in Alabama, the Panthers finished one shot back of a top-five spot, a proud distinction for the College’s women’s golf coach and former LPGA player, Susan Bond-Philo. "I am so proud of this first season, especially with how serious the competition is. Now, we’re building upon the improvements we’ve made throughout the year with the incoming class of recruits.” With the resurgence of men’s and women’s team golf at Palm Beach State, the timing is perfect with the second season of TGL, the innovative professional golf league from TMRW Sports, teeing off soon from SoFi Center at the College’s Palm Beach Gardens campus. For years, the correlation between students’ participation in competitive sports and their academic performance has been strong. Engagement in athletics has shown to improve cognition, problem- solving abilities, and collaborative skills while helping to foster confidence and creativity, extremely pertinent for young people and their development. In the end, supporting athletics means supporting students in the classroom, leading to successful career paths that benefit the community. Complementing the UN resolution, Palm Beach State’s Athletics program provides a testament to the purpose of education: empowering students to contribute to the world today for a better tomorrow. PBSC Women's Beach Volleyball Champs 2025 PBSC Women's Golf, #6 National Ranking