By Kyle Coppola
Jesiah Pierre Inducted Into MDCA Sports Hall Of Fame
MOUNT DORA, Fla. — Jesiah Pierre, a former standout athlete for Mount Dora Christian Academy (MDCA), has been inducted into the school’s Sports Hall of Fame, joining a distinguished class of six other honorees. The ceremony celebrated decades of athletic excellence, with inductees spanning from the Class of 1987 to recent alumni.
(Pierre would play for UF, Texas Tech for three seasons and end his college career with UCF. Pierre has declared for the 2025 NFL Draft. Photo Credit – UCF Athletics.)
Pierre, who excelled as both a running back and middle linebacker during his prep career, was also a key contributor to the varsity basketball team at MDCA. Named Defensive Player of the Year by the Leesburg Daily Commercial in both his junior and senior seasons, Pierre’s on the field performance earned him a football scholarship to the University of Florida. He later transferred to Texas Tech, where he played for three years, before finishing his collegiate career at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Pierre recently declared for the 2025 NFL Draft.
(Cooper Monn De Zelaya was among those inducted. She was a standout volleyball and basketball player for MDCA. From left to right “Megan Ziegelhofer, Copper Monn and Steven Hayes. Photo Credit – Malcolm Yawn Photography.)
Joining Pierre in the Hall of Fame are former MDCA basketball players Jackson Pruim and Gabriel Curtis from the Class of 2019, Cooper Monn De Zelaya who was a girls volleyball and basketball standout along with basketball player Joseph Martz from the Class of 2018. Representing the legacy of the Class of 1987, Elizabeth Knight, a trailblazer from the era when the school was known as Mount Dora Bible, was also honored along with Dru Baker. The night started off with an alumni game and the MDCA Varsity boys basketball team beat Circle Christian 74-36 to cap off a great evening.
Congratulations to all the MDCA Alumni on their contributions over the years. We are very proud of each and every one of them.
Photo Credit – Malcolm Yawn Photography
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
