June 11, 2024
Devin Burkes Becomes First Villages Graduate To Play In College Baseball World Series
By Kyle Coppola
Devin Burkes Becomes First Villages Graduate To Play In College Baseball World Series
Devin Burkes, known as the happiest man in baseball, has become the first Villages Charter High School graduate to play on College Baseball’s biggest stage! Burkes, who plays for the University of Kentucky, has made it to the College Baseball World Series, thereby becoming the first athlete in Villages history to accomplish this feat.
(Devin Burkes is excited to represent our area in the College World Series. We are very excited for him! Photo Credit – Alonzo Wright.)
Burkes is a Redshirt Junior. Ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 269 player overall and No. 23 catcher in the country, Burkes was one of the top players in Florida. He was named as an all-state team member in 2018. The Villages won back-to-back district championships in 2017 and 2018 and were the regional runner-up in 2018.
Burkes has been a significant part of Kentucky’s success this season, boasting a .250 batting average, 49 hits, and 49 runs scored. He also has 74 RBIs this season.
The SEC dominated this year in college baseball, sending four teams to the College World Series, including Kentucky, Texas A&M, Florida, and Tennessee. Kentucky will play NC State on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. on ESPN.
This is a massive moment for Lake & Sumter County along with The Villages Charter School. We look forward to seeing Burkes out on the field and wish him and Kentucky the best of luck in the College Baseball World Series.
Photo Credit – University of Kentucky
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.
