By Kyle Coppola
Eustis High Softball’s Brooklyn Powhida Signs With Purdue
Brooklyn Powhida, a standout senior outfielder on the Eustis High School softball team, has signed her commitment to continue her athletic and academic career at Purdue University.
Surrounded by family, friends and faculty, Brooklyn thanked her family, coaches and teammates.
“I am extremely thankful and blessed to announce my commitment to further my athletic and academic career at the next level at Purdue University!” Brooklyn says in her announcement. “I would like to give a special thank you to my wonderful parents! Without their love and support, I wouldn’t be where I am today. With my dad’s countless hours of work and endless conversations with my mom, they helped shape me into the ballplayer I am today.”
Brooklyn has been a cornerstone of Eustis’ recent success. She helped the Panthers win the 2024 FHSAA state championship and reach state runner-up finishes in both 2025 and 2026. She has advanced to the state final in every season of her high school career.
Entering her senior year, Brooklyn has appeared in 81 games with a .420 batting average, 108 hits, 97 runs scored, 58 RBIs, 12 doubles, 11 triples and 91 stolen bases.
“To my amazing little brother, thank you for always being my biggest cheerleader!” Brooklyn says. “I would also like to thank Coach Beall, Coach Robbert, Coach Tyra, Coach Chris, and Coach Kevin (the one who has been there since the beginning) for developing me over the years. A huge thank you to Coach Rock, Coach Shane, Coach Jenny, Coach Cam, Coach Freddie, and the entire Birmingham Thunderbolts organization for giving me the opportunity to play for such a wonderful program!”
Brooklyn joins other Eustis players who have signed or committed to NCAA Division I programs, including D’Yani McKinley (Prairie View A&M), Kendall Kemp (Rutgers University), Libby Levindoski (Navy), Ciara Maple (FAMU), Ella Fleming (University of Missouri), Skyler Scott (FAMU), Jensen Luke (FIU) and Emmy Luke (Boston College), among others.
“Thank you to my friends, family, and teammates for always pushing me to be better every day. You have all been my biggest supporters!” Brooklyn says. “Lastly, the greatest thank you goes to Coach Magi, Coach Nicky, Coach Jordan, Coach Rudd, Coach Kate, and Coach Bonk for giving me the opportunity to live out my childhood dream. Boiler Up!”
Before Brooklyn begins playing for the Boilermakers, she will attempt to win one more FHSAA state title with Eustis this spring.
Photo Credit – Eustis High School and Joe Ott Photography (Fan Zone)
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.
