By Kyle Coppola
MDCA Baseball Player Weston Barrett Commits to University of Florida
Mount Dora Christian Academy junior Weston Barrett has committed to play baseball at the University of Florida.
Weston is coming off a strong sophomore season in which he hit .414 with 36 hits, 30 RBIs, 11 doubles, seven home runs and 27 runs scored.
“First, I want to thank God for this opportunity,” Weston says. “Thank you to my family, coaches, and the Florida coaching staff for believing in me. Go Gators!”
MDCA head coach Jason Sanders praised Weston’s impact and development.
“Weston has been an impact player the minute he began his career with MDCA,” Sanders says. “He worked his way from our Middle School program to Junior Varsity & Varsity. In his 8th grade year he started to earn some roles on Varsity and by the middle of his 9th grade year he was an everyday player. His development and ability to stick to the process and not rush it is an example to our entire program.”
While Weston is among the area’s top baseball players, he also receives praise from those who know him as an even better person and teammate.
“Weston first and foremost is a great teammate,” Sanders says. “He is a positive leader on the field, dugout, and clubhouse making everyone around him better. Baseball wise Weston has a very unique skill set. He is power hitter, that can do it from both batter boxes as a switch hitter. Very rarely do you have a true switch hitter at any level of baseball, but adding the power element, Weston stands out from the rest. He can also play several defensive positions on the field making him a very valuable piece to any team.”
Weston helped Mount Dora Christian Academy make a deep playoff run in 2026, nearly reaching the FHSAA State Finals. He helped MDCA finish with a 24-7 record, and the team finished ranked No. 6 in FHSAA Class 1A.
When Weston steps to the plate, he is light-years ahead of his age and brings a maturity not often found in young players.
“The other things that jumps off the page when talking about Weston is his discipline, focus, confidence, and desire,” Sanders says. “From his earliest days playing middle school baseball he set goals and did everything to achieve them. He’s carried that mentality every step of his journey in his career. He leaves no stone unturned in making himself the complete player. From the weight room, nutrition, speed and agility, position specific and hitting skills, baseball and IQ, and everything in between he has one goal and that is to be the best that he absolutely can be.”
Perhaps the most exciting thing about Weston is that he is only a junior. That means fans will get to see two more years of what the talented young student-athlete has to offer.
“We’re so excited for his future in both his final 2 seasons as a Bulldog and then to Gainesville,” Sanders says.
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.
