SANFORD — Throughout the 2026 season, the Florida Collegiate Summer League will honor two players at the conclusion of each week, an FCSL Player of the Week and an FCSL Pitcher of the Week. This week's honors represent performances from Monday, June 8, through Saturday, June 13. The weekly honors are selected via a vote of league coaches and officials.
DeLand's Akhil Nimmala was the selection as the second Florida League Player of the Week. The undecided sophomore, who played this past season at Santa Fe, led the Suns to a 4-1 week. In DeLand's five games on the week, Nimmala hit safely in each contest, and logged multiple hits in four of the five. The Valrico, Florida native was responsible for at least one run in each of the five games, which featured wins over Orlando, Sanford (twice) and Leesburg.
He drove in two runs in two of the DeLand wins, a 12-1 victory over the Snappers on Monday and a 3-2 win over Sanford in the nightcap of a Tuesday doubleheader. Nimmala has been a leader for the Suns at the plate thus far this season, leading the team in hits (13) and runs batted in (7), with both totals ranking him among the top ten players in the FCSL.
The second Florida League Pitcher of the Week award is presented to Sanford's Liam Furey (Columbus State). Furey put together one of the best starts for any pitcher league-wide on Saturday, tossing seven shutout innings against the Winter Garden Squeeze. The Windermere native needed just 78 pitches to get through seven innings before his bullpen worked a scoreless eighth inning in an extra inning victory.
Furey is in his third year in the Florida League, playing for Winter Park in 2024 and Winter Garden in 2025. The righthander has already made three starts for coach Mike McDaniel and the River Rats, logging an earned run average of 3.07 across 14.2 innings and striking out seven hitters. He has shut out the opposition in two of his first three starts.
Additionally, the Florida League honors one player from each team that was not selected as Player or Pitcher of the Week.
Florida League Honor Roll (Hitters):
Hudson Reed (Leesburg/Troy), Drew Pynes (Sanford/Georgia Southern), Ty Kennedy (Orlando/Undecided), Alexander Galan (Winter Garden/Lake Sumter State), Jake Biaggi (Winter Park/John Melvin Christian).
Florida League Honor Roll (Pitchers):
Ethan Diaz (DeLand/Bethune-Cookman), Carson Henrikson (Leesburg/Webber International), Geoffrey D'Amato (Orlando/Seminole State), Peyson Garcia (Winter Garden/St. Johns River State), Tyler Mecchella (Winter Park/Florida International).
On the field, the Leesburg Lightning (10-2) continued their fast start, holding a 2-1/2 game lead over the defending champion Orlando Snappers (7-4-1) through Week 3 (Games through June 13).
Here are the most up-to-date results and upcoming schedule:
Saturday, June 13
Winter Garden Squeeze 2, Sanford River Rats 1.
Leesburg Lightning vs. DeLand Suns, suspended.
Orlando Snappers 11-2, Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 0-2.
Sunday, June 14
No games scheduled.
Monday, June 15
* Winter Garden Squeeze 5, Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 4, 10-inning.
* Orlando Snappers 7, Leesburg Lightning 6.
* Sanford River Rats vs. DeLand Suns, cancelled.
Tuesday, June 16
* Winter Garden Squeeze 2, Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 1.
* Sanford River Rats 6, DeLand Suns 2.
* Leesburg Lightning 12, Orlando Snappers 1, 8-innings.
Wednesday, June 17
* Sanford River Rats 13, DeLand Suns 11.
Thursday, June 18
* Leesburg Lightning 16, Winter Garden Squeeze 0, 7-innings.
* River Rats at Historic Sanford 3, Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 2, 6-innings.
* Orlando Snappers vs. DeLand Suns, cancelled.
Friday, June 19
* Sanford River Rats 6, Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 5.
* Winter Garden Squeeze 13, Leesburg Lightning 5.
* DeLand Suns 8, Orlando Snappers 4.
Saturday, June 20
* Winter Garden Squeeze 6, Leesburg Lightning 3.
* Winter Park Diamond Dawgs vs. Sanford River Rats, cancelled.
* DeLand Suns 7, Orlando Snappers 5.
Sunday, June 21
No games scheduled.
Monday, June 22
* Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 2, Sanford River Rats 1.
* Leesburg Lightning 11, Winter Garden Squeeze 3.
* Orlando Snappers 6, DeLand Suns 2.
Tuesday, June 23
* Winter Garden Squeeze 9, Sanford River Rats 5.
* DeLand Suns 10, Leesburg Lightning 1.
* Winter Park Diamond Dawgs 8, Orlando Snappers 4.
Wednesday, June 24
No games scheduled.
Thursday, June 25
DeLand Suns vs. Winter Park Diamond Dawgs at Rollins College/Alfond Stadium at Harper Shepherd Field, 6 p.m.; Leesburg Lightning vs. Sanford River Rats at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium, 6:30 p.m.; Winter Garden Squeeze vs. Orlando Snappers at The First Academy-Orlando/Orel Hershiser Field in the Payne Stewart Athletic Complex, 7 p.m.
Friday, June 26
DeLand Suns vs. Winter Park Diamond Dawgs at Rollins College/Alfond Stadium at Harper Shepherd Field, 6 p.m.; Orlando Snappers vs. Winter Garden Squeeze at Horizon High School, 7 p.m.; Sanford River Rats vs. Leesburg Lightning at Buddy Lowe Field at Pat Thomas Stadium, 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 27
Orlando Snappers vs. Winter Garden Squeeze at Horizon High School, 6 p.m.; Leesburg Lightning vs. Sanford River Rats at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium, 6:30 p.m.; Winter Park Diamond Dawgs vs. DeLand Suns at Melching Field at Conrad Park, 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 28
No games scheduled.
Monday, June 29
Orlando Snappers vs. Winter Park Diamond Dawgs at Rollins College/Alfond Stadium at Harper Shepherd Field, 6 p.m.; Winter Garden Squeeze vs. Sanford River Rats at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, June 30
Winter Park Diamond Dawgs vs. Sanford River Rats at Historic Sanford Memorial Stadium, 6:30 p.m.; Winter Garden Squeeze vs. Leesburg Lightning at Buddy Lowe Field at Pat Thomas Stadium, 7 p.m.; DeLand Suns vs. Orlando Snappers at The First Academy-Orlando/Orel Hershiser Field in the Payne Stewart Athletic Complex, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, July 1
No games scheduled.
In other FCSL News:
* Games streamed LIVE on Varsity Sports Nation PPV _ All Florida League games will once again be streamed live and archived for replays on Varsity Sports Nation PPV this season. For information about how to access this content go to _ https://varsitysportsnationppv.lightcast.com/.
Go to _ www.floridaleague.com _ for more information.
