11-06-2025
Douglas' Rojas, Aquinas' Malvasio are Broward 7A-5A Baseball Players of the Year
Stoneman Douglas' Giovanni Rojas put together one of the most dominant pitching seasons in recent history.
St. Thomas Aquinas' Zachary Malvasio spearheaded one of the best hitting seasons for a team in county history, led by his own remarkable senior campaign.
Their efforts helped lead their respective teams to state championships.
Rojas, a junior, is therefore the Miami Herald's Broward County Baseball Pitcher of the Year for Classes 7A-5A.
And Malvasio, a power-hitting outfielder, is the Broward 7A-5A Baseball Player of the Year.
Rojas, a University of Miami commit, helped Douglas make history as the first team in Florida to win five consecutive state championships.
At a school already rich in tradition when it comes to dominant pitchers, Rojas stood out.
A 6-4, 190-pound lefty, Rojas was nearly unhittable at times, going 12-0 with 120 strikeouts and only 16 walks in 68 innings and compiling an 0.72 ERA.
Rojas' performances often helped Douglas navigate through tough stretches of the regular season as the Eagles found their footing and put together another impressive march to a championship.
'It's a once in a lifetime chance you get to do that. It's a feeling you can't re-create,' Rojas said about being part of a historic state title streak. 'It's only in that moment that you can experience something like that.'
Rojas worked his way back from an arm injury, which kept him from pitching during his sophomore season. But this year, even as he hit .375 with two home runs, eight doubles and 32 RBI, Rojas didn't miss a beat on the mound. Rojas threw a no-hitter against Flanagan and had four more one-hitters and three more games allowing two hits. The future potential early MLB Draft pick is committed to continuing to develop his game.
'I really work on my focus on the mound and try to stay consistent with it whether I'm in the bullpen, or playing catch, I just try to keep everything consistent,' Rojas said. 'This offseason, I'll be working more, trying to improve off this past season.'
The same can be said for Malvasio, who is itching to get to Orlando and join UCF where he will play his college ball this fall.
Malvasio hit .414 this season and a staggering 16 home runs as the key cog in a prolific Aquinas lineup, which hit 68 home runs overall.
'One of my favorite parts about this year was that up and down our lineup, we had studs,' Malvasio said. 'If one didn't get it done, the other did. I always got four or five at-bats per game and that's how you knew we were always scoring runs.'
Malvasio wasn't just about power at the plate, though. His consistent bat also produced 16 doubles and 48 RBI overall.
'It all started with the work in the offseason, in the weight room, outside of practice,' Malvasio said. 'I just had the discipline to keep going.'
Malvasio's efforts helped the Raiders secure their first state championship since 2018 and the program's fourth overall.
'It was an incredible ride from the start in the fall. To have that core returning, we all pushed each other and had the focus of winning a state title,' Malvasio said. 'We took it all pitch by pitch, game by game and stuck to the fundamentals and our team chemistry was off the charts. Everybody was together and wanted to win.'
