Troy Cameron

Assistant Florida State softball coach Troy Cameron will begin his 3^rd season at Florida State in 2023 as he helps lead the Seminole offense and defense. Cameron came to Tallahassee after seven years as the high school baseball coach at St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. FSU has earned one ACC Tournament championship, two trips to the NCAA tournament and one appearance in the Women’s College World Series, in which the Seminoles finished as national runners-up in 2021, while posting a 120-27-1 record (.814 winning percentage) in his three years at Florida State.

In 2021, the Seminole were back on top of the ACC, winning their 18^th ACC Championship in school history. Florida State made it into the NCAA Tournament for the 22^nd straight year and hosted a regional for the eighth consecutive season. Their number two national seed was the highest seeding that Florida State softball has had in the NCAA Tournament in program history. The Seminoles finished the season with a 54-7 record and a .885 winning percentage. That winning percentage is tied for the highest in a season in school history with the 1982 team that won the AIAW National Championship. The Seminole defense was a big reason why the Noles finished with 54 wins. FSU finished the season with the second-highest fielding percentage in the country (.982) and with the fifth most shutouts in the nation (20). The Florida State defense was led by first-team All-ACC members, Kathryn Sandercock, Sydney Sherrill, Kaley Mudge and Mack Leonard. Sandercock finished the season with a 1.44 ERA and a 30-3 record. Her 30 wins were the second-most in the country. Sherrill was named the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year for the third time in her career as she finished the season with a .975 fielding percentage.

The Florida State offense showed some power in 2021 finishing with 70 home runs as a team. Those 70 home runs ranked fourth in a season in school history and led to 363 runs, the sixth-most in a season in school history. The offense was led by transfer Mack Leonard who led the team with a .375 batting average, eight home runs and 49 RBI. Kalei Harding and Michaela Edenfield helped bring home the most runs for the Noles as Harding recorded 15 home runs and 11 doubles leading to a team-high 53 RBI. Edenfield had 16 home runs in her freshman season, three shy of Jessie Warren’s freshman record, and accounted for 50 RBI. Sydney Sherrill capped off her career with a .321 batting average and 16 more doubles to finish her career with an ACC and FSU record of 82 career doubles.

Florida State finished the 2021 season with a 49-13-1 record in 2021 and did it differently than years past. FSU was not the power-hitting team of old but won by playing cerebral softball with good pitching and great defense, led by second-team All-American Kathryn Sandercock and the two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Sydney Sherrill. Florida State led the ACC and was ranked 22nd in the country in fielding percentage (.975) in 2021 and finished with the second-best team ERA in the ACC and 11th best in the NCAA (1.82). The Seminole defense also turned and ACC leading 33 double plays, which ranked second in the nation.

During Cameron’s first full season with the Seminoles in 2021, he helped lead them to the Women’s College World Series as they earned a spot in the championship series against Oklahoma. Under his coaching, the Florida State defense recorded 33 double plays in 2021 which led the ACC and was second in the nation. Florida State was in the top-to in 11 different statistical categories, including No. 1 in double plays, fielding percentage, shutouts, stolen bases and walks. The Seminoles finished the season with a 49-13-1 record as they ended the season ranked second in the country.

Thrown into the fire immediately in his first season working in softball, Florida State posted a 17-7 record during the shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as half of the players on the roster were new like him (11-of-22 with six freshmen, three transfers and two redshirt freshmen) and the Seminoles played nearly half of their games against ranked teams (11-of-24). The Noles earned five ranked wins on the season, including a pair of wins over No. 1 Alabama, road wins at No. 21 Arkansas and No. 22 UCF, along with a win against No. 19 Baylor. FSU finished in the top 35 of the NCAA in 10 different categories, including ranking fifth in double plays (14), 11th in fielding percentage (.977) and 12th in scoring (6.83 runs per game).

A first-round draft pick by the Atlanta Braves in 1997 (29th overall), Cameron played nine years of professional baseball with five different organizations – Atlanta, Cleveland, Colorado, Chicago White Sox and San Diego. Cameron signed a national letter of intent to play college baseball at Florida State under Mike Martin but pursued professional baseball out of high school after he was drafted in the first round.

Cameron reunited with FSU assistant coach Travis Wilson, as the pair made their professional baseball debuts in Rookie League together with the Danville Braves in 1997. Cameron and Wilson were roommates, as well as teammates, for five different seasons within the Braves organization through Rookie, A and A+ ball from 1997-2001.

Through his nine seasons of professional baseball as an infielder, advancing to AAA with the Portland Beavers, Cameron posted a career batting average of .238 with 782 hits, 178 doubles, 26 triples, 122 home runs, 477 RBI and 496 runs scored.

Along with being the coach of St. Thomas Aquinas, he has worked with USA Baseball in numerous capacities since 2013, including as an assistant on the 15U National Team in 2017, which won the gold medal at the Pan Am Championships and currently as the manager of the 2019 15U National Team, that will compete at the 2019 Pan Am Championships in Mexico in September.

At the helm of the STA Raiders, Cameron was named the District Coach of the Year in all seven seasons (2013-19), led the Raiders to District Championships and the Regional semifinals each year, including two regional championships (2013 & 2018) and the 2018 FHSAA 8A State Championship. He has coached seven players that have been drafted and are currently playing professional baseball, as well as 49 players that have gone to play college baseball, with 22 at the Division I level.

A graduate of Florida Atlantic in 2012, Cameron has worked in insurance along with coaching baseball at St. Thomas Aquinas. Cameron is married to his wife Lauren, and they have a daughter Jaden and a son Crew.