The percentage of children who write professional baseball player on a piece of papeR when asked what they want to be when they grow up is high. The percentage of those who reach that point, however, is not. Michael Forret is one of those select few.  This past summer, the 22-year-old right-handed pitcher made waves when he was acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays organization from the Baltimore Orioles as part of a deal for star pitcher Shane Baz. This August, Forret, originally from Matthews, North Carolina, was traded back to the Orioles organization in exchange for right-handed pitcher Tyler Wells. “He had originally signed with East Carolina University,” says Tim Hill II, Head Coach of the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota baseball program (SCF). “When he didn’t get drafted out of high school, he started looking for some junior college options. Michael came down here, was a pretty good pitcher—we enjoyed having him here, he was a good teammate and a good kid from a good family.” Forret played with SCF in the 2023 season with one goal—to get drafted by an MLB organization. In his lone season with the Manatees, Forret helped lead SCF to Suncoast Conference title and a state final four. As a starting pitcher, his 10-3 record with 106 strikeouts and just 18 walks across 86.1 innings pitched was good enough to be named the 2023 Citrus Conference Pitcher of the Year, the 2023 Florida JUCO Pitcher of the Year and a 2023 NJCAA Third Team All-American. His performance was also good enough to achieve his goal—the Orioles selected him with the 421st overall pick in the 14th round of the 2023 MLB Draft.  “He was very confident in his abilities. He not only just threw strikes, but could put most of his pitches where he wanted to,” says Hill II. “He was probably sitting 91-93mph with his fastball with us—he’s ticked up a little bit since then—but the change-up was plus and he had a good breaking ball. With his competitiveness, command and confidence, he was quite successful and that’s what made the Orioles want to give him some money.” In the realm of SCF, Manatee-Sarasota baseball, Forret’s journey, while impressive, does not stand alone. Players such as Forret often come to junior colleges such as SCF, Manatee-Sarasota because of a quicker pathway to professional baseball. At a four-year college, players are only eligible once they’ve turned 21 years old or after completing their junior year. Over the last 60 years, SCF, Manatee-Sarasota has become one of the most established pipelines to professional baseball, with over 240 alumni playing professionally. In the 2025 World Series, former Manatee pitchers Brendon Little and Justin Wrobleski squared off against each other for the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively. For Forret in particular, Hill II credits his work ethic and demeanor as key factors to his success. “He gave you a really good chance to win every time he was on the mound,” says Hill II. “He gave you everything that he had. If I could do it all over again, I’d take a thousand Michael Forret’s every time. We’re very proud of him.”  SRQ