Gulliver Prep's Schusterman named ESPN RISE national softball Coach of the Year

Mark Schusterman, athletic director and softball coach at Gulliver Prep (Pinecrest), has been named ESPN RISE National Softball Coach of the Year. ESPN RISE is a national magazine dedicated to covering high school sports with a monthly circulation of more than 1 million.

The award was presented in recognition of Schusterman’s work building up the softball program at Gulliver Schools. In May, during his 25th season directing the softball program at Gulliver Prep, Schusteman’s team became the first in Miami-Dade County history to win two consecutive state softball championships. The team ended the year ranked No. 3 nationally.

 “I am proud to receive this title and it’s been worth every minute of every day working with outstanding student athletes and coaches like those in the Gulliver Schools softball program,” Schusterman said.

Schusterman, who began his coaching career with Gulliver Schools in 1985, was inducted into the Florida Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2009. He was named athletic director at Gulliver in 2007 after serving for 13 years as athletic director of Gulliver’s Middle School. He has coached softball, cross country, football, boys’ basketball and girls’ basketball. He led Gulliver to its first state title in 1998. They also won a state title in 2001 prior to the back-to-back championships in 2010 and 2011.

A graduate of Florida International University with a degree in history, Schusterman taught history classes for his first 10 years at Gulliver along with coaching. He currently serves as Florida Athletic Coaches Association’s state softball chairman and is a member of the Florida High School Athletic Association softball advisory committee.