- June 15, 2025
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Ian Desmond spent most of his life dreaming about becoming a major leaguer and ended up living out that dream.
The Montreal Expos drafted Desmond, a graduate of Sarasota High School, in the third round of the 2004 MLB Draft and went on to have an 11-year career with the Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies.
After five years of retirement, Desmond is back in the game, hired to coach the Lakewood Ranch High School baseball team on May 21, replacing four-year coach Colton Chupp.
Returning to baseball as a high school coach is a full-circle story that likely wouldn’t have happened if not for the influence of former Sarasota coach Clyde Metcalf.
Desmond knew his MLB career wouldn’t last forever, and he hoped he would become the next head baseball coach at Sarasota.
However, the timing didn’t work out like he had envisioned.
Desmond played his final MLB game in 2019 with the Rockies. He opted out of the 2020 season because of COVID-19 and also did not play the 2021 season.
He officially announced his retirement in April 2022, mere weeks before Metcalf stepped down as the Sailors’ head coach and replaced by former Cardinal Mooney baseball coach Greg Mulhollen.
Desmond had his hands full.
The 39-year-old is a father of five and helped establish Newtown Connection, a non-profit organization aimed at helping at-risk and diverse youth in Sarasota.
Though he is still involved with Newtown Connection, Desmond has felt drawn back to baseball.
Desmond, who lives in the Lakewood Ranch area, began assisting with the Mustangs baseball team this season.
When he heard the school was looking for a new coach, Desmond applied and hired.
His first call was to the man who inspired this next phase of life.
“I was really fortunate to play for Clyde Metcalf at Sarasota High,” Desmond said. “I called Clyde (May 21) and let him know that he made a lasting impression on me. For me, as a retired Major League Baseball player who could do anything, to go back and coach high school baseball is a testament to how he did it and how he showed me how to do it.”
Desmond's wife, Chelsey, was a softball player at Riverview, and he said he still plans on being involved in the Sarasota community.
However, he plans on sending his five children — sons Grayson, Cruz and Ashton and daughters Dakota and Naomi — to Lakewood Ranch.
Thus, coaching at Lakewood Ranch was a no-brainer.
“I was joking with (Athletics Director) Kent (Ringquist) that I plan to be here to kind of eavesdrop on what they’ve got going on in high school, so I’d love to be here for a long time,” Desmond said.
First up is Grayson, who is set to be a freshman this fall.
Desmond said Grayson plays shortstop, but will have to find out where he fits into the team, just like any other player would.
Following Grayson is 12-year-old Cruz, who also plays baseball. Ashton, 10, plays baseball and basketball. Dakota, 6, currently plays baseball, and Desmond said she’ll continue to play baseball “as long as she can hang.” It’s yet to be seen which path 4-year-old Naomi will take.
Desmond will have his work cut out for him, competing against his old team and former rivals in the area.
Lakewood Ranch finished this season with a 6-18 record, one of its worst in program history, and other teams in Sarasota and Manatee counties — such as Venice, Sarasota, Cardinal Mooney and Braden River — each made the regional playoffs this year.
“Being born and raised in the area, I’ve always felt a great sense of pride about the product as far as the baseball players coming out of this area, and the coaching is strong at the moment,” Desmond said. “There’s a lot of great baseball being played here, and that’s a blessing because this is a baseball community and you have a lot of guys with a lot of experience giving back to the kids. If you’re a parent in this community, you have to be grateful for all of these guys giving back to their children.”
