Lakewood Ranch hires former MLB player Ian Desmond as its baseball coach

Lakewood Ranch High School has hired former major leaguer Ian Desmond as its next varsity baseball coach.

Desmond, a Sarasota High graduate, was selected in the third round of the 2004 MLB Draft by the Montreal Expos. 

He went on to have an 11-year MLB career for the Washington Nationals, Texas Rangers and Colorado Rockies during which he batted .263 with 181 home runs as a shortstop, outfielder and first baseman. 

Desmond left the game in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and racial tensions at the time. He left over $13 million in guaranteed money on the table to retire early. 

After retiring, Desmond returned to the Sarasota area and helped establish Newtown Connection, a non-profit organization aimed at helping diverse and at-risk youth in Newtown through athletic and health enrichment. 

"Honestly, since I retired I've been kind of trying to find the next hill to climb in my life," Desmond said. "Obviously, I spent my life dreaming about making it to the Major Leagues. When you retire, you come home and have some reflection. We did a lot of great work at Newtown Connection, but you can't run from what you know, and that's baseball for me. I've been looking for a role in the game, and when there were rumors of the position becoming available, I put my ear out, and when the opportunity arose, I jumped on it."

Though Desmond said that he used to envision himself coaching the Sarasota High baseball team, his five children are districted for Lakewood Ranch High, and his oldest son, Grayson, will be a freshman at the school this fall. 

Desmond will replace four-year coach Colton Chupp, who led Lakewood Ranch to a 48-56-1 record, including a 2023 season in which the team went 19-8 and reached the Class 7A regional semifinal round.

However, the Mustangs finished this spring with a 6-18 record. Despite that, Desmond should have plenty to work with as the team had 14 sophomores and juniors.