McCarthy steps down as Hornet coach 

After being part of the Lakeland baseball coaching staff for 10 years, the final five as the varsity head coach, Justin McCarthy has stepped down from his position.

It was a decision he didn’t make lightly.

“There wasn’t one thing that made me decide to step down but a few things going on in my personal life that all kind of culminated together that ended up leading to this decision to be made,” said McCarthy, who will remain as the school’s boys varsity volleyball coach this fall. “It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made, and I spent quite a bit of time going back and forth before I ultimately decided to step down.” 

McCarthy, a 2010 Lakeland graduate, played second base and was a pitcher on a Hornet baseball squad his senior year that won the Section 1 Class A title and made it to the state semifinals. During that season, he was named All-League, with an 8-1 record and a 1.62 earned run average on the mound.

He went on to pitch for four years at SUNY Brockport, where he was named a third-team All-American as a sophomore in 2012 and a preseason All-American as a junior in 2013.

McCarthy also tasted sectional-title success as an assistant coach for the 2018 and 2019 Lakeland teams, under head coach Bill Casey, which each won the Section 1 Class A title, with the 2018 team making it to the state finals for the first time in program history.

“It was amazing to get to coach in the community in which I was raised and at the high school in which I played at,” McCarthy said. “There aren’t too many people that are afforded that opportunity and I did not take it lightly, especially with the tradition and reputation Lakeland baseball has in this area. I will miss all of my players and coaches that have each been a special part of my coaching journey. I wish them all nothing but the best moving forward, and I still plan on being around as a fan or [public-address] announcer during the future seasons.”