On October 13, before the football team’s homecoming game, three Bloomingdale Bulls were inducted into the high school’s athletic hall of fame. The class includes current Major League Baseball player Richie Martin, former Bloomingdale head baseball coach K.B. Scull and former Lady Bulls soccer player Marissa Kazbour.
Martin, a 2012 graduate, is currently a Major League Baseball free agent, and he spent the last season with the Washington Nationals organization. He was selected by the Seattle Mariners out of high school but decided to attend the University of Florida instead, where he was a three-year starter at shortstop. He was later selected 20th overall in the first round of the 2015 MLB draft by the Oakland Athletics. Martin made his major league debut in 2019 with the Baltimore Orioles after being drafted by the organization number one overall in the Rule 5 draft. He is the only former Bloomingdale player who has made it to the major leagues. Martin was nominated by Bloomingdale baseball head coach Kris Wilken.
“I felt honored and very blessed,” said Martin. “I felt very excited to get back and come and see everybody and just take it all in. When I was playing in high school, I just wanted to help the team win and be the best player and person I could be. I think things like this come as a byproduct.”
Kazbour, a 2007 graduate, was a two-time County Player of the Year for the Lady Bulls. She led Bloomingdale to the 2006 state championship game and was a member of the U17 National team. She went on to play soccer for the Florida State Seminoles, where she helped lead her team to the national championship. She twice went on to become the Polk County Coach of the Year at George Jenkins High School and coached her team to a 2012 state final appearance. Kazbour currently coaches her daughter’s U11 West Florida Flames team. She was nominated by her former high school head coach, Sue Peet.
“It means a lot. It’s great that the school has this,” said Kazbour. “I think it’s great to be a role model for the kids growing up to say, ‘Hey, I want to be better than her.’ I think it’s wonderful. It’s awesome for everyone to have a goal and see where the standard is.”
Scull served as the Bloomingdale baseball head coach for 12 seasons after being the head man for the Armwood Hawks the previous 10 seasons. In his 12 seasons at Bloomingdale, he led the Bulls to two state final fours and three district titles. He is the winningest coach in Bloomingdale history with 330 career wins. Scull continues to work as a teacher at the school and can be seen at all athletic events as the athletic business manager. He was also nominated by Wilken.
“I was pretty shocked. I came in one morning and they said they wanted to see me and then they gave me an envelope and I opened it up, and it was pretty cool. This is great,” said Scull. “I got to see a lot of my former players, and they were a big part of this.”
Scull thanked former athletic director Donny Peek for starting this program several years ago. It was recently brought back after COVID-19. The inductees were selected by a panel of coaches, athletic boosters and administration.
