American Heritage’s Maloney To FAU, Silva Signs With FSU

American Heritage’s Trevor Maloney signed with FAU

Trevor Maloney remembers when he recently saw last year’s yearbook and saw pictures of his former classmates and teammates signing their college letters-of-intent.

At that time he had no idea where he would sign when it was his turn.

He didn’t even know if he would sign anywhere.

But with the arrival of Wednesday’s National Early Signing Day, it all finally became a reality for him. The American Heritage pitcher and centerfielder signed with Florida Atlantic University this week.
“I was just praying and hoping,” said Maloney. “Now it’s here and I’m very excited.”

Also signing from the Stallions’ baseball team was left-handed pitcher Dylan Silva, who signed with Florida State University.

“Getting to share this moment with my best friend is an awesome experience,” said Silva. “It’s cool knowing my friend is playing Division I baseball. It was just shell-shocking when schools began offering me to see that I have the potential.”

For Maloney, Early Signing Day was even more exciting of a shared moment because he is a friend and teammate of many of the area’s signees, such as Calvary Christian’s Taylor Gushue (Florida) and Wellington’s Peter Rivera (Miami).

The Stallions’ Trevor Maloney

But nothing could match signing alongside his closest friend.

“It’s just a great experience,” Maloney said. “It’s even easier when someone is on your side doing the same thing.”

Maloney’s older brother had also been a great high school player, but some bad decisions damaged his opportunities. So the younger Trevor used those stories to guide him as what not to do. He knew he wanted to stay local and still play baseball so he could stay close with his mother, Penny Clay.

“It’s always been my dream and then I got a scholarship,” he said. While he hopes to play both of his current positions for the Owls, he knows he may not have the chance to do both. “My future is most likely on the mound, but I love doing both.”

Silva also was not sure if he would sign or not, but he did not expect to do so with the Seminoles.

“Once they started talking to me, I talked to Coach Martin and I really felt comfortable,” said Silva. “I really liked the campus and I bonded with the pitching coach, Coach Bell.”

Silva saw his velocity jump from 86 mph to 88-91 mph this past year and suddenly every school became interested. He worked every single day in the summer, throwing, running and working out. He did long toss every day for four months and he got stronger and his velocity increased.

“I never thought I was going to be good enough to get to go to a Division I school,” Silva said. “I was between [Louisiana State University] and FSU, but I didn’t visit LSU. I figured that would have made the decision even harder.”

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