PREP SPORTS: Two Pirates make their college choices official

PORT CHARLOTTE — Two of Port Charlotte’s most-decorate student-athletes sign their letters of intent Thursday to continue their careers at the college level.

Baseball player Landon Carter and basketball player Aryianna Lockey-Progl made official their long-standing commitments to South Florida State College and St. Petersburg College, respectively.

“It was just the environment there and the coaches, I just loved ‘em and I felt it was the right fit for me,” said Carter, who committed to the Panthers in October.

For Lockey-Progl, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament in January, the coaching relationship also turned out to be key. Like Lockey-Progl, longtime Titans coach Denisha Davidson tore her ACL during her senior season in high school.

“I had a really good connection with her,” Lockey-Progl said.

Carter is the reigning Sun Preps Baseball Player of the Year and is a finalist for the award once more in 2024. He has been a first-team, All-Area selection all four years in high school thanks to a skill set that makes him as dangerous at the plate as he is on the mound.

South Florida State College plans to exploit that two-way talent.

“He’s going to have the opportunity to play right away,” Port Charlotte baseball head coach Tim Roberson said. “On the mound, his innings total is going to increase. He’s going to pitch a lot for them, and he’s going to put himself in a really good position to show people what he can do.”

From his first day on the field to his last, Carter was a key part of the Pirate program’s steady growth, which culminated in the school’s first regional appearance in 10 years.

“It definitely went by fast and it’s going to be tough to leave this place,” Carter said. “But I feel like I definitely made my mark and we’re going out with our best year, for sure.

“It was fun to be a part of this team. It was a fun year all around and it’s good to go out like this.”

Lockey-Progl has also been a perennial All-Area selection, making the second team during her freshman season and earning first team honors as a sophomore, junior and senior. She has been a vital cog in Port Charlotte’s four consecutive district titles.

Her curtailed senior season proved bittersweet as the Pirates used her injury as motivation to elevate their play and lift the program to its first-ever region championship.

“That’s what I wanted for them,” Lockey-Progl said. “I told them, since I’m down and they’re not used to playing without me, they had to step up and play as a team. All of them did and they went far.”

Her father, Mike Progl, has been her only coach so far, so he’s expecting the change in mentorship to be good for her.

“I’m proud of her but at the same time, I tried to explain to her I have to wear a different hat. I can’t just be dad,” he said. “When I walk into the gym, I’m coach, not dad. Business is business and personal is personal.

“It’s great to see her grow. I personally believe she has a high ceiling, but sometimes she doesn’t want to listen to dad,” he continued. “So this coach over at St. Pete, we really, really like her. She knows what Aryi is going through, not only the physical part, but the mental part, and she’s very blunt. You know where you stand with her at all times.”

Carter plans to study business while Lockey-Progl will pursue radiology.