Athletics

Kyle Forbes, who last year led the Panthers to their first appearance in the National Junior College Athletic Association Baseball World Series, has been named one of three finalists for the Palm Beach County Sports Commission Coach of the Year.

He is up against John McCormack, head baseball coach at Florida Atlantic University, and Danny Randolph, women’s golf team coach at Lynn University. The winner will be announced March 23 during the 2014 Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame Banquet at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.

Forbes, who also was named last year’s Florida College System Student Activities Association Baseball Coach of the Year, said he is honored to be recognized.

“It’s special because they choose these finalists from all of the sports. It’s not just baseball.”

Last year was history-making for Forbes, who led his team to their first FCSAA state title since 1984 before they went on to win second place in the World Series.

Forbes, an Atlantic High School graduate who grew up in Boynton Beach, joined PBSC as assistant baseball coach in 2005; he was named head coach in 2011, replacing Alex Morales who resigned in December 2010 to take a chief scouting position with the Washington Nationals.  Forbes began his coaching career in 1990 as an assistant coach at FAU and was hired as the head baseball coach in 1994. He has been an associate scout for three major league organizations; he was an associate scout for the Cleveland Indians from 1993 to 1995, with the Milwaukee Brewers from 1995 to 2000, and the Atlanta Braves from 2001 to 2010.