​After months of excitement mingled with moments of happiness and sadness, the spring sports season has officially drawn to a close in the Gainesville area. The culmination of the season brings the Gainesville Sun’s All-Area teams, and in keeping with tradition, we will unveil 11 All-Area squads across six spring sports: baseball, softball, lacrosse, flag football, tennis, and track and field. All of these teams will be accessible at Gainesville.com/sports/high-school. For every sport, we will name a Player of the Year—the athlete whom we and the area coaches believe stood out as the best among his or her peers.
But we want to hear from you, the fans. To that end, we are launching Player of the Year polls to accompany each All-Area team. Each first-team nominee in the respective sport will be a candidate, giving you multiple chances to weigh in on who deserves the honor.
For example, Carson Long has been recognized as the small school baseball Player of the Year. He is pictured at St. Francis Academy in Gainesville, Florida, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026. Our team is proud to present the poll for the best small school baseball player in 2026, a distinction we awarded to the Saint Francis Catholic standout and freshman Carson Long. The field features nine nominees, and you may vote as many times as you like. The poll will remain open until noon on Tuesday, July 14.
We encourage you to share this poll with family and friends so that everyone who supports Gainesville-area high school sports can participate. Congratulations to all the athletes named to the All-Area teams and to their families for their achievements this season.
For context, Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com, and the USA TODAY Network. You can reach him at nram@usatodayco.com, and follow him on X at @Noah_ram1, on Instagram at @Ramreporter, and on Facebook at Noah Ram – Reporter. This piece originally appeared in The Gainesville Sun as part of our coverage inviting readers to vote for the best Small School Baseball Player in Gainesville-area high school sports in 2026, with an emphasis on SEO-friendly storytelling.