Quite a Year for MIA Sports

In their first year in their fabulous new facilities, the Marco Island Academy student athletes responded with some pretty fabulous sports seasons.

After a dozen years as a school, the Rays now have a fine on-campus gymnasium and soccer field. Due to a new agreement with the City of Marco Island and the Collier County School Board, the Rays will enjoy improved baseball facilities at Tyler Beck Field adjacent to Tommie Barfield Elementary.

The volleyball team has always been a solid performer at MIA, and it looks like bigger things could be on the horizon for the Rays.

This year’s team won the school’s fifth straight Paradise Conference championship. They posted the school’s best record, 16-4, and advanced to the regionals for the first time. But the big news is the upside for the team that started four freshmen who appear to have a high ceiling.

Head Coach Jan Class, a three-time state championship-winning volleyball coach at Seacrest in East Naples, expects big things from the MIA team.

"They never quit,” Jan Class said of the young Rays, “they were fighting for every point. I believe they have a lot of talent and a great future as a program.”

The boys and girls basketball teams seem to be in good hands with Jim Watt and Travis Barry.

Watt and Barry have coached together since their sons were in the Optimist League together. They have traded responsibilities at MIA, with both having served as head coach of the successful boys program. Currently Jim is the boys’ head coach and Travis coaches the girls. Their sons, Johnny Watt and Kevin Barry, are two of the best in MIA history. Both have graduated, but senior Kathryn Barry is a slick ball handler and dead-eye shooter for her dad and Jacob Watt is a guard on his dad's boys team.

The boys won their third straight conference crown when they downed Donahue Catholic 59-34 on February 3, 2022. The girls won the PCAC championship for the second time when they topped Everglades City 42-33 in a physical game in the Gators' gym. The Marco girls finished third in the conference during the regular season.

This year’s MIA boys (2-4) are a small but scrappy team that will rely on keeping the pressure on the opposition. Jim Watt will use all of his bench as his team plays at a breakneck pace. The MIA girls (5-4) should be in the hunt for a PCAC championship.

The Rays football program has been challenged by dwindling numbers since Marco Island Charter Middle School decided to scrap their football program several seasons ago, effectively eliminating MIA’s feeder program. Lou Montgomery has motivated and taught a scrappy aggregation both of his seasons at the helm, but wins have not been forthcoming. In fact, the past two seasons the Rays have been forced to end their seasons early due to roster attrition.

The boys soccer team had their finest season in program history. A program-best 11-3 regular season turned sour when the Rays were upset in the first round of the playoffs, bringing their exciting season to a sudden end. The Rays lost to Seacrest, 3-0, on penalty kicks, on January 28th, 2022 at Winterberry Field. The boys dropped an intense 2-1, stadium opener to Donahue Catholic on December 2nd. The Rays (4-2-1) are expected to turn in another solid season in 2022-23.

The girls soccer program is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 4-9-2 season in 2021-22. The MIA girls (4-2) went 64-27 in their previous five seasons, including 2019-20’s 18-3 mark.

Baseball had it best season in 2022, finishing 10-10. The Rays have shown steady improvement in recent years and return most of last year’s key players for the 2023 season.