Zachary Banks to play baseball at Embry-Riddle

The Seabreeze student will attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on a full academic scholarship.

MICHELE MEYERS

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

On June 1, Zachary Banks got a phone call from an assistant baseball coach at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University offering Banks a spot on the Eagles’ baseball team.

The next day, Banks celebrated his 18th birthday, then graduated from Seabreeze High School with honors. Banks has a full academic scholarship to Embry-Riddle. He waited to accept a college offer, hoping to get one that included playing baseball. He also was awarded substantial academic scholarships to Rollins College, the University of North Florida and the University of Florida, but none of them included spots on the baseball team. He accepted ERAU’s offer.

“I always knew I wanted to go to college,” Banks said. “My parents have always preached education first, and that I always need a backup. So I put education first and baseball has just been a bonus for me.”

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Seabreeze head baseball coach Jeff Lemon and assistant Jordan Johnson were teammates at ERAU. Lemon played baseball with the Eagles from 2010 to 2013.

“Zachary is an amazing young man and comes from a wonderfully supportive family,” Lemon said. “He has worked extremely hard in the classroom and on the baseball field to be provided the opportunity to excel at the collegiate level. His work has shown the underclassmen what it takes to receive an offer to be a student athlete at a university such as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.”

Banks’ love of athletics started on the sidelines in a Pack ’N Play in Astor, Florida. Banks’ mother, Michelle Banks, said he used to put his face toward the fence and watch his brother and sister play team sports.

His 28-year-old sister, Ciera Banks, played softball for BethuneCookman, then transferred to graduate from the University of Central Florida. His 25-year-old brother, Aaron Banks, played baseball for Seabreeze, then graduated from the University of South Florida. Both siblings also played soccer and basketball.

“I look up to them,” Zachary Banks said. “They taught me everything I know. My parents did, as well. They taught me to always try to do something fun like baseball.”

Banks began his baseball career at the age of 4 and tried other sports — a brief stint at football at 11 and basketball through his freshman year — but baseball was always his go-to.

When he was 12, he played in a tournament in Cooperstown, New York, with the Ormond Beach Golden Spikes, then played competitively with the Ocala Elite from age 13 to 16.

He remained with the team for another year after it became Team