SOUTHWEST BASKETBALL ALUMNI

Nick Ronda (class of '00), a former guard for Southwest, was the head coach at Killian High through the 2015-16 season. Prior to taking over at Killian, Ronda had been the assistant coach to former Eagle Chris Brown at both Ferguson and Palmetto. He attended the University of Miami.   A.J. Castro (class of '01) played two years of varsity ball at Cornell Univeristy before retiring. He graduated in 2005 and is now working in real estate financing in New York City.
Lenny Castaneda (class of '97) is Activities Director and former head basketball coach at Westminster Christian. Castaneda was an assistant for the Warriors for three seasons before becoming head coach. Lenny graduated from FIU with a BBA in marketing and has a Masters in Sports Administration from a college in Alachua County. At right, he is seen with his wife Amy (married 2005) and their children Matthew (7 months old in this photo) and Abigail (age 2 in the photo).   Tom Moore (class of '75) served as head basketball coach at Southwest for 31 years before retiring after the 2013-14 season with a record of 292-497. He served as an assistant coach for four years prior to his promotion. The gym at Southwest is named in his honor.
Jose Fernandez (class of '89) is the head coach of the University of South Florida's women's basketball team. He led the Bulls to the championship of the 2009 National Invitational Tournament. USF downed Kansas, 75-71, in the title game to finish the season 27-10.   Ignacio Vazquez (class of '98) has graduated from Florida State University and from the St. Thomas University law school. He received a second law degree from the University of Miami. Ignacio married the former Alba Carreras on August 20, 2005 and is a Assistant United States Attorney at the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida.
Chris Brown (class of '90) is the head basketball coach at Daniel Boone high school in Gray, Tennessee. Prior to that he was the head coach at Tennessee's Volunteer high and Palmetto and Ferguson high schools in Miami. Chris, a former assistant at Southwest, played college basketball at Miami-Dade Community College.   Cesar Turcios (class of '97) is a mixed martial arts instructor. Cesar served his country for 4 years with the U.S. Army's18th Airborne Corps doing tours of duty in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Dario Herrera (class of '91) served as a county commissioner in Las Vegas, Nevada. Before that he served in the Nevada state legislature. Dario gave a speech at the 2000 Democratic Convention. On August 10, 2002, Dario delivered the Democrat's response to President Bush's weekly radio address. It was carried by 12 national radio networks.   Brant Vogt (class of '94) is a financial advisor with Primerica Advisors in Miami Lakes. Before that, he was a D.J. with his own label, Sound Records, and was featured in a 2004 article in Miami New Times.
Kyle Lewis (class of '05) played volleyball at Mount Olive College in North Carolina.   Tony Louzado (class of '91) is a fire-fighter for Miami-Dade county. He appeared on the national TV program Shipmates on June 10, 2002 and has been featured as a model on the Firefighters calendar.
Ariel Corniel (class of '98) received his Masters in Social Work from Barry University.   Alex Perez (class of '87) is the founding principal of the International Studies Preparatory Academy in Coral Gables. Previously, he was principal of Comstock Elementary. In his first year at the school, Comstock jumped from an F to a C under the state's controversial school-grading plan. With Alex at his side, Governor Jeb Bush called Alex' accomplishments an example of how "incredible things can happen" if "we organize ourselves the right way.....Comstock Elementary is now a place where children want to be."
Mike Franz (class of '81) is a surgeon for the Veterans Administration and teaches at the University of South Florida School of Medicine   Dane Johnson (class of '81) is the bullpen coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. Dane, MVP of the basketball team his senior year, pitched three years in the major leagues.
John Zygmuntowicz (class of '88) has a masters in physical therapy and has retired with his wife and children to Chile.   Sandy Tejera (class of '81) played basketball for Unity College in Maine before earning a degree from Barry University. He has been involved in international telecommunication since graduation and is currently Regional Sales Director at Brasil Telecom. Sandy is also currently the bass player for Stalking Mildred, a top local rock band in Miami
         
Leo Ramos (class of '88) works in the Advertising department of Mason Vitamins in Miami Lakes. He and his wife Elena are expecting their first child in January 2011.    

Jose Rojas (class of '84) is a detective for the City of Miami Police Department, where he has served since 1996. He has a degree in criminal justice from FIU and can be reached at jose.rojas@miami-police.org

 
         
Alex Ramos (class of '05) has earned his AA degree from Miami-Dade College and will be studying nursing at Nova-Southeastern University. He played a season of college basketball at Webber International University.     Paul Tejera (class of '76) is a back country fishing guide in Islamorada. His daughter Carli is a black belt world champion martial artist at age 13.

 
         

Marcos Molina (class of '95) is the former head basketball coach at Hialeah Gardens High School, where he won a state championship.

    Frank Hernandez (class of '91) is an administrator for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Department of Transportation.
 
         
Marcel Navarro (class of '93) teaches Art, Spanish, and Reading at Fort Clarke Middle School in Gainesville.     Frank Ramos (class of '81) is a sales manager at 1-800-Radiators.  
         
Chris Carbot (class of '02) is the Associate Director Student Marketing & Recruiting and an
Adjunct Professor of Law at FIU.
    Tico Rodriguez (class of '92) teaches Physical Education at Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, where he also is head coach of the football team.  
         
Manny Pomares (class of '93) works for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission in West Palm Beach.     Elward Louis (class of '02) played defensive tackle at El Camino College in Tottance, California.  
         
Darren Corugedo (class of '83) works for United Parcel Service in Miami.     Al Noble (class of '86) is on the faculty of Allapattah Middle School.  
         
Randy Erwin (class of '97) is Secretary-Treasurer of the National Federation of Federal Employees, a labor union in Washington, D.C. Randy graduated from Georgetown University, where he pitched for the baseball team. Randy married his fiance, Priscilla, on October 15, 2005, in Washington.     Clement Noble (class of '83) is the Chief Operating Officer for the Miami office of Baker & McKenzie.  
         
Mike Lesman (class of '84), who piloted an F-16 fighter jet in Operation Iraqi Freedom, is a Lt. Colonel with the 93rd fighter squadron based at the Homestead Air Reserve Base. We salute Mike for his continued service to his country. Mike's parents, Bobbie and the late John, were great Eagles fans who came to many games over the years, long after Mike graduated.     Luis Macias (class of '95) is a network administrator at an insurance company called Gainsco. He was married on July 5, 2003 in Quito, Ecuador. Ex-teammates wanting to contact Luis can do so by clicking here.  
         
E.J. Jones (class of '04) played football at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. He also served in the U.S. Marines and did a few tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now he is a Florida State Trooper in the Orlando area.     Damian Caceres (class of '03) is the boys basketball coach at iMater Academy in Hialeah.  
         
     

 Clarke Maher (class of '75) was the "other" starting guard coach Moore's senior year. He is retired as the police chief of Indian Creek Village and was featured in a Miami Herald article.