LARGO — After watching his young Packers baseball team go winless during the fall season, Largo head coach Taylor Layner expected growing pains this spring.
He never imagined a record-breaking year.
Despite a roster made up mainly of underclassmen — some of whom Layner had to coach through a language and cultural barrier — the Packers found their footing after a rough start to the 2026 campaign, reeling off an eight-game winning streak that fueled an unlikely season capped by Layner’s 100th victory as head coach, the most in school history.
“No, I did not expect this from what I saw last fall,” Layner said before Senior Night on April 10, when Largo’s baseball and softball teams honored their seven combined seniors prior to their final home games.
“We started the season slow — after we lost to East Lake, we walked off Dunedin, then won a couple and lost a couple before getting destroyed by Countryside — and it looked like this year would be boys against men.”
But contributions from key players turned the season around. Jacob Hampton, a slugger out of Greater Largo Little League, and Leo Soria, a starting pitcher from Cuba who also came through the league, gave the Packers a jolt. So did senior Victor Martinez Morales, a native Venezuelan who set the school’s stolen base record this year.
“We won eight straight and 11 of 12, and since then we only lost three times, and the games were all close,” Layner said, noting the varsity squad was “the exact same kids that we had in the fall.”
When asked how a winless group turned things around so quickly, Layner said simply, “They trusted the process.”
“By the end of the season, we were playing really well,” he said.
The late-season surge included an 8-1 win over Hollins on April 7 — Layner’s record-breaking 100th as Largo’s head coach, a milestone he takes pride in but is reluctant to discuss.
“As far as I can tell, the next closest are Shawn Brown, who is 28 behind, and Dennis Braun, who is 22 back,” said Layner, a former star pitcher at Osceola High who was hired by Largo in 2019 and has also served as the school’s athletic director for the past five years. He noted the numbers might not be precise.
“Some of the old Largo High records are hard to find,” he said. “But this season is not about me. It’s all about those kids out on the field.”
After Largo beat Zephyrhills 9-5 on Senior Night to finish the regular season 16-8, the Packers turned their attention to a win-or-go-home road rematch with powerhouse East Lake in the first round of districts April 14.
“But that’s why we play the games,” Layner said.
Regardless of the outcome, he said this season will always hold a special place.
“It’s as unlikely a run as I’ve seen during my career,” he said. “This team has rejuvenated me as a coach. And I don’t want it to be over.”