The DME Academy 2012 girls team showed no signs of slowing down after yet another tournament win, this time in Orlando, Florida at the OC Lake Nona Season Opener.
“What a showing! The girls did a phenomenal job this weekend. They never took their foot off the gas and showed everyone what it means to play for DME. Winning the trophy was great, but the passing and team play impressed me.”- Coach, Jared Antista
The 2012 girls soccer team kicked off their competitive schedule last May and after three tournaments and now two championship trophies, the groundwork is being laid for a successful future. This U11 team dominated the competition at Lake Nona this past weekend (August 21st & 22nd, 2022). The tournament showcased top teams from Florida including two ECNL-R squads, Swan City from Lakeland & Orlando City. A tough FC America team also competed in pool play but none challenged DME this go around.
The girls finished with a perfect record of 4-0, scoring 27 goals and conceding just 1. In the last 8 games, they are undefeated, 7-1-0, scoring 52 goals and conceding only 3. It’s a complete team effort. Offense, defense, Goalie play, and coaching.
“These girls have become true winners this summer. Not by scoring more goals but through their minds. The “play like a champion” mentality may have seemed to appear out of nowhere, but it has been brewing through their dedication, training, and effort.” Coach, Scott Morgenroth, former IMG Academy coach.
You’re on notice soccer world, DME Academy soccer is on the rise. To stay up to date and to learn more about DME Academy’s rising soccer program, take a look here!
Kris and Keegan Murray returned to DME Academy this past week. It was a celebration as the brothers were honored with jersey retirement ceremonies. Their numbers — Kris’ number 31 and Keegan’s number 25 — will be immortalized on the walls of DME’s basketball court, showing young student-athletes what can be accomplished with hard work and determination. The twins, born on August 19th, 2000, attended DME at the age of 19, where their careers really started to take off.
“Before coming to DME, we weren’t being taken very seriously because we were always looked at and thought to be on the smaller side,” said Keegan at the Q&A session during the ceremony. “Once we got to DME, I really started to understand how much work I needed to put in to get my game to the next level. DME is great because you will always have the option to get better, whether it be getting shots up whenever you want or getting in the gym at any hour of the day to lift weights at their state-of-the-art facility”.
Since starting their basketball journey at DME, Kris and Keegan have been on a tear in their individual basketball careers. Keegan was just recently selected 4th overall by the Sacramento Kings in the 2022 NBA Draft after playing two years with the Iowa Hawkeyes where he scored 23.5 points per game on average and won the Karl Malone Award as the nation’s top power forward. Kris has his eyes set on the 2023 NBA draft as he returns to the courts as a Hawkeye for this upcoming season where he currently scores 9.7 points per game on average.
The event kicked off with a tour of the facilities, showing off the newly constructed dorms. Admissions coordinator Haleigh Panaggio led a walk through the campus to show off the new beach volleyball courts and the site of the full-sized soccer field that will be completed in the fall.
After the campus tour, the twins spent some time with the young athletes attending DME’s Summer Prep Camp. They answered questions on what it’s like to play at a Division-I school, what their time was like at DME and the sacrifices the twins had to make to get as far as they have thus far. Everyone was in high spirits after lining up for pictures and received autographs from the twins on items including sneakers and playing cards.
The ceremony was attended by past coaches, mentors and even a few of the twins former teammates. Fox 35 Orlando, a local news station was also onsite making sure to document the historical moment for DME.
The event was powerful and emotional, fitting for two players who are forces to be reckoned with on the court, as well as great students and friends off of it. After opening words from Dan Panaggio, Co-Owner of DME, the Murray family answered questions from Halifax Health’s, Kaylee Durrance who was emceeing the event.
“This is a very special day in DME Academy history,” said Dan Panaggio. “Thank you to the Murrays for taking time out of your busy lives to spend it with us. To Keegan and Chris, I have seen a lot over the years – working with some of the biggest names in basketball history. The way you both carry yourselves, on and off the court is a testament to your parents and the type of people that we want to represent DME. You are true examples of young, aspiring athletes that did things the right way. You both displayed hard work, dedication, humility and sincerity in the pursuit of chasing your dreams. We are here today to honor you as role models all athletes at DME should try to emulate”.
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The banners were dramatically revealed to be forever imprinted on the walls of DME, where all future student-athletes can look up and be inspired to make their biggest dreams become a reality.
To learn more about how DME can help you ignite your dreams, check out our programs here!
Lester Stewart Appointed as Director & Head Coach of DME Academy National Post-Grad Team
DME Academy announced the hiring of Lester Stewart as the director and head coach of the national post-grad basketball team. Lester comes to DME Academy from Casper College, where his role as assistant basketball coach was focused on implementing training programs, developing scouting reports and recruiting top-level talent.
During his time at the junior college and NCAA Division-I levels, Lester proved his coaching and recruiting abilities, as well as his aptitude to push talent to the next level. His career highlights include:
“We couldn’t be more excited to add Lester to our team,” said Laura Stegall, athletic director at DME Academy. “His experience at the high school, junior college, and NCAA levels will be instrumental to the progress of our program. He has a keen eye for discovering hidden talent and a unique ability to push players to the next level.”
“My career path has led me to DME Academy where the values and vision are shared, and it’s a blessing,” said Lester. “I will serve each player that has walked and will walk through the doors of DME Academy, and I will help them build on their strengths, accomplish their dreams and reach their ultimate potential. I’m excited to be a part of the DME family, let’s get to work!”
Are you ready to push your game to the next level? Come play for coach Stewart at DME Academy. Click here to learn more about DME Academy’s elite basketball program.
Todd Eason, Director of Soccer at DME, has been at the forefront of assembling the perfect team to compete at the middle-school level for girls soccer in the upcoming 2022-2023 season. DME is extremely excited to have these amazing athletes representing the Academy on and off the field. This group will up their competition and bring their talent to the national stage, and will be a force to be reckoned with across the country.
The new DME Academy girls’ team consists of 11 of the top 7th graders in the Florida area. Remember these names because you’ll be hearing about them a lot in the upcoming years.
“DME Academy has been super excited to see our middle school girls’ soccer program evolve over the last year to a full team for the 2022-23 season,” said athletic director Laura Stegall. “Todd has put in countless hours developing this roster and it is exciting to see the program come to fruition. I look forward to watching these ladies compete.”
Some of the girls- Cora Wingard and Payton Robinson to name a few – will be representing DME as full-time student-athletes in the fall of 2022, where they will be able to take classes online and focus on their soccer skills. Riley Doran’s family has also done a lot to help with the recruitment efforts for this upcoming season.
“I’m pleased to announce and be associated with the first middle school team to represent DME Academy,” said Eason. “Our coaching staff has worked hard on identifying some of the most talented young players in our community. With the combination of our returning players and the seven new additions, I look forward to seeing this group compete at an extremely high level. Our focus on academics, character development and training regiment will bring much deserved attention and opportunities for our young student-athletes.”
If you’re interested in joining our soccer family, improve your game and see why DME is an academy on the rise, click here to learn more about all of our soccer programs.
DME Academy is set to retire the Murray brother’s numbers July 28th as the first inductees into DME Academy’s Hall of Fame.
It seems like everyone is talking about the Murray brothers as of late. It’s no wonder, since Keegan was selected fourth overall in the 2022 NBA Draft to the Sacramento Kings after playing two seasons for the University of Iowa. Twin brothers Kris and Keegan spent their PG year at DME, and they have been on an upward trajectory ever since. The duo dominated the 2019-20 season at DME, and that set the stage for the Murray’s to elevate their game in the Big Ten with Iowa. Now in 2022, Keegan will embark on an NBA career while Kris will enter his third season for the Hawkeyes.
At the end of this month, Kris and Keegan will make a celebrity appearance in Daytona, Florida, where DME Academy, will retire the two brother’s jerseys. It will be an all-day event held on Thursday, July 28th, celebrating the twin’s accomplishments both at DME and beyond.
The ceremony will hosted in partnership with Halifax Health and will feature the entire Murray family and a special Q&A so they can share plenty of advice for upcoming basketball student-athletes. “Honoring these two young men was an easy decision for our leadership team. Character, drive and dedication are all characteristics we demand of current and future DME student-athletes, and the Murray brothers are a perfect example of that.. Honoring them both as the first members of the DME Hall of Fame made perfect sense.” Says Dan Panaggio, owner of DME Academy.
Whether the goal is playing professionally, earning a college scholarship or testing the waters internationally, DME is on a mission to support the lives of all of our student-athletes. If you are interested in seeing how DME Academy can help further your education and sports career, get in touch here!
Jalynn Brown has been on a hot streak serving the heat in Florida’s Volusia County. Jalynn Brown, a 6’1″ outside attacker for DME’s Volleyball Club who has asserted herself as a top performer her whole High School career as well as her Club career with DME, has recently committed to play at the University of South Florida for the 2022-’23 academic school year and was named to USAV Florida Indoor High Performance All-Star Roster for 2022, making it her second year in a row!
“Jalynn is the highest level recruit DME has ever sent to play collegiate volleyball and we are extremely proud of all she continues to accomplish on and off the court.” says Laura Stegall, Athletic Director at DME Academy.
“Jalynn is the epitome of what we preach at DME. Stay the course, trust the process and good things will happen. We are super proud of not only her accomplishment of being recruited to a division one school, in particular USF, but we are super proud of the way she handled the process. For a 16-year-old to be recruited by multiple Division I schools and be able to carry the load of responding to coaches, sending emails prior to tournaments and after tournaments, college visits, AVCA phenom program, and remain grounded to her club and high school team is nothing short of amazing.” says Dawn Moses, Director of Volleyball at DME.
Jalynn made the decision to stay loyal to DME after having multiple high powered club teams try to recruit her this past summer. Her loyalty speaks to her character and in the words of her father, Jim Brown, “A handshake in the Brown household means something”.
Congratulations, Jalynn! Your DME Family is so proud of you! We can’t wait to cheer the USF Bulls on while watching you play!
Learn more about DME’s volleyball program here.
The DME Academy soccer program is coming at you with yet another win this past weekend with a 3-1-0 (undefeated) record after traveling all the way up the East Coast to Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine. They scored 26 goals for and only let up an impressive 1 against. There were hundreds of teams in the 36th Annual Seacoast United Coastal Summer Challenge beating a good Seacoast United Team 2-0 in the finals. Everyone on the team managed to put up points for DME. The team was playing at a handicap because they were playing with only 7 athletes, which means these kids had no subs all game.
Being from Florida, they were out of their element in the harsh North-East spring weather, battling 50 degree temperatures and dealing with wind and rain all weekend. Despite the sub-par weather, the kids still managed to come out on top and have a great time. “We’ve never been to Maine, my friends and I loved it minus the cold. We wanted to win the tournament for Fathers Day and were so happy that we did!.” Ceci Antista says after the final game.
This weekend marked the first win for the girls side of the program, and there is no sign of slowing down says Coach, Jared Antista. “The girls deserved this experience and that’s what we’re all about at DME Academy. This group of girls traveled to new states, tried new food (fresh Maine lobster rolls), forged deeper relationships with their peers, developed as players, battled the elements, and put four more games under their belts. The icing on the cake was winning DME their second tournament championship months.”
DME Academy looks forward to spending the rest of their summer building on these wins and taking their talents to new fields.
If you are interested in DME Academy’s growing Soccer program, click here to learn more!
Keegan Murray Has Taken The Next Leap In His Basketball Career
photo by Brad Penner, USA TODAY Sports
The Sacramento Kings have officially picked former DME star basketball player Keegan Murray for the #4 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Keegan is the first DME Academy alumnus who has taken his talents to the NBA after a successful career at a D1 college. The Kings are looking forward to the addition of Keegan Murray who is a 6’8″ 215 pound swingman who just had a breakout sophomore season, putting him at the forefront of this year’s Draft.
“This is a tribute to a young man who has done everything the right way,” said Dan Panaggio, co-founder of DME Academy “His training, education and character development – he has all of the intangibles. Keegan is a credit to DME but more importantly to his family. We are all so proud of him and look forward to continuing watching him grow.”
Murray (21) joins the Sacramento Kings after most recently playing with the Iowa Hawkeyes for the last two years and averaging over 40% on 3 pointers and 23.5 points per game on 55/40/75 shooting splits. He most recently was the recipient of the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award. He ranked first in the country in Player Efficiency Rating (37.8), fourth in points per game (23.5), 51st in double-doubles (10) and he was the only player nationally to average 23+ points per game with 8+ rebounds for the 2021-22 season.
Murray, a native of Cedar Rapids Iowa, played a Post grad year at DME Academy in Daytona, Florida where he really started to excel and garner attention from D1 schools, most importantly The Iowa Hawkeyes, which was his dream school. While at DME, Murray averaged 22.1 points per game and 7.5 rebounds.
To take the leap and to start realizing your dreams, apply to DME Academy today by clicking here today!
The DME Academy soccer program is coming at you with yet another win this past weekend with a 3-1-0 (undefeated) record after traveling all the way up the East Coast to Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine. They scored 26 goals for and only let up an impressive 1 against. There were hundreds of teams in the 36th Annual Seacoast United Coastal Summer Challenge beating a good Seacoast United Team 2-0 in the finals. Everyone on the team managed to put up points for DME. The team was playing at a handicap because they were playing with only 7 athletes, which means these kids had no subs all game.
Being from Florida, they were out of their element in the harsh North-East spring weather, battling 50 degree temperatures and dealing with wind and rain all weekend. Despite the sub-par weather, the kids still managed to come out on top and have a great time. “We’ve never been to Maine, my friends and I loved it minus the cold. We wanted to win the tournament for Fathers Day and were so happy that we did!.” Ceci Antista says after the final game.
This weekend marked the first win for the girls side of the program, and there is no sign of slowing down says Coach, Jared Antista. “The girls deserved this experience and that’s what we’re all about at DME Academy. This group of girls traveled to new states, tried new food (fresh Maine lobster rolls), forged deeper relationships with their peers, developed as players, battled the elements, and put four more games under their belts. The icing on the cake was winning DME their second tournament championship months.”
DME Academy looks forward to spending the rest of their summer building on these wins and taking their talents to new fields.
If you are interested in DME Academy’s growing Soccer program, click here to learn more!
After the initial success with the first ever Virtual Open House on May 18th, 2022, DME Academy will hold two more on Wednesday, June 15th 2022. The first will be held at 12 PM EST and the second will be held at 8 PM EST, giving people from all around the world the opportunity to tune in to obtain more information.
Join us again as Laura Stegall, Athletic Director, Anna Gonzalez, Head of School, Matt Panaggio, Director of Basketball, Alex Richard, Director of Sports Performance and Will Carpenter, Student-Athlete Advisor do a deep dive into all things DME Academy. They will cover everything from academics, to sports, to location, extracurriculars and so much more.
The open houses will be held by the knowledgeable staff mentioned above who are at the forefront of reimagining the way student-athletes learn, compete, engage and grow. They will cover key topics explaining DME Academy’s flexible, fully accredited program and their approach to teaching kids in grades 6-12 how to balance their exceptional athletic abilities and maintain top grades in the classroom. At the end of the Open House, there will be time carved out to answer any questions you may have on your mind about attending or sending your student-athlete to DME.
During our virtual open house event, we will :
DME Academy offers 127 courses with 41 electives and 10 AP courses, a 10:1 student-teacher ratio, and 99% college acceptance rate. The best part? DME is located 7 miles away from The World Famous, Daytona Beach in Florida.
We have two times available for these open houses to cater to our international audience and to people who may be busy during the day.
Find out if DME Academy is the right fit for your student-athlete by reserving your spot for our Virtual Open House! We can’t wait to see you on Wednesday, June 15th!