STANLEY CROMARTIE INDUCTED IN FCSAA HALL OF FAME
BY C.S. HOWARD
Former Manatee County standout Stanley Cromartie was recently inducted into the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) Hall of Fame. Cromartie currently serves as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and head softball coach at Edward Waters College (EWC) in Jacksonville. With his appointment, he became the eighth full time athletic director in EWC history.
“I am honored and humbled to accept this position as the Athletic Director at Edward Waters College,” he said. “This institution gave me my degree and I have a responsibility to give back and take this program to even higher heights.”
“Cro”, as he is known, played basketball at the State College of Florida when it was called Manatee Junior College in the early 1980s. He led SCF to a state title in 1982-83, and was an honorable mention All-State player for the 1983-84 season. In 2015, he was inducted to the State College of Florida Hall of Fame. Following his junior college career, Cro transferred to Webber International University in 1984 on a full men’s basketball scholarship. He continued his education at Edward Waters College where he graduated in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. He took the helm of the men’s basketball program at age 25, becoming the youngest head coach in EWC history. He continued his basketball coaching career as a top assistant at Bethune-Cookman University and South Carolina State University and has also held head coaching positions at Valencia Community College in Orlando, and Seminole Community College in Sanford. In 2014, Cro returned to the coaching ranks at EWC when he took over as the fourth head coach in the history of the Women’s Softball program. He led the Lady Tigers to unprecedented success during the 2015 season, finishing with a 34-13-1 record (a program record for wins in a single season) and clinched the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championship. The Lady Tigers also finished with a 29-3 record vs. HBCU competition. Cro also led the Lady Tigers to their first ever appearance in the NAIA Softball Championships in 2017 after a runner-up finish in the Association of Independent Institutions Softball Championships. In 2016, Cro added to his educational resume upon receiving a Masters Degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University-Minnesota.
He is a member of the Gamma Pi Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated, and is married to the former Doretta Clemons. He has two children, Kiara Mays-Cromartie and Dominique Rodgers Cromartie.
