Florida baseball adds in-state RHP to recruiting class of 2025

Gator Wire talks to Orlando-based, right-handed pitcher Michael Senay who joined Florida’s 2025 recruiting class on Saturday.

Florida baseball’s 2025 recruiting class is up to 12 commitments following an announcement on Saturday from East River (Orlando) right-handed pitcher Michael Senay.

“I chose Florida because I know that’s the place to develop myself,” Senay told Gators Wire following his commmitment. “Florida’s education is really important and great, which is something I look forward to. The coaches focus on improving their players to the next level.”

Gators newcomer Colby Shelton particularly made an impact on Senay’s recruitment. The two had a conversation that ultimately helped Senay make his decision.

While Florida’s 2023 and 2024 recruiting class are very pitcher-heavy, the 2025 class has just five arms under commitment. It’s not lost on Senay that he’s joining one of the nation’s elite program when it comes to developing major-leauge arms.

“It’s very exciting to commit to a great program because I get to learn and discover new things that could bring me into the pros,” he said.
“Learning from those who already played and still are in college. The Florida program for pitchers is awesome and I can’t wait to improve.”

As a sophomore, Senay pitched a team-high 53 innings, making 11 starts for the Falcons. He also came out of the bullpen three times, recording a save in the FHSAA 6A-7 district semifinal against Forest.

Despite falling against Lake Minneola in the district final, East River made the regional tournament and gave Senay the ball. He left in line for the win after 4 1/3 innings of four-run ball (three earned), but George Jenkins came back in the sixth to win the game.

Senay played for the Scorpions Scout Team on the travel circuit. The Scorps are one of the better-known organizations in Florida and regularly compete at the highest level of travel ball. Being a 2025, Senay was able to compete in the WWBA Underclass World Championship and the WWBA World Championship.

His fastball topped 89 mph in the latter tournament, which is the biggest travel baseball event of the year. At 6-feet-2-inches tall and 180 pounds, his frame is projectable enough to expect a consistent low-90s fastball by his senior year.

Senay features a four-pitch mix, including a high-70s curveball, a low-80s slider with decent spin (2,511 rpm) and a mid-80s changeup. He also says he’s tinkering with a new pitch that’s a changeup-sinker mix.

“It most moves like a sinker, but the reason why it’s also called a changeup is because of the way I hold it,” he said.

Similar pitches exist on the other side of the world, but Senay isn’t a stranger to paying across seas. He spends every other summer in the Czech Republic and found his way onto the national team.

“About 2 years ago, my dad asked if I could practice with a local team because I was missing out on Scorps training,” Senay said. “So then they invited me to play for them in a tournament, and after the tournament a national coach went up to me and asked if I could play for U15 Czech team.”

“I had to miss out because I also had summer and fall baseball with the Scorpions. But I found out that the U15 Czech team actually won first place, so I didn’t want to miss out on that opportunity again. Two years later, the U18 coach asked me to play and I accepted this time. We went over to Taiwan and got ninth place which was the best the Czech team has done since 1999. I went 2-0 pitching wise and it was just a great experience.”

Senay hopes to get to Omaha while with the Orange and Blue with the ultimate goal of bringing a national championship back to Gainesville.

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Florida two-sport commit DJ Lagway plans to prioritize football in Year 1

Florida’s five-star quarterback commit DJ Lagway is also an elite baseball prospect, but will he keep playing two sports in college?

When [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag] gets on campus in Gainesville, he’ll be immediately competing for a starting job as the quarterback of the football team.

But the five-star commit is also a talented baseball player, and he could follow a similar path to redshirt freshman Max Brown, according to Jacob Rudner of 247Sports. Brown served as a reserve outfielder for Kevin O’Sullivan on the baseball team, but his priority was football in Year 1.

Lagway will enroll early in the spring and use that time to figure out his “daily routine” and “get focused on everything with football.” His involvement with the baseball team — which just started fall ball practices — should be little to none during his first full year of college.

“Maybe the following spring, or spring after that if need be to be ready to play some baseball,” Lagway said.

Lagway is certainly talented enough to balance the workload and busy schedule that comes with being a two-sport athlete, but Florida has one of the most competitive baseball programs in the country. Waiting a whole year could get him lost in the shuffle.

It’s good to see Lagway locking in on football, though. Florida needs an elite quarterback. One that — with no disrespect to Graham Mertz — can throw the deep ball. If he can be a Day 1 starter by giving up baseball, then it seems every bit worth it.

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Florida baseball lands commitment from 2024 left-handed pitcher

Florida routinely brings in some of the top baseball recruiting classes in the country, and Sully just found a lefty to add to the 2024 class.

Florida baseball added another commitment to the 2024 recruiting class on Saturday morning as Jesuit High School left-hander [autotag]McCall Biemiller[/autotag] announced his decision on Twitter.

Biemiller figures to be one of the top returning seniors on a Tigers team that has played for a state championship in each of the past two seasons. He only made seven appearances as a sophomore and junior, but he should step into a more prominent role as a senior.

Over 31 2/3 varsity innings, Biemiller has struck out 53 batters and surrendered 20 runs, most of which came as a sophomore. He’s only made five career starts, but he should move up in the rotation with three of the four players who made more starts than him departing the program.

Biemiller most recently competed with the Top Tier Roos American on the summer travel circuit. He was with the 2024 Navy team for some of Perfect Game’s major national tournaments. His fastball consistently came in at 87 mph, and he appears to feature two breaking balls and a changeup.

Gators Wire will get a look at Biemiller in the coming weeks and provide an update on his arsenal.

At 6-foot-2 inches tall and 173 pounds, Biemiller has decent projectability. He’ll need to add some velocity to his fastball to get consistent innings in the SEC, but a four-pitch mix is nice, even if it is developing.

Biemiller is the 15th player from the class of 2024 to commit to Florida. The class is mostly made up of pitchers, featuring just five position players, but Biemiller is the first left-hander to commit. Of course, some of the top names are at risk of being drafted, but that’s just a reality of being among the best Power Five programs in the country.

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Talking with coveted UCF commit who flipped to Florida baseball

We caught up with Florida’s newest flamethrower to find out why he backed off his pledge to the Knights and committed to UF.

Although he went public with his decision on Monday night, Sickles High (Tampa, Florida) right-handed pitcher and first baseman [autotag]Caden McDonald[/autotag] silently backed off his commitment to the University of Central Florida “about two weeks ago.”

UCF head coach Greg Lovelady had just parted ways with the program after five years in Orlando, opening the door for Kevin O’Sullivan and the Florida Gators to flip one of the Sunshine State’s very best. It didn’t take very long for McDonald to make a decision.

“As soon as my recruitment opened Florida was easily the first call,” McDonald said. “It has always been my dream school and as soon as they gave me the opportunity it was a no-brainer. To be given the chance to play for such a successful program and culture at UF is really just a dream come true.”

Labeling McDonald as one of the state’s best arms isn’t hyperbole. He was a central figure in Sickles’ first-ever state championship run, pitching an 81-pitch shutout in the semifinals and blasting a home run to score one of the Gryphons’ two runs.

In the Class 6A state title game, Viera High opted to intentionally walk McDonald twice instead of giving him a chance to hit a 13th home run on the year.

McDonald featured a strong three-pitch mix at the Florida High School Athletic Association State Championships in May. His fastball touched 95 mph but usually sits in the 92-94 mph range and has some nice arm-side run on it that should get better with college-level coaching.

The curveball isn’t quite 12-6, but it’s primarily vertical movement with a little bit of glove-side action at the end. Typically coming in around the mid-70s, the curve is his slower breaking pitch. McDonald often goes to his slider, which has touched 80 mph.

His fastball velocity and two legitimate breaking balls should get McDonald some draft looks. If the desire is to be a pro starter, adding a legitimate changeup to the arsenal might be the next step.

He’s listed at 6 feet-3 inches tall and 195 pounds, so there aren’t any size concerns. If anything, he’ll get taller and stronger over the next few years. The question is whether it will be in Gainesville or not.

Perfect Game ranks McDonald No. 296 overall in the class of 2023 and No. 97 among right-handed pitchers. He’s also No. 42 overall in the state of Florida and No. 14 among righties. Those rankings haven’t been updated since the middle of April though. McDonald’s post-season run should have him on an upward trajectory.

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5-star QB commit could be a two-sport athlete for Florida

5-star quarterback DJ Lagway wants to continue his baseball career at Florida, but football will always come first.

Florida’s quarterback of the future, 2024 five-star Willis signal caller [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag], might also be a future baseball star for the Gators.

Schools recruited Lagway for both sports throughout high school. He picked up baseball offers from well-established programs such as LSU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M before committing to Florida for football, and the assumption is that he’ll end up playing for baseball head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s squad at some point.

During his most recent visit to the Swamp, Lagway followed up a day of football activities with a day at Condron Family Ballpark, according to Jacob Rudner of 247Sports. He got to check out the Gators’ practice and scrimmage before and even had a lengthy talk with Sully. The two speak often and are familiar with each other, but the plan right now is for Lagway to prioritize football before figuring out what his role on the baseball team might be.

His path to the diamond might be similar to freshman quarterback [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag]’s. He recently joined the baseball team this spring after missing fall practices to be with the football team. When spring practices start, football will again be the priority.

“We’ll see what it looks like after I get there but the way (Brown) did it could be how it works for me,” Lagway said.

Lagway wants to be a pitcher for Florida but also says that left field could be a spot for him depending on his arm. It’s unclear what Brown or Lagway’s role on O’Sullivan’s club will be when the time comes, but it’s clear that head football coach Billy Napier is willing to work with student-athletes that want to keep playing baseball.

Lagway is ranked at No. 24 overall on the 247Sports composite and is at No. 4 among quarterbacks in the class of 2024. Perfect Game has him ranked as the No. 312 overall outfielder in his class.

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Florida baseball secures commitment from 2023 pitcher

Grayson Smith, a right-hander from Tennessee, has a three-pitch arsenal with a fastball that tops out at 91 MPH.

Florida baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan landed a future arm for his pitching rotation on Saturday as 2023 pitcher Grayson Smith announced his commitment to the team. The prospect from the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was previously committed to Stetson.

The 6-foot-3-inch right-hander announced his decision to join the Gators’ class on Twitter.

Though he’s not necessarily considered an elite pitcher in the class, there are a lot of attributes to like in Smith. His fastball, which accounts for a large percentage of the pitches he throws, tops out at 91 mph according to Prep Baseball Report. He’s effective against right-handed batters pitching from the high 3/4 slot as his fastball sinks late and cuts inside.

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The speed on his secondary offerings ranges from 74-78 mph, and his pitches have solid spin rates, especially on changeups. For a rising high school junior, he has a nice arsenal of pitches to work with and has plenty of room to develop.

Smith is one of two right-handers (and three pitchers overall) currently in UF’s 2023 class. He may not have the stuff to ever be an ace for the Gators, but his versatility opens the door for him to one day potentially become a weekend starter in Gainesville.

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