The Florida Gators lost two catchers to the transfer portal and BT Riopelle to the finance industry (also known as graduation), so it only makes sense that Kevin O’Sullivan and his coaching staff were aggressive in the portal market for catchers themselves.
First, Coastal Carolina’s Tanner Garrison committed, following in the footsteps of Riopelle, his former teammate, and now former Virginia Tech catcher/right fielder Brody Donay has pledged his services.
Garrison only has a year of eligibility remaining, but Donay has only played one year of college ball. A top- 200 freshman coming into the 2023 season, Donay impressed for the Hokies, belting 12 home runs and finishing the season with a .937 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
His power hasn’t waned in the wood-bat Cape Cod League, where he has three homers and 14 runs batted in over 70 at-bats. Eleven of his 18 hits this summer are for extra bases.
There are some questions about plate discipline with Donay. His 29.6% strikeout rate is high and a 7.0% walk rate is low. He struck out 42 times overall in 2023 and walked just 10 times.
Defensively, Donay has one of the stronger arms in the CCL. The scary part is that he’s only 19 and still growing into his 6-foot-5-inch, 220-pound frame. He’s one of the top-catching prospects in the 2025 draft class and is a strong addition for Florida.
With the roster now restocked with catchers, Kevin O’Sullivan will have to figure out who he wants behind the dish. Riopelle was the team veteran that served as an on-the-field coach of sorts, but that meant Luke Heyman saw limited time actually playing catcher.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see Donay and Heyman switch off behind the plate early on to see who has the best feel, but the latter is a draft-eligible sophomore, which means this could be his final year at Florida. Donay could still see time behind the plate if Heyman shifts over to first base on days that Jac Caglianone pitches.
Depth isn’t a bad thing, and Florida quickly reloaded behind the plate after losing Rene Lastres, who was ranked No. 31 overall coming out of high school, and Salvy Alvarez.
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