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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