Tag: Hurston Waldrep

Three Gators named Preseason All-Americans by NCBWA

Three Gators were recognized by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association as Preseason All-Americans.

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named a trio of Florida Gators to the Preseason All-American list this week.

Outfielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] earned a First Team nod, and right-hander [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] and catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] made the second team.

After pacing the SEC in home runs a season ago, Langford has collected First Team honors from Baseball American, Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball, Perfect Game and now the NCBWA. He’s expected to be in the conversation for the No. 1 pick in the 2023 draft and is projected a firm top-five pick by most outlets.

Langford exploded onto the season last year after seeing just four at-bats as a reserve catcher his freshman year. He moved around the lineup, hitting leadoff at one point, but never lost his power swing and led the team in most major offensive categories. The expectations are huge for Langford after the 2022 he had, and the Gators don’t make the College World Series without him.

Waldrep joined the team as a transfer from Southern Miss during the offseason. Already regarded as one of the top arms in the nation, Waldrep now gets a chance to test himself against the SEC. Similar to Langford, all five major publications named Waldrep a First Team Preseason All-American, but he didn’t get the nod from the NCBWA.

If he can repeat or improve on a season that saw him finish with a 3.20 ERA and 140 strikeouts through 90 innings, Waldrep will be one of Florida’s most important pieces this season.

Of course, Florida’s recent history with transfer is excellent, bringing us to Riopelle, who came over from Coastal Carolina before the 2022 season. He finished his first season at UF as a First Team All-SEC catcher that had impressive power numbers. He could have gone pro but opted to return to improve his stock.

That’s a big gamble considering Riopelle is giving up any leverage he had left by exhausting his college eligibility, but a strong season will make it all worth it. Lowering his strikeout numbers will be key. Riopelle struck out 78 times last season and walked just 21 times.

Florida’s season begins on Feb. 17 with a three-game series against Charleston Southern. Twenty of the team’s first 22 games take place at home.

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MLB Pipeline projects Florida OF as No. 1 pick of 2023 MLB draft

After a breakout year in 2022, all eyes are on Florida outfielder Wyatt Langford as one of the top draft prospects in college baseball.

The 2023 college baseball season hasn’t even started and Florida outfielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] is already earning No. 1 overall predictions from MLB.com draft expert Jonathan Mayo.

Langford landed at No. 3 on MLB.com’s prospect rankings, but Mayo thinks that he’s the guy to go with ahead of LSU outfielder Dylan Crews and Tennessee right-hander Chase Dollander. With an entire season to play, scouts will get to compare Crews and Langford against the same level of competition. Mayo believes that Langford’s defense will play a role in making him the top pick.

“I think Langford is going to show people he can play center field — he hasn’t played it before — he runs a bit better than Crews, I think he’s a little more athletic …” said Mayo. “I don’t think there’s that much separating the two and I think there will be some spirited conversations, but I’m going to listen to the two different scouts that I spoke to when we were putting together our list and take Langford.”

The move to center field has gone fine, according to fall reports, so Langford could prove that he’s a legitimate five-tool player this year. Everyone knows he can hit for power after a 26-home-run season in 2022, and he’s patient enough to hit for a good average (.355) and on-base percentage (.447).

The big change this year for Langford is that he’ll be the guy every pitcher is planning for. There’s no more [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] or [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] to clutter the scouting report, although [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] is back for another year and warrants consideration. Still, Langford is the focal point of the lineup and will have every chance to prove himself in 2023.

He doesn’t need to break the school’s single-season home run record to get to the No. 1 spot, but Langford can’t falter in what needs to be a bounce-back year for the Gators. He needs to lead the charge behind a weekend rotation that features two of the top arms in the draft, [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag].

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Florida baseball announces scrimmage against Georgia

Florida and Georgia are set to clash on the gridiron Saturday, but which school’s baseball program will kick off the weekend with a win the night before?

It’s officially Georgia hate week at the University of Florida, and the football program isn’t the only team in Orange and Blue looking to take down the Bulldogs over the weekend.

Florida’s baseball team has scheduled a scrimmage against Georgia on Friday at Financial Ballpark in Jacksonville at 6 p.m. EDT, according to the University Athletic Association.

The Gators will also host three separate intersquad scrimmages throughout the week at Condron Ballpark as part of the fall practice schedule. Here are the expected practice and scrimmage times for fans hoping to attend. Admission is free for the public and fans can access the concourse at Gate 3 behind the plate.

In addition to this scrimmage against Georgia, Florida will host Stetson at Condron Family Ballpark on Nov. 6 before closing out the fall schedule with a revival of the Orange and Blue Series on Nov. 10-13.

Florida fans should get a glimpse of the new faces on the team throughout that series. Infielder [autotag]Cade Kurland[/autotag], who reclassified to join the team a year early, has already made a name for himself early on, and [autotag]Yoel Tejeda Jr[/autotag]., a two-way player who was selected in the 19th round of the draft, is another freshman to watch out for. Then there’s Southern Miss transfer [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag], who played on Team USA with [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] and is expected to be the No. 2 to presumed ace [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag].

There’s a lot of talent on this Florida team heading into the 2023 season. The more playing time they get together in the fall, the more cohesive a unit they’ll be come February.

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3 Gators among top 20 college prospects for 2023 MLB draft

Florida baseball is the only program in the country with three top-20 college prospects for the 2023 MLB draft, per MLB.com.

MLB.com’s Jim Callis released his top 20 college prospects for the 2023 MLB draft last week, and the Florida Gators are the only program to have three players named on the list.

There’s an elite group of talent returning to Florida and it’s led by the top bat of 2022, left fielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag]. [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag], who are expected to be at the top of Florida’s weekend rotation all season, join him on the list.

LSU and Wake Forest are the only other schools to have multiple players featured, but Stanford, Tennessee and Vanderbilt all have a top-20 player and one of Callis’ players to watch.

Last year, Callis had [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag]and [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] in his preseason top 20. Both ended up being taken in the first three-rounds, and Barco was having a first-round worthy season before Tommy John surgery took him down. Callis had Barco at No. 11 on that list and Fabian at No. 16. Langford is No. 4 this year, so that gives you an idea of how good he’s expected to be.

Gators get Brandon Sproat back after being drafted in 3rd round

Brandon Sproat is coming back to Condron Family Ballpark! The New York Mets failed to sign him by the deadline and the Gators get their ace for another year.

When Florida’s season came to an end in the regionals against Oklahoma, few took it harder than [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag]. Many assumed it would be the final time they’d see Sproat in a Gators uniform, but now he’s set to return for his junior year at Florida.

The New York Mets selected Sproat in the third round of the 2022 MLB draft with the 90th overall pick but the two sides could not come to terms on a deal, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com. Sproat was drafted out of high school in the seventh round and was also the highest unsigned pick in the 2019 draft.

Aside from wanting to prove himself in a Gators uniform, the money really didn’t work out for Sproat. The Mets could spend just under $900,000 to sign Sproat without giving up a first-round pick in next year’s draft, and many peg the hard-throwing righty as a potential first-round talent if he can find a little more consistency.

For comparison, [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag], who was selected in the second round at No. 44 overall, signed an under-slot deal for $1.53 million with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Barco was also considered a first-round talent before his Tommy John surgery, so Sproat’s floor (barring some massive regression) looks to be around what Barco got while on the mend.

The Gators added Southern Miss starter [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] through the transfer portal over the offseason, so he and Sproat can fight it out for the Friday night slot as UF’s top two arms. [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag], whose season ended early with a back injury, should be the No. 3 guy and there are plenty of arms to test out during the week.

Sproat’s return also gives the Gators a trio of players that could go in the first tow round of next year’s draft. Along with Sproat and Waldrep, Florida has outfielder [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag], who is considered one of the top college prospects in the class.

It’s still half a year away, but Florida baseball in 2023 has a chance to be something special, especially with the team ace back in tow.

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Florida baseball adds key arm through transfer portal

Billy Napier’s group wasn’t the only team at UF making noise in the transfer portal on Thursday.

There’s a good chance Florida baseball loses both [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] to the MLB draft in the next 10 days, but [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s latest move might make that blow hurt less than expected. [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag], Southern Mississippi’s Sunday starter for most of 2022 who entered the transfer portal after a breakout season, committed to the orange and blue on Thursday, according to Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.

Waldrep was a key member of one of the nation’s top pitching staffs last year. The Golden Eagles finished second among all Division I programs in earned run average (3.29), strikeouts per nine innings (11.3) and strikeout to walk ratio (4.22). Waldrep ended his sophomore campaign with an ERA of 3.20, 140 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.16 over 90 innings of work in 17 starts.

Although he played in Conference USA, Waldrep’s final two games came against SEC opponents. He racked up double-digit strikeouts in both NCAA Tournament outings — 11 against LSU in the regional round and 12 against Ole Miss in the super regionals. He’s also teammates with [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] on the USA collegiate national team.

A rising junior, Waldrep has a chance to be the Friday night starter at Florida if Barco and Sproat do end up leaving. Assuming those in the transfer portal end up leaving, [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] and [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag] are the expected returning starters. Waldrep likely starts the season ahead of all of those names and Barco won’t be ready for opening day anyway if he does return.

This is Sully’s third pick-up through the transfer portal after adding Coastal Carolina infielder [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] and Mercer outfielder [autotag]Colby Thomas[/autotag]. The Gators will likely add another name or two through the portal when all is said and done. Follow all of Florida’s transfer portal actions with our tracker for more on those two.

Waldrep features a fastball, curveball and changeup. The fastball tops out around 95-96 mph with reports of it touching 98 mph, but he sat around 92-93 mph with Team USA a week ago.

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