The Seattle Mariners selected Florida catcher Luke Heyman in the 14th round of the MLB draft with the 422nd overall pick.
A three-year starter for Florida, Heyman leaves Florida with a .282/.365/.530 slash line. A true home run or bust player at the plate, Heyman’s 41 career home runs are the 10th most in program history, and his 165 career strikeouts are the sixth-most for a Gator.
Heyman is all over the Florida all-time defensive record books as well. His 996 fielding percentage is tied with Mike Rivera for the best among Florida catchers and second overall. His 1,165 putouts are the sixth most in Gators history.
Florida is losing a staple of the program and one of the better power bats not named Jac Caglianone or Wyatt Langford to come through Gainesville. His career ended on the bench after being hit with a pitch in the arm during the Alabama series. The Gators could have used him in the postseason and they’ll certainly miss him next year.
Luke Heyman before Florida Gators
Heyman was the No. 50 overall recruit on Perfect Game’s Class of 2022 rankings and the sixth-best catcher available. Normally, a kid like that gets drafted. Heyman bet on himself to dominate the SEC, and he did so for much of his career. However, it didn’t turn into the Day 1 draft money every high school prospect hopes to see.
Listed as a two-way prospect because of his 93-mph fastball, Heyman was never going to pitch in college. His big arm played just as well behind the plate, and he showed promise with framing. Most importantly, Heyman carried himself with the kind of poise most elite catchers possess. There’s something different about the guys who play that position, and Heyman had whatever that special quality is; call it grit.
Of course, the power right-handed bat also had scouts drooling, and Kevin O’Sullivan was fortunate enough to get him to campus. Heyman is one of three class of 2022 signees to see their college careers through at Florida. Xavier Isaac went to Tampa in the first round of the draft, and Chris Arroyo recently got drafted in the fifth round by the Miami Marlins after transferring to Virginia by way of junior college.
Luke Heyman with the Florida Gators
Heyman served as Florida’s secondary catcher behind BT Riopelle in 2023, but he still started 51 of 55 games as a true freshman. He earned an All-SEC Freshman Team nod with a .314/.366/.555 season. Heyman hit 12 homers in 191 at-bats, keeping a torrid pace through SEC play. Strikeouts were somewhat of an issue, but Heyman’s strikeout rate stayed under 25% for each of his first two seasons.
The sophomore slump hit Heyman hard. All of his numbers dropped to the tune of a .246/.342/.481 campaign. Perhaps it was the pressure of being a draft-eligible sophomore that got to Heyman, but he didn’t perform up to standard. The power was still there, but he clearly wasn’t seeing the ball as well his freshman year.
Heyman bounced back with an All-SEC First Team junior year. His slash line climbed to .301/.397/.578, and Heyman was hitting homers at a career pace. The injury robbed him of being a few spots higher up in the record books, but he’ll still be remembered as one of the most consistent power bats of this generation of Florida baseball. Oh, Heyman dropped his K rate to 18.6% and raised his walk rate to 10.8% in his final year with the program, too.
Florida Gators drafted in 2025
Heyman is the fifth Gator off the board in the 2025 MLB draft. The Chicago White Sox took shortstop Colby Shelton in the sixth round, the Miami Marlins took right-handed pitcher Jake Clemente in the seventh round and the Chicago Cubs drafted left-handed pitcher Pierce Coppola later on in the seventh round. Third baseman Bobby Boser went to the Athletics in the 11th round.
Florida has seen four or more players drafted in 16 of the last 17 years, and five-plus picks in each of the last three. Heyman is the 115th draftee under Kevin O’Sullivan — 230th in program history.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Seattle Mariners select C Luke Heyman in Round 14 of 2025 MLB draft
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
