Florida baseball landed a commitment from a five-tool outfielder from the transfer portal, picking up Jacksonville outfielder Jaden Bastian.
Bastian started 55 games for the Dolphins last season, batting .302 with 11 home runs, 33 RBIs and 36 steals in 40 attempts.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Bastian, who bats and throws right-handed, is a junior with two years of eligibility remaining and brings a power/speed element to the Florida Gators lineup.
Bastian, from Winter Garden, played at First Academy in Orlando before signing with JU out of high school in 2023.
“Very versatile, he can do so many things correctly,” First Academy coach Scott Grove told Spectrum News, when asked about Bastian. “He has all five tools where he runs real well and of course hit for power, hit for average, strong arm, a really good center fielder.”
Bastian joins Notre Dame pitcher Ricky Reeth, UCF pitcher Rusell Sendefer and Wabash Valley College catcher A.J. Malzone as the fourth player that UF has picked up from the transfer portal this month.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida baseball lands five-tool Jacksonville OF from transfer portal
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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