Tavis Honeycutt has spent his summer wowing baseball pundits.
The Newberry rising senior and Florida baseball commit has performed exceptionally well at camps throughout May and June and was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 2A Player of the Year.
On July 10, he receives his biggest chance yet to make a splash – with the eyes of the MLB itself watching.
Honeycutt accepted an invite to compete in the MLB-USA Baseball High School Home run Derby; he told the Sun Thursday. The derby will be held at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia – home of the Philles and host stadium of the 2026 MLB All-Star Game.
The top two finishers during Friday’s event will battle head-to-head Monday, July 13, during the MLB Home Run Derby.
Last season, nine batters competed in the spectacle. Honeycutt is the lone representative from Florida in 2026.
It’ll be Honeycutt’s second time hitting in an MLB ballpark. A week prior on July 4th weekend, he’s playing in a tournament at Triust Park in Atlanta – home of the Braves.
He called the invite “unreal.”
“You get the chance to hit with the pro guys, and you watch them on TV every day and see all the work they do, and it’s like I’m really not that far,” Honeycutt said. “It’s a learning experience no matter what.”
In his junior year, he led the state of Florida with 16 home runs, 49 RBIs and a slugging percentage at 1.406 in 64 at-bats.
His home runs and slugging percentage are top 10 in the nation, according to MaxPreps. He also held a .609 batting average and scored 49 runs with a 0.745 on base percentage – all top three in a state loaded with high school baseball talent. On top of that, he stole 21 bases.
Last fall, he committed to the Gators.
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at nram@usatodayco.com. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1, Instagram @Ramreporter and Facebook Noah Ram – Reporter.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Newberry, Florida baseball commit Tavis Honeycutt to compete in MLB High School HR Derby
Reporting by Noah Ram, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Noah Ram, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
