Six Florida baseball players and two Florida Gators signees picked in the 2025 MLB Draft from July 13-14.
UF has produced at least four MLB Draft picks in 16 of the last 17 years, including five players in last year’s draft: first baseman/left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone (Round 1, Pick 6 – Kansas City Royals), right-handed pitcher Brandon Neely (Round 3, Pick 86 – Boston Red Sox), right-handed pitcher Fisher Jameson (Round 10, Pick 288 – Colorado Rockies), right-handed pitcher Ryan Slater (Round 18, Pick 538 – San Francisco Giants) and shortstop Colby Shelton (Round 20, Pick 590 – Washington Nationals), who opted to return to UF for the 2025 season.
Since the inaugural year of the MLB Draft in 1965, Florida has had 230 players combine for 261 draft selections, including 20 first-round picks.
Of the six players picked, two (right-handed pitcher Jake Clemente and catcher Luke Heyman) could opt to return next season. Another notable draft snub was second baseman Cade Kurland, who was projected as the 262nd best MLB draft prospect by Baseball American. Kurland, who had his 2025 season cut short by a shoulder injury, could opt to return to UF next season.
Here’s a look at the Florida players and signees who were picked on July 13 and July 14:
Florida baseball players selected in 2025 MLB Draft
SS Colby Shelton
Drafted: Sixth round,166th overall, Chicago White Sox
Slot value: $403,900
RHP Jake Clemente
Drafted: Seventh round,198th overall, Miami Marlins
Slot value: $309,400
LHP Pierce Coppola
Drafted: Seventh round, 211th overall, Chicago Cubs
Slot value: $278,500
IF Bobby Boser
Drafted: 11th round, 320th overall, The Athletics
Slot value: $0
C Luke Heyman
Drafted: 14th round, 422nd overall, Seattle Mariners
Slot value: $0
C Brody Donay
Drafted: 17th round, 507th overall, Tampa Bay Rays
Slot value: $0
Florida baseball signees selected in 2025 MLB Draft
SS Jordan Yost
Drafted: First round, 24th overall, Detroit Tigers
Slot value: $3.73 million
RHP Aaron Watson
Drafted: Second round, 24th overall, Detroit Tigers
Slot value: $1.89 million
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: Tracking Florida baseball players, signees picked in 2025 MLB Draft
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
