The Florida Gators have four players participating in this year’s MLB draft combine and two players who have already given their commitments to the University of Florida for the 2025-26 school year.
Current Gators participating include right-handed pitcher, Jake Clemente; left-handed pitcher, Pierce Coppola; catcher/ utility infielder, Brody Donay; and shortstop, Colby Shelton.
The two players who have committed to Florida include right-handed pitcher Aaron Watson and shortstop Jordan Yost.
Clemente is a redshirt sophomore from Coral Springs, Fla. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas graduate played in 21 games in 2025. He was 2-1 with a career-high 3.46 ERA. Over an accumulated 54 2/3 innings, he gave up 21 earned runs on 36 hits. He walked 25 and struck out 77. He also reached a career-best 1.12 WHIP, and opponents had just a .181 batting average against him. He was named a 2025 All-SEC Second Team member.
Left-handed pitcher Pierce Coppola is a redshirt junior out of Verona High School in New Jersey. The 6’8” lefty started seven games for the Gators in 2025. He was 3-1 with a career-high 2.53 ERA. Through 21 1/3 innings, he gave up six earned runs on 12 hits. He walked nine, and struck out 43. He also had a career-best 0.98 WHIP, and opponents had just a .158 batting average against him.
Donay is a junior utility player who transferred to the University of Florida as a sophomore in 2024. In 2025, he hit .303, with a .646 slugging and a .418 on-base percentage. He had 60 hits, including 10 doubles, two triples, and 18 home runs. He drove in 41 RBIs and had 45 runs scored in his junior year. He also had eight stolen bases.
Donay in 2025 earned 2025 ABCA Second Team Southeast All-Region (DH) and was the 2025 SEC Player of the week for the week of February 17. That week, he had at least two or more hits per game and hit three consecutive home runs in the week (four consecutive if you include the February 18 game, in which he also hit one out).
Shortstop Colby Shelton is a junior who also transferred to Florida in his sophomore season, but from Alabama.
In 2025, the 6’0” left-handed hitting, right-handed throwing junior played in 45 games, hitting .377, with a .606 slugging and .458 on-base percentage. He had 66 hits, including 19 doubles and seven home runs. He drove in 35 RBIs and had 40 runs scored as a junior. Shelton also had his speed on display in 2025, stealing 12 bases.
He was a 2025 Brooks Wallace Award semifinalist.
As for the up-and-coming Gator commits, Right-handed pitcher Aaron Watson is an 18-year-old out of Trinity Christian High School in Florida. He is known for having a really good feel for pitching. He sits in the lower-90s with his fastball and can reach up to 95mph at times as well. His fastball has a good ability to sink well and force a lot of ground ball outs. His secondary pitchers include a curveball and slider that both sit around 78-82 mph, and he has a mid-80s split changeup as well.
Yost is an 18-year old shortstop out of Sickles High School in Florida. The lefty-hitter is known for his elite contact skills and for having a good feel for the strike zone as well. He has plus speed and a great knowledge of the game to play smart on the bases and defensively.
Yost’s older brother, Hayden is also at Florida and attending UF would give them the opportunity to play together. But recently, he has become a player who some scouts say could go in the top two rounds of the draft.
Jac Caglianone vs Wyatt Langford
Tuesday night opened up a fun three-game series for Gator fans as Gator greats, Jac Caglianone (Kansas City) and Wyatt Langford (Texas), were reunited for the first time at the major league level as the Royals and Rangers opened a three-game series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Caglianone played as the DH for Kansas City on Tuesday night, and Langford was in left and center field for the Rangers. Neither player got a hit on Tuesday.
Caglianone and Langford both spoke with the media prior to Tuesday night’s game. Both expressed how much they enjoyed playing with each other at Florida and how they were looking forward to playing against each other for the first time as big leaguers, though from across the field.
“It’s definitely going to be a weird feeling, seeing him on the other side of the dugout, but it’s nothing but love. He’s an amazing person, somebody that I consider a really close friend,” said Caglianone. “I root for him, wish him nothing but the best.”
On the other side of the field, Langford also expressed his friendship with Caglianone. “Jac’s an awesome kid, I love him, we’re pretty good buddies and still stay in touch,” said Langford. “Obviously he’s a tremendous athlete, being able to go through the minors like that, I’m not surprised at all. I’m super excited and ready to see what he does,” said Langford.