Florida Gators aren’t just a football school and the MLB numbers prove it

The Florida Gators aren’t just a top-five-ranked educational university. From the Swamp to The Show, the Gators lead all universities nationally in the number of baseball student-athletes to make their Major League Baseball debuts since 2008.

Since 2008, the Gators have had 38 players make their MLB debuts, including, but not limited to:

• Darren O’Day - March 31, 2008 with the Los Angeles Angels. He is currently non-active.

• Matthew LaPorta – May 3, 2009 with the Cleveland Indians. He last played for the Baltimore Orioles. He was released in 2014.

• Bryan Augenstein – June 13, 2009 with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He last played for the Detroit Tigers in 2014 and is no longer active.

• Ryan Sadowski – June 28, 2009 with the San Francisco Giants. He last played for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

• Steven Rodriguez – September 2012 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is no longer active.

• Mike Zunino – June 12, 2013 with the Seattle Mariners. He last played for the Cleveland Guardians and is non-active.

• Matt Den Dekker – August 29, 2013 with the New York Mets. He has since retired.

• Anthony DeSclafani – May 14, 2014 with the Miami Marlins. He currently plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

• Cole Figueroa - May 16, 2014 with the San Diego Padres. He is no longer active. 

• Preston Tucker – May 7, 2015 with the Houston Astros. He last played in 2023 with the San Diego Padres who released him on August 3, 2023.

• Harrison Bader – July 25, 2017 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently playing for the Philadelphia Phillies. He hit his first monster home run as a Philly on Monday night against the Batlimore Orioles.

• Pete Alonso – March 28, 2019 with the New York Mets. He is currently still playing for the Mets where he has hit a total of 251 home runs, on the chase to tie Darryl Strawberry’s 252 career home runs to take the franchise lead for home runs.

• A.J. Puk – August 21, 2019 with the Oakland Athletics. He is currently playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

• Brady Singer – July 25, 2020 with the Kansas City Royals. Currently he is with the Cincinnati Reds with teammate Hurston Waldrep. Singer most recently picked up a season-high 10 strikeouts on August 1st.

• Dane Dunning – August 19, 2020 with the Chicago White Sox. He is currently playing with the Atlanta Braves.

• Jonathan India – April 1, 2021 with the Cincinnati Reds. He is currently playing with the Kansas City Royals.

• Alex Faedo – May 4, 2022 with the Detroit Tigers. He is currently playing for the Tampa Bay Rays.

• Danny Young – May 9, 2022 with the Seattle Mariners. Currently he is playing for the New York Mets.

• Jacob Young – August 26, 2023 with the Washington Nationals where he is still currently playing.

• Wyatt Langford – March 28, 2024 with the Texas Rangers. He is currently still active with the Rangers.

• Christian Scott – May 4, 2024 with the New York Mets where he currently still plays. However he is currently on the 60-day injured list with a right UCL Sprain.

• Hurston Waldrep – June 9, 2024 with the Atlanta Braves. After playing in the Speedway Classic, Waldrep was sent back to Triple-A Gwinnett.

• Jac Caglianone – June 3, 2025 with the Kansas City Royals. He is currently still with the Royals, but on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.

The Gators, as mentioned above, have had a total of 38 players make MLB debuts since 2008. The list above represents just some of those players.

The Gators sit atop the national rankings above Arizona (36), LSU (36), and Vanderbilt (35). They also lead the SEC as a result, sitting over, as mentioned LSU and Vanderbilt, along with Arkansas (27).

No matter where you go watch a game, there’s a good chance you may see a Gator, whether they be on the home team or the visiting team.