![Florida's outfielder Kyle Jones (3) scores a run for the Gators on Opening Day against UAB, Friday, February 13, 2026, at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators lost Game 1 to the Blazers 9-7.
[Cyndi Chambers/ Gainesville Sun] 2026](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_4753,h_2673/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01khrqnd9qtn5m65cd6h.jpg "Florida's outfielder Kyle Jones (3) scores a run for the Gators on Opening Day against UAB, Friday, February 13, 2026, at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida. The Gators lost Game 1 to the Blazers 9-7.
[Cyndi Chambers/ Gainesville Sun] 2026")
When Kyle Jones transferred to Florida from Stetson ahead of the 2025 season, he was seen as a potentially key cog to the Gator offense who was an on-base machine during the 2024 season. And four games into the 2025 season, Jones was living up to his billing before a shoulder injury ended his season no sooner than it had started.
Healthy for 2026, Jones has been turning heads through four games and could be popping up on national radars if he keeps it up.
Kyle Jones hits a grand slam in his return to Stetson
Jones wasn’t known for having a power bat during his time with Stetson, but one would never know it from the start of the seasonC. As part of Florida’s win over Stetson on Tuesday night, Jones belted a grand slam that put Florida up 11-2 on the night and paved the way for Florida to win the game in seven innings.
GRAND SALAMI 🍖
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) February 18, 2026
KJ clears the bags in his return to DeLand❗
📺 // ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/TkqmZg9Eag
It was his first home run of the season and just his sixth of his college career, but it was a continuation of seemingly every other ball he gets a hold of winding up in the gap for a double. Through four games, Jones has nine hits. Six of those hits have gone for extra bases.
But even when he doesn’t get a double, he still finds a way to manufacture a run. Jones led off the game on Tuesday with a single. Then he stole second. Then he stole third. Then a wild pitch allowed Jones to score. He has scored seven runs and has seven RBIs.
The odds of his 1.556 OPS staying that high are rare, as are the odds of staying at a .556 On Base Percentage.
But based upon his numbers from his true freshman year at Stetson, along with what he has shown to open up the 2026 campaign, it’s not insane to think Jones could finish the year with a batting average north of .400 and an OPS north of 1.200.