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USA Today
4 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Athletics select Florida 3B Bobby Boser in Round 11 of 2025 MLB draft
The Athletics selected Florida third baseman Bobby Boser with the 320th overall pick in the 11th round of the 2025 MLB draft. Boser spent three years at South Florida before transferring to Florida to take over the starting third base role. He provided the most stable bat and glove at the position since Jonathan India. He was the only Gator to start all 61 games for Florida this season, slashing .336/.437/.613 with 80 hits, 72 runs, 67 RBIs, 146 total bases, 18 home runs and 19 stolen bases — all of which are team-highs besides batting average and slugging percentage. A five-tool player who can play both spots on the left side of the infield is a steal in the 11th round. Boser had one of the greatest single-year impacts in program history. Another year in Gainesville might have turned him into a Day 1 pick. Bobby Boser before Florida A top-100 prospect out of Florida in the class of 2021, Boser didn't have much of a national profile before college. Boser came into his collegiate career as a two-way player, running the fastball into the low-90s. Former USF associate head coach Bo Durkac said Boser had a "golden arm" at third but offered that he was too aggressive at the plate in the fall of his freshman year. True to form, Boser struggled in his first years at South Florida, with a strikeout rate above 30%. He found hits more consistently as a sophomore and saw an OPS jump from .673 to 1.066. The power started to show, too, with 15 homers in 238 plate appearances. An All-Star summer in the Cape Cod League moved Boser into the conversation of the best non-Power Five position players in the game. Boser was on his way to a monster junior year with 12 home runs in 131 plate appearances, but a hamate bone injury cut his season short by about 20 games. After another summer on the Cape, Boser hit the transfer portal to prove he could stay as productive in the SEC. Bobby Boser at Florida Boser put up career numbers at Florida and etched his name into the history books as the most productive on an injury-riddled Gators team that expected to do more. Had Florida been healthy and made a deeper run in the postseason, Boser is the kind of guy who benefits from the eyes on Omaha at the College World Series. Position versatility is a lost art in the game, and certain front offices cover it as a must-have tool. The 19 stolen bases are another big feather in Boser's cap. A near 20-20 season is rare in college baseball, and Boser probably deserved more than an 11th-round selection. His top moments with the Gators include a three-homer game against Stetson on April 15 and homering in each of the first two games of the Conway Regional. Florida Gators drafted in 2025 Boser is the fourth Gator off the board in the 2025 MLB draft. The Chicago White Sox took shortstop Colby Shelton in the sixth round, the Miami Marlins took right-handed pitcher Jake Clemente in the seventh round and the Chicago Cubs drafted left-handed pitcher Pierce Coppola later on in the seventh round. Florida has seen four or more players drafted in 16 of the last 17 years, and Boser is the 116th draftee under Kevin O'Sullivan — 229th in program history. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
23-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Three Florida Gators named All-Americans by Baseball America
Baseball America named three Florida Gators to its All-America teams on Friday. Third baseman Bobby Boser made the Third Team, while right-handed pitcher Aidan King and first baseman Brendan Lawson made the Freshman First Team. Lawson is listed as a designated hitter despite spending most of the year at first base. Before taking a closer look at why those three made the cut, let's explore why Florida's best player, shortstop Colby Shelton, didn't receive any All-America recognition. Shelton went down with a Hamate bone injury during the Arkansas series at the end of April. While Shelton met the 2 plate appearances per game requirement to qualify for the leaderboards, he only played in 45 of the 46 required games. If Florida's season goes one game shorter, Shelton makes the cut. It's a tough break for Florida's offensive leader, but Gator Nation won't forget how well he played — and neither will the scouts interested in him. 3B/SS Bobby Boser — All-America Third Team Boser led the team in batting average, hitting .336 with a 1.050 on-base plus slugging percentage. He finished the 2025 season tied with Brody Donay for the team lead in home runs with 18 and drove in a team-high 67 runs. Boser was also the Gators' best baserunner, stealing 19 bags. "A strong, right-handed hitter, Boser has always shown a propensity for doing damage," reads which lists Boser as the No. 183 prospect in the 2025 draft. "There's strength and bat speed with good balance at the plate. There's also plenty of power for him to tap into, and he's shown the ability to drive the ball for extra bases and out of the park to all fields. "Whether he can get to that pop at the next level is the question as he does swing and miss quite a good amount, and his miss rate did go up as the Gators got into conference play. Boser gets very high marks for his makeup, and he worked hard to improve his athleticism, running speed and defensive ability to make him a more viable all-around prospect." Boser showed off his defensive versatility, moving to shortstop at the end of the season for Florida after Colby Shelton went down with an injury. He could play anywhere in the infield at the next level, though. 1B Brendan Lawson — Freshman All-America First Team While Boser is leaving the program after one year, King and Lawson are just getting started in Gainesville. A First Team All-Freshman nod means that they are among the best young players in the sport, not just the conference. Lawson came out of high school as Canada's top shortstop and spent most of his freshman year at first base to get his bat in the lineup. He led all SEC freshmen with 61 RBIs, and his .939 OPS ranks third with the same qualifications. Only Vanderbilt's Brodie Johnston (15) hit more home runs (10) among freshmen in the conference. Perhaps most impressive is Lawson's approach at the plate. He ranks inside the top 10 among SEC freshmen with a 20.7% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate. Those numbers were even better before conference play and the postseason took its toll, so expect an even more mature approach in those situations next year from Lawson. "Lawson parlayed a breakout showing in the MLB Draft League into an outstanding freshman season at Florida, batting .317/.417/.522 with 10 homers, 14 doubles, 61 RBIs and eight stolen bases while splitting his time between first, second and third base. Lawson recorded 23 multi-hit games and paced the Gators in free passes drawn (33)." He figures to be a staple of the Florida lineup until he's draft eligible in 2027. It's easy to see why the St. Louis Cardinals took a flier on him in the 19th round last summer. The only question is whether or not he'll move to the left side of the infield. RHP Aidan King — Freshman All-America First Team Something similar can be said for King, who broke into the starting rotation within the first month of the season. "King was initially tabbed as one of the Gators' go-to relievers but forced his way into their rotation after a handful of stellar performances and injuries. He never relinquished his rotation spot and finished the year with a 2.58 ERA and 79 strikeouts to 23 walks over 73.1 innings and 17 appearances (12 starts)." Aidan King finished the year with the lowest ERA among qualified pitchers in the SEC, surrendering just 21 earned runs (28 total) over 73 1/3 innings. His 56 hits allowed ranks sixth in the conference, and his .213 batting average against ranks eighth. King's command was special. He walked just 23 batters (T-7th) and hit four (T-3rd). A plus fastball and developing secondary arsenal has King at the top of his draft class, but Florida gets him for at least two more years. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
29-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Florida baseball's turn around feels real after series win over No. 5 Arkansas
Florida baseball's turn around feels real after series win over No. 5 Arkansas Florida baseball's comeback has been quiet. Since starting SEC play 1-11, the Gators have won seven of nine games against the conference. The first two series came against a pair of the only three SEC teams ranked lower than Florida in most systems, but conference No. 2 Arkansas was a true test over the final weekend of April. The Gators claimed the series against No. 5-ranked Razorbacks with a 9-5 rubber match victory Sunday afternoon. Florida took an early series lead on Friday night behind a career night from Liam Peterson, but a 7-0 loss on Saturday evened things up and put the Gators at a disadvantage on the mound. A five-man contingent of UF bullpen arms navigated around a rough second inning Sunday, and the Orange and Blue eventually overcame a four-run deficit with runs in every frame but the third. Now 8-13 against the SEC with nine conference games left, Florida can go one game over .500 and finish the regular season with decent odds at the NCAA Tournament. Because UF beat No. 8 FSU in the season series and the SEC expanded over the offseason, Florida's magic number figures to be 13 conference wins. A three-game sweep against South Carolina next weekend would likely allow one-win series finishes against No. 1 Texas and No. 16 Alabama to close things out. Kevin O'Sullivan's squad, as always, aims to win all the games, but there's no need to white-knuckle things as observers. Injuries have made it difficult for Kevin O'Sullivan and Florida's coaching staff to determine the best lineup and starting rotation for the Gators, but the group they have going out now is consistently beating quality opponents under pressure. There are holes and maybe this isn't a Gators team destined to finish as a Final Four team in Omaha, but they didn't look like an SEC team a month ago and could have missed the playoffs entirely. Things have turned around, and there's still work to do for Florida to keep Sully from missing the postseason for the first time as a Gator, but here's a look at the big changes made over the past month. The lineup change The easiest change to point to is the top of the lineup. Bobby Boser has thrived in the leadoff spot, batting 18-43 (.419) and jumping nearly 30 points in batting average since assuming those duties. Colby Shelton (15-35, .429) is just as hot as Boser since that Missouri series shakeup to the lineup that landed him in the two-hole, freshman Brendan Lawson (16-38, .421) has followed the trend of climbing 20-30 points in batting average and Luke Heyman is one of the better SEC clean-up hitters even if he's trending down over the past week or two. Boser just likes to be in the batter's box, so getting him up first and leading the offense has done a lot for this lineup. Shelton is still looking for the home run pop and not the double pop, but he's one of the most consistent hitters in the conference and should be hitting second in any version of Florida's lineup. Hitting the true freshman Lawson is a bold move for a so-called old-school coach like Sully, but the Canadian kid is a ballplayer and among Florida's best hitters even when he's going through a slump. Heyman lost the team batting crown against the SEC to Shelton over the weekend, but he's still the guy you want at the plate with two on and the game in the balance. As majestic as Brody Donay's home runs can be, Heyman's come more consistently, with a better strikeout-to-walk ratio and in dramatic moments. He loves showing up against a rival, or top-5 team such as Arkansas. It's in Heyman's blood to compete, and he's visibly stepped as the BT Riopelle leader behind the plate that a young pitching staff needs. However far this group goes, these four at the top of the order are going to be remembered as the engine that got them there. Figuring out the roster around injuries Injuries have been an easy talking point all season to explain Florida's woes. Pierce Coppola went down, sabotaging the starting rotation; Frank Menendez went down, crushing the bullpen; Kyle Jones and Cade Kurland have been out for most of the year and Florida simply wasn't plugging the holes as quickly as they came. But none of that has mattered much in recent weeks now that the Gators have found answers, even if temporary, to each of those question marks. Justin Nadeau has been Florida's most fortunate offensive player with Kurland going down. Although he went 0-for-20 over a week in March, Nadeau is ending April on a 10-game hit streak, excluding the Stetson game where Landon Stripling pinch hit for him in his first plate appearance. Nadeau has kept Lawson from leaving first base, so he's defensively solid — even if there have been a few mistakes at second so far. Kurland figured to be a key bat at the top of the order for Florida, and Boser and Co. have done a nice job filling in for him, as mentioned above. But things were a bit ugly without Kurland to start, and his delayed injury designation prevented Nadeau or another player from claiming the position earlier in the year. Clemente finds his role Coppola's injury happened on the first day of March and moving Aidan King into a weekend starter spot would have happened at some point, but Jake Clemente and Peterson both dealt with injuries in the first month of the season that delayed Kevin O'Sullivan from figuring out his pitching staff. Peterson being the ace was always the plan, but King was the de facto No. 1 for almost a month because he'd simply been there more regularly. In recent weeks, Peterson has shown how the maturity that comes with a year of college ball makes him the top dog, but finding an heir apparent before being at full strength together will have its benefits — if not later on this year, then next season when both are still leading the weekend rotation. Coppola will return at some point and reclaim the Sunday spot, but Sully has found starter innings from Clemente out of the bullpen. Clemente is Florida's unofficial closer who can throw three innings to hold a four-run lead or come in with two outs and a man on in a one-run game. His ability to go multiple frames has paid off plenty since moving to the bullpen, and he's thrown 12 innings with five saves over as many appearances since April 8 against Florida State. Had Clemente given 12 innings of one-run ball over the three starts he would have made over the same period, Gator Nation would have labeled him a more effective player. Still, the Gators wouldn't be where they are without Clemente and Sully finding the way to use him most effectively. Coppola won't have to go more than three innings at any point this year if Clemente can stick to the plan Florida used against Arkansas — two saves, 5 2/3 innings. Billy Barlow, Luke McNeillie and Alex Philpott have eaten the bulk of the innings in place of Coppola, but adding him and a left-hander to the mix would be nice. Gotta maintain this momentum Of course, Florida is dealing with more new injuries coming out of the Arkansas series, namely a wrist problem for starting shortstop Colby Shelton. It kept him out of the Gators' lineup on Sunday, when every Florida starter hit safely for the Gators. Boser made the start at shortstop in place of Shelton, who is dealing with a wrist injury, according to Nick Marcinko of Gators Country. The Gators can't afford to lose their top hitter and defensive anchor up the middle, but the current setup is Boser at short, Brendan Lawson at third base and Landon Stripling at first base. The left side performed well with a combined five hits for Florida in the win, but there's a clear defensive dropoff in the field, even if it's simply a result of a lack of practice time together. However long Shelton needs to return for Florida can't be rushed. Stripling was already adding to the offense, and Lawson will figure out third base if he wants to eventually play shortstop. Moving Boser to the most important infield spot is some good damage control, and he's going to hit well enough to cover up most of his mistakes. Blake Cyr could also be better against the SEC. He's batting .200 with a .639 OPS through 20 games. Ashton Wilson (.196 AVG, .697 OPS) and Hayden Yost (.222, .653) are the other outfield options with Kyle Jones hurt, and Ty Evans (.200, .631) is still slowly returning from injury, too. One more arm to rely on The Coppola plan spelled out two sections above assumes the redshirt junior will return at some point, but he's missed most of his career with injuries. Planning for life without Coppola isn't a bad idea, but it's clear that Kevin O'Sullivan doesn't have a go-to guy beyond the six listed above. McNeillie is a legitimate SEC arm, but Barlow and Philpott are still hit-or-miss guys who have 15 innings against the conference under their belts. Getting Jackson Barberi (8.0 IP vs. SEC, 11.25 ERA), Caden McDonald (7.1 IP, 9.82 ERA) or Christian Rodriguez (4.1 IP, 14.54 ERA) in the mix regularly would be a huge relief cushion for the Gators. All are righties, but Florida doesn't have a good lefty option behind Frank Menendez (out for season) and McCall Biemiller, who has taken on the specialist role. Jacob Gomberg has struggled a ton in three appearances, Niko Janssens hasn't thrown in a game since April 1 and Mason Laurito hasn't thrown this year. That leaves the three righties to battle it out for that open spot in the bullpen. Barberi and Barlow both make starts, but the former is strictly a midweek starter. Barlow appears to be the favorite here, but McDonald has emerged as a redshirt freshman candidate for more time after giving up one earned run over 11 1/3 innings in April. Rodriguez could be an impact one-inning arm that comes in twice a weekend, but he's still figuring out some things after Tommy John. The changeup-fastball velocity difference can be shut down kind of stuff, but the location and feel has to be there, too. What's next? There are 10 games left in the regular season: three games in Columbia against South Carolina this weekend, a midweek matchup with USF in Gainesville on Tuesday, a three-game away series at No. 1 Texas next weekend and a final three-game series back at home against No. 16 Alabama. A 4-0 run to start this 10-game stretch would be ideal. South Carolina is in the mix of SEC teams worse than Florida on paper, so the goal needs to be to sweep with the floor set at a two-win series victory. Losing to South Florida can't happen this late in the season, but it wouldn't affect Florida as much as an SEC loss would. Taking one from Texas on the road will feel like a win, but getting a true series win would make the end of the season much more relaxed. In the best-case scenario, Florida walks into the season-ending series with Alabama at 12 SEC wins, maybe 13 if UF sweeps Texas. In either scenario, the Gators wouldn't need to win the series, but that 13-win threshold is important to meet. The worst-case scenario is that Florida drops at least five of six against South Carolina and Texas and needs to sweep Alabama to have a percentage point's chance of making a regional. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
