Hurston Waldrep and Brandon Sproat have signed their pro contracts. Waldrep's bonus was just under $3 million, Sproats' was just under $1.5 million. Colby Halter signed today for $125,000.
2023 Baseball & Softball Thread
- Thread starter ocalaman
- Start date
Guy sounds pretty promising. 30 starts as a freshman catcher in the ACC. Hitting .400 in the cape cod league. Nice.
Florida lands commitment from transfer catcher Brody Donay
Florida's transfer class gained another commitment Saturday with the addition of catcher Brody Donay. Donay played one season at Virginia Tech and will arrive at Florida247sports.com
Former top-200 recruit Deric Fabian announces transfer to Auburn baseball
Deric Fabian is the younger brother of former Florida star Jud Fabian
Fabian’s a tough loss. Played solid d at a few positions and had some moments at the plate. Probably would have been quite a few ABs for him with Rivera and Halter leaving. But good luck to him. Auburns a good program.
Gators Welcome Home Enea as Newest Assistant Coach - Florida Gators
Florida head coach Tim Walton announced the addition of three-time NFCA All-American Francesca Enea as the newest member to the coaching staff.
floridagators.com
Good to have a Gator great back! Having said that, not sure what type of coach she will be.Gators Welcome Home Enea as Newest Assistant Coach - Florida Gators
Florida head coach Tim Walton announced the addition of three-time NFCA All-American Francesca Enea as the newest member to the coaching staff.
Baseball 2023 Attendance, along with national attendance ranking:
1. LSU (447,527, 11,188)
2. Arkansas (370,940, 9762)
3. MSU (332,838, 11,095)
4. Ole Miss (323,047, 10,095)
5. FLORIDA (259,236, 6029)
6. Carolina (256,075, 7113)
8. Texas A&M (195,183, 5577)
10. Tennessee (171,151, 4388)
16. Alabama (137,463, 3617)
19. Auburn (129,948, 3713)
21. Vanderbilt (125,732, 3698)
24. Kentucky (104,843, 2912)
27. Georgia (97,401, 2,952)
60. Missouri (37,133, 1428)
1. LSU (447,527, 11,188)
2. Arkansas (370,940, 9762)
3. MSU (332,838, 11,095)
4. Ole Miss (323,047, 10,095)
5. FLORIDA (259,236, 6029)
6. Carolina (256,075, 7113)
8. Texas A&M (195,183, 5577)
10. Tennessee (171,151, 4388)
16. Alabama (137,463, 3617)
19. Auburn (129,948, 3713)
21. Vanderbilt (125,732, 3698)
24. Kentucky (104,843, 2912)
27. Georgia (97,401, 2,952)
60. Missouri (37,133, 1428)
Gator baseball earns pledge from junior college transfer
Landon Russell is a rising sophomore who attended Gulf Coast State College in 2023
247sports.com
We've got a couple of holes to fill now.Gator baseball earns pledge from junior college transfer
Landon Russell is a rising sophomore who attended Gulf Coast State College in 2023
1 of the 2 elite softball pitchers left in the transfer portal chose to sign with South Carolina over Florida. NIL bites the Gators again!!!
The Gators still only have 2 incoming freshman pitchers on their roster, with Oklahoma State grad senior Kelly Maxwell, supposedly, choosing between Florida & Texas A&M soon.
The Gators still only have 2 incoming freshman pitchers on their roster, with Oklahoma State grad senior Kelly Maxwell, supposedly, choosing between Florida & Texas A&M soon.
No - From what I've been told, Coach Walton was almost positive we were getting Vawter. We were her last visit and he was very confident when she left. But South Carolina threw everything they had at her the last week or so, including an NIL package of something like $75,000. Florida doesn't have the NIL resources in softball to compete with that, just like last year when we lost out on a grad transfer pitcher from Michigan (Storako) that Oklahoma took away from us with a big NIL deal. Kelly Maxwell has been probably 50/50 at best. She wants to be a veterinarian and UF has one of the Top 5 colleges of veterinary medicine in the US. Several other schools contacted her, but if they don't have a Veterinary college, she wasn't interested. But Texas A&M is close to her hometown and they have a Top 10 vet school. Plus she's married to a guy who played baseball for OK State last year. Not sure if he has any eligibility left, but that's a factor in her decision, which should be announced any day. If we don't get her, we're hurt in a big way. We have a ton of talent, defense and hitting for the 2024 season, but while most D1 programs carry 5-7 pitchers, we'll be relying on 2 true freshmen to carry the load. We won a national title using only 3 pitchers and if we can get Maxwell and all 3 stay healthy, we should be in good shape. But without her, I don't even want to think about it.
This is what is being reported on another board where people who know the inside scoop on Gator softball post:
Alana Vawter had eliminated all the other schools she visited except Florida and South Carolina and Coach Walton was extremely confident she was coming to UF. But South Carolina Women's Basketball has a huge NIL fund, their Coach Dawn Staley got involved and approval was made to allow their softball program to have the NIL funds needed to get her. It started with $50,000, but when it seemed she was still coming to UF, they upped it to $75,000 and that got her signed.
Kelly Maxwell is now, apparently, going to Oklahoma. They don't have a College of Veterinary Medicine and it appeared she was going to choose between Florida and Texas A&M, who have 2 of the better Vet programs in the country. But the Sooners have so much NIL money, they are giving her $50,000, plus are going to pay her way through 4 years of Oklahoma State's College of Veterinary Medicine after she pitches for Oklahoma in 2024. That's an insane amount of money, but that is what is being reported as the deal to get her to Norman.
Florida and Tim Walton simply don't have that kind of NIL basket to draw from. From what I understand Walton is given $100,000 per year in NIL, which he divided equally among the team last year. Some more money was added from outside boosters, but nothing to compete with a growing number of programs who are making softball a higher priority. At Florida softball is a low NIL priority and it's got to be very discouraging for Walton and the softball fans, me included. But the fact remains that right now Gator softball can't compete in a bidding war with other programs who have boosters who are willing to dump big bucks into softball NIL coffers.
Now he has to try to pull off a miracle to find another pitcher or two who can help the 2 incoming freshmen and hope that whoever is here stays healthy.
Alana Vawter had eliminated all the other schools she visited except Florida and South Carolina and Coach Walton was extremely confident she was coming to UF. But South Carolina Women's Basketball has a huge NIL fund, their Coach Dawn Staley got involved and approval was made to allow their softball program to have the NIL funds needed to get her. It started with $50,000, but when it seemed she was still coming to UF, they upped it to $75,000 and that got her signed.
Kelly Maxwell is now, apparently, going to Oklahoma. They don't have a College of Veterinary Medicine and it appeared she was going to choose between Florida and Texas A&M, who have 2 of the better Vet programs in the country. But the Sooners have so much NIL money, they are giving her $50,000, plus are going to pay her way through 4 years of Oklahoma State's College of Veterinary Medicine after she pitches for Oklahoma in 2024. That's an insane amount of money, but that is what is being reported as the deal to get her to Norman.
Florida and Tim Walton simply don't have that kind of NIL basket to draw from. From what I understand Walton is given $100,000 per year in NIL, which he divided equally among the team last year. Some more money was added from outside boosters, but nothing to compete with a growing number of programs who are making softball a higher priority. At Florida softball is a low NIL priority and it's got to be very discouraging for Walton and the softball fans, me included. But the fact remains that right now Gator softball can't compete in a bidding war with other programs who have boosters who are willing to dump big bucks into softball NIL coffers.
Now he has to try to pull off a miracle to find another pitcher or two who can help the 2 incoming freshmen and hope that whoever is here stays healthy.
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One of the main things that attracted me to college softball 30+ years ago was the innocence of the game and the sheer pleasure these young ladies got from being part of their team. There were no real professional dollars to pursue and by and large they were playing simply for the love of the game and each other. More TV exposure has meant more dollars being poured into the sport and in some ways that's a good thing because there are more opportunities for girls to participate and compete at a high level. But most of the purity had remained. NIL has changed all of that and it's now as mercenary as all the other college sports. I understand that's reality, but there's a sadness that something special has been lost. Maybe I'm just old and naïve.
Liberty plays a tough schedule. So this kid saw top notch pitching. Looks like a great addition.
Gators add transfer IF Armando Albert
Albert previously played at nearby Santa Fe College in 2021 before joining FAU.
247sports.com
Another solid addition.Gators add transfer IF Armando Albert
Albert previously played at nearby Santa Fe College in 2021 before joining FAU.
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Excited about Golden and his Recruiting prowess coming together....
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