Florida sends six to the big leagues in 2025 MLB Draft

MLB teams selected six Florida Gators in this year’s 2025 Draft, all coming off the board on day two, Monday. Although no Gators went in the first five rounds, the picks began in the sixth. While the wait was longer than expected, every Gator drafted had been projected to hear his name called.

Florida’s 2025 MLB Draft selections included:

Colby Shelton – 6th round, 142 overall,  Chicago White Sox

Jake Clemente – 7th round, 198 overall, Miami Marlins

Pierce Coppola- 7th round, 211 overall, Chicago Cubs

Bobby Boser – 11th round, 320th overall, Oakland Athletics

Luke Heyman – 14th round, 422nd overall, Seattle Mariners

Brody Donay – 17th round, 507th overall, Tampa Bay Rays

Florida’s six draft picks put them in a four-way tie with Louisville, UC Irvine, NC State, and Wake Forest for the 16th most picks by a school in this year’s draft.

Colby Shelton

Shelton was the first Gator off the board on Monday, as the senior shortstop will now be heading to the south side of the Windy City to the White Sox. This season, Shelton started in 45 games where he had a team-leading .377 batting average with seven homers, 19 doubles, and 35 RBIs in 175 at-bats. Shelton was an on-base machine in 2025, reaching base safely in 44 of 45 games to go with his .458 on-base percentage.

White Sox 6th round pick SS Colby Shelton. Florida. Had him #147. Solid defender with good pop. Pulls the ball a lot but has an aggressive approach. Again, like the pick. pic.twitter.com/MyczT9n9s2

— Jimmy (@FlynnJimmy__) July 14, 2025

As good as he was at the plate, he was even better in the field. Shelton posted a .984 fielding percentage in 124 chances, committing only two errors in 2025, eight total in his two seasons at Florida.

Shelton’s season ended prematurely in late April after he suffered a right hamate injury. The injury should not be an issue moving forward as there were reports that if Florida had made a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament, he would have been playing.

Jake Clemente

In his three seasons, 2o25 was the best for the redshirt sophomore out of Coral Springs, FL, and a big reason why Florida was able to turn its season around late in the year. After a rocky start to the year as a weekend starter, Clemente suffered a shoulder injury that kept him sidelined for two weeks in March.

After some time off, Clemente returned and took over as the full-time closer after moving to the bullpen. In the final 27 games, he recorded a 1.33 ERA with seven saves, a  39-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and held opponents to a .173 batting average. In total, Clemente pitched 54.2 innings with a career-high 3.46 ERA, 77 strikeouts to 25 walks, and held the opposition to a .181 average.

Clemente is a 6’3”, 225 righty. Good fastball, slider combo. Can hit 98/99. Reliever risk because of lack of third pitch and present control.#Marlins

pic.twitter.com/JUdxpmzznH

— Fish on the Farm (@marlinsminors) July 14, 2025

Clemente still has a year of eligibility remaining if he chooses to return, but with his slot pick value at $309,400, expect him to sign with Miami.

Pierce Coppola

The Chicago Cubs selected Coppola at pick 211, shortly after Miami picked Clemente at 198. The 6-foot-8 lefty from Verona, N.J, had his best season to date in Gainesville this year despite a shoulder injury that kept him off the mound for just over two months.

https://twitter.com/ItsJesseSimmons/status/1944817745788313714

When he was on the mound, Coppola was one of the toughest pitchers to face in all of college baseball. In the 21.1 IP, the redshirt junior made seven starts, went 3-1 with a 2.53 ERA, a 43-to-9 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a .98 WHIP, and allowed 12 hits. The low number of innings was partly due to a strict pitch count that he was on for the remainder of the year following the injury.

Like Clemente, Coppola could return for one more year in Gainesville, but with his slot pick value at $278,500, he is likely to sign with Chicago.

Bobby Boser

Boser was an instant star as soon as he arrived at Florida, where he transferred after three years with USF. Although ranked 188th in this draft class, Boser waited until the 11th round before the Athletics called his name.

In his one season, Boser started in all 61 games for the Gators, where he slashed .336/.437/.613 with 18 homers, 80 hits, 67 RBIs, and a 1.050 OPS. He was also a force on the base pads – swiping 19 bags in 23 attempts. Boser almost joined Brad Wilkerson as the only players in program history to have a 20-home run/20-steal season.

The go-ahead double by Bobby Boser in the sixth.

GAME THREAD: https://t.co/Kg9y6q4FObpic.twitter.com/xA9dsSIcO0

— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) April 27, 2025

At USF, Boser launched 31 homers in his three seasons which lands him eighth all-time in Bulls’ history.

Defensively, Boser did it all at third base and shortstop when Shelton went down for the year. His .955 fielding percentage earned him All-SEC Defensive Honors.

Luke Heyman

The backbone of the Gators’ defense is Heyman behind the dish. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound catcher from Longwood, FL, became the first of two catchers picked on Monday, with Tampa Bay selecting Donay later in the day.

Heyman played and started in 49 games this year – catcher (45), first base (2), designated hitter (2). The junior was having a fantastic season both hitting and catching, so much so that he earned First Team All-SEC honors at the end of the season. Heyman slashed .301/.397/.578 in 173 at-bats with 13 homers (second on the team) and 44 RBIs.

Heyman struggled early but stayed the course and once conference play rolled around he shined, posting a .317 average that was near the top in the conference.

On defense, Heyman was one of the best catchers not just in the SEC, but in the country. Not only posting a near-perfect .988 fielding percentage but also catching 11 players stealing – third most in the SEC. Heyman finished as a semifinalist for the 2025 Buster Posey Award.

https://twitter.com/GatorsBB/status/1916544131741995450

Like so many this season, Heyman saw his season come to an end after a pitch hit him and broke his wrist against Alabama on May 15. With the late draft pick, there is a chance he returns for his final season but odds are Heyman will play in Seattle’s farm system next season. 

Brody Donay

As a junior for the Gators, Donay appeared in 57 games, making 53 starts across designated hitter (30), catcher (16), and first base (7). He turned in a breakout season offensively, posting career-best numbers in every major slash category with a .303 batting average, .418 on-base percentage, and .646 slugging percentage—good for a team-leading 1.064 OPS.

Brody Donay 2025 College Baseball Highlights! | Florida Gators | @BrodyDonay pic.twitter.com/YgKYX0d6xm

— Baseball is Everything (@ReportOnSports) June 20, 2025

A transfer from Virginia Tech ahead of the 2023 season, Donay set personal highs in hits (60), home runs (18), triples (2), doubles (10), runs scored (45), RBI (41), walks (28), and stolen bases (8). He paced the team in slugging and shared the lead in home runs. On defense, Donay handled 237 total chances with a .966 fielding percentage.