A Look at Florida Baseball’s Top-Ranked Recruiting Class
While many questions linger around the Florida Gators baseball program due to Kevin O’Sullivan’s extended absence, the talent in its 2026 recruiting class cannot be questioned.
The Gators have the No. 5-ranked class in the nation, according to Baseball America, and the No. 6-ranked class, according to Perfect Game.
Florida has 13 commits in the 2026 class. Of those 13, six are pitchers and seven are position players.
Eight of the players hail from the Sunshine State.
Florida’s class is headlined by Brady Harris and Kevin Roberts Jr.
Harris is ranked as the No. 1 overall outfielder, No. 3 player from Florida and No. 7 overall recruit nationally. He was a member of Team USA’s 15U squad in 2023 and plays at Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville.
Roberts Jr., hails from Mississippi, where he is the No. 2 overall recruit in the state, No. 4 outfielder and No. 11 overall player nationally. He was invited to the 2024 16U/17U Team USA National Team Development Program.
Five more of Florida’s commits appear in Perfect Game’s top 100 national prospects, including three pitchers.
Other Gator commits and their rankings according to Perfect Game:
Colin White: No. 38 Player Nationally, No. 6 Left-Handed Pitcher Nationally, No. 7 Player in Georgia
Denton Lord: No. 50 Player Nationally, No. 5 Right-Handed Pitcher Nationally, No. 7 Player in Florida
Keaton Neal: No. 56 Player Nationally, No. 19 Shortstop Nationally, No. 2 Player in Kansas
CJ Sampson: No. 74 Player Nationally, No. 6 Third Baseman Nationally, No. 8 Player in Texas
Brady Snow: No. 75 Player Nationally, No. 15 Right-Handed Pitcher Nationally, No. 10 Player in Florida
Lorenzo Laurel: No. 191 Player Nationally, No. 34 Outfielder Nationally, No. 22 Player in Florida
Cameron Hanes: No. 211 Player Nationally, No. 62 Right-Handed Pitcher Nationally, No. 26 Player in Florida
Tyler Ellis: No. 258 Player Nationally, No. 21 Left-Hander Pitcher Nationally, No. 27 Player in Georgia
Ethan Wheeler: No. 294 Player Nationally, No. 93 Right-Handed Pitcher Nationally, No. 39 Player in Florida
Luke Labbe: No. 354 Player Nationally, No. 33 Catcher Nationally, No. 44 Player in Florida
Brandon Lorenzo: Top 500 Player Nationally, No. 177 Shortstop Nationally, No. 107 Player in Florida
Important to note:
Even if players sign, unlike football or basketball, players could be drafted out of high school.
This means the Gators may never have some of these players take the field for them, which is often the case.
In the 2025 MLB draft, two UF signees had their names called on Day 1 of the draft: Jordan Yost and Aaron Watson.
Nevertheless, the consensus Top 10 class for Florida provides the program optimism in a time of uncertainty.
The combination of two highly-touted outfield recruits in Harris and Roberts Jr, along with a deep class of other positional players and pitchers, brings some hope to the future of the program.
Category: Gator Sports, Gators Baseball, SEC
