Florida Baseball Freshmen Among Perfect Game Top-100
As Florida baseball ramps up, Perfect Game’s top-100 collegiate baseball list named 16 Gators on the list, 39% of the Gators’ 2026 roster.
But, the incoming freshmen – Nic Partridge, Cooper Moss and Cash Strayer – might be key to creating a more competitive team.
Florida’s 2026 recruiting class was ranked No. 5 in the nation by Baseball America and No. 6 by Perfect Game.
Shortstop Nic Partridge is a Lakeland native from Mulberry Senior High School. He ended up No. 22 on the top-100 list, slashing .367/.496/.564 across his junior and senior seasons. He maxed out his slash in his junior year, batting .457/.615/.857.
Partridge, who committed to Florida as a junior, hit eight home runs, 11 doubles and drove in 43 run in 246 high school plate appearances last year. He was ranked the No. 122 recruit in the class of 2025 by Perfect Game.
“He’s the guy you want up in the bottom of the ninth inning,” David Gotauco, Partridge’s coach, said.
He led the Mulberry Panthers to the state tournament for the first time since 1960 in 2024, his junior year. His efforts that year earned him the Lakeland Ledger’s 2024 Baseball Player of the Year accolade.
The freshman star batters don’t end with Partridge. Two-way star Cooper Moss is seated at No. 72 on the list (and shows glimmers of former Gators star Jac Caglianone). Out of J.R. Arnold High School, the righty is the only baseball player in Bay County to accomplish 300 strikeouts and 20 home runs in his high school career.
Moss recorded a 1.28 ERA in his 56 career appearances and finished with a 14.2 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 overall. His career-best ERA came in 15 game appearances his senior year, clocking a 0.63 low.
Behind the plate, he slashed .351/.449/.632 in 120 games. He tallied 20 homers, 31 doubles, 81 runs and 103 RBI.
He was ranked Perfect Game’s No. 182 recruit in the class of 2025. Moss signed with Florida in November of his senior year alongside fellow Arnold player Eli Blair.
“The SEC, I mean, it just means more, you know?” he said. “Ever since I committed, I wanted to play in the SEC. Every weekend, you’re facing high arms that are going to get drafted one day.”
Cash Strayer completes the Gators’ contribution to the top-100 list, coming in at No. 88. Strayer is also a Sunshine State native from Tampa. He played under coach Dennis Braun at Plant High School. Former Florida players and current MLB stars Pete Alonso and Caglianone came to the Gators from Plant High School.
Strayer is a versatile player able to fill in a utility role: outfield, middle infield and shortstop. He slashed .338/.430/.458 in 47 career games. Across 142 at-bats, he recorded one homer, 14 doubles, 39 runs scored and 20 RBIs. His best streak came in his junior year when he slashed .356/.481/.475 across 21 games.
He came to Florida as the No. 375 recruit in the country, according to Perfect Game.
“I have always dreamed of playing college baseball at a successful university, and I wanted to be close to home, so UF was the perfect option for me both athletically and academically,” he said.
Florida baseball goes into the 2026 season ranked No. 22 in the preseason poll by Baseball America. The days are dwindling down before the Gators open the regular season with a three-game series against UAB at home on Feb. 13.
Category: Baseball, College Baseball, Former Gators, Gators Baseball, Recruiting
