Blake Purnell named Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American

Florida redshirt freshman Blake Purnell was honored as a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Wednesday morning.

The accolade brings the Gators’ Freshman All-America total to 47 Under Head Coach. Florida’s 22 Freshman All-Americans rank second nationally while the program’s nine Freshman All-American pitchers are tied for third in the country.

A Boynton Beach, Fla. native, Purnell enjoyed a breakout 2022 campaign after redshirting in 2021. Purnell pitched in eight more games than any other Gator pitcher, totaling 36 appearances on the year. That spanned 50.1 innings. The right-hander finished with a 3-3 record, four saves, a 2.86 ERA, and a .258 batting average against. He also helped complete two combined shutouts for Florida and walked just 2.7 batters per nine innings.

Purnell was also applauded by O’Sullivan for being a team player. In the offseason, Purnell was asked to change his throwing motion and drop to a sidearm slot. The redshirt freshman never complained, make the change, and found a home at the back end of the bullpen.

Blake Purnell’s best week

The highlight of Purnell’s season came on April 11, when he was named the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week after pitching in all four of Florida’s games while powering the Orange & Blue to a 3-1 record and a series win over No. 2 Arkansas. Across those four appearances, Purnell went 1-0 with one save and produced a 1.29 ERA over seven innings pitched, allowing just five hits with no walks allowed.

2022 Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American Team

Starting Pitchers

Chase Burns (Tennessee)
Ryan Feczko (Davidson)
Drue Hackenberg (Virginia Tech.)
Ryan Gallagher (UC Santa Barbara)
Jacob Kmatz (Oregon State)
Blake Morgan (Old Dominion)
Devin Futrell (Vanderbilt)
Carter Holton (Vanderbilt)
Daniel Avita (Grand Canyon)
Drew Beam (Tennessee)
Ian Cooke (UConn)
Landon Gartman (Memphis)
Shea Sprague (Elon)
Garrett Horn (Liberty)
RJ Sales (UNC Wilmington)
Vincent Spizzoucco (Central Connecticut State)
Zach Garcia (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi)
Hagen Smith (Arkansas)
Jack Findlay (Notre Dame)

Relief Pitchers/Closers

Alonzo Tredwell (UCLA)
Ethan Flanagan (UCLA)
Ryan Brown (Oregon State)
Dylan Ray (Alabama) Alonzo Tredwell (UCLA)
Ethan Flanagan (UCLA)
Ryan Brown (Oregon State)
Dylan Ray (Alabama)
Peyton Consigli (Canisius)
Carter Lovasz (William & Mary)
Brady Tygart (Arkansas)
Matt Ager (UC Santa Barbara)
Andrew Ronne (East Tennessee State)
Blake Purnell (Florida)
Brody Brecht (Iowa)
Ryan Harland (Louisiana Tech)
Cade Austin (South Carolina)
Matt McShane (Saint Joseph’s)
Dominic Stagliano (Stetson)
Jay Wollfolk (Virginia)
Ryan Brown (Ball State)

First Basemen
Donovan Cash (Kennesaw State)
Jacob Walsh (Oregon)
Nick Kurtz (Wake Forest)
Brock Tibbitts (Indiana)
Breck Nowik (Illinois-Chicago)
Blake Burke (Tennessee)

Second Basemen
Ethan Gourson (UCLA)
Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)
Nolan Tucker (Valparaiso)
Logan Beard (Louisville)

Third Basemen
Josh Pyne (Indiana)
Nick Wang (Holy Cross)
Anthony DePino (Rhode Island)
Randall Diaz (Indiana State)
Cade McGee (Gonzaga)
Payton Green (NC State)
Luke Heefner (Dallas Baptist)
Carson DeMartini (Virginia Tech)

Shortstops
Cody Schrier (UCLA)
Caleb Ketchup (Lipscomb)
Austin St. Laurent (Appalachian State)
Nick Rodriguez (Charleston Southern)

Outfielders
Keaton Anthony (Iowa)
Dylan Nevar (Western Michigan)
Vance Honeycutt (North Carolina)
Cam Fisher (Charlotte)
Tommy Barth (East Tennessee State)
Hunter Hines (Mississippi State)
Kennedy Jones (UNC Greensboro)
Carson Paetow (Southern Miss)
Carter Mathison (Indiana)
Enzo Apodaca (Gonzaga)
Jaime Ferrer (Florida State)
Casey Saucke (Virginia)
Spencer Nivens (Missouri State)
Mark Wolbert (UC Davis)
Tyler Sorrentino (College of Charleston)

Designated Hitters
Tommy White (NC State)
Evin Sullivan (Binghamton)
Caleb Lomavita (Cal)
Jeremiah Jenkins (Maine)
Jacob Tobias (Arizona State)