Florida Gators freshman Caden McDonald undergoes Tommy John surgery
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida freshman Caden McDonald is expected to miss the 2024 Florida Gators baseball season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. McDonald is a two-way player — a right-handed pitcher and outfielder.
From 2021-23, McDonald starred as a two-way player at Sickles High School under head coach Eric Luksis. In 64 games, he slashed .488/.607/.975 for a 1.583 OPS while adding 20 home runs, 19 doubles, 77 RBI and 55 runs. On the mound, the right-hander delivered 143 1/3 frames with a sparkling 1.37 ERA, 20-3 record and 183 strikeouts in 143 1/3 innings – good for 11.5 strikeouts per nine.
As a junior, McDonald batted .600 over 105 plate appearances and finished with a 1.732 OPS at the dish. Although the average dipped to a strong .383 his senior year, McDonald ranked second in the state with a career-high 12 home runs, slugged 1.037 and turned in his best campaign on the mound: 11-1, 0.87 ERA, 1.45 BAA, 72 2/3 IP, 22 B, 97 K. As a result, McDonald was named the Class 6A Player of the Year as Sickles went 30-2 on the diamond with its first state title in program history. McDonald has also tabbed the High School Male Athlete of the Year at Sickles’ 2023 Scholar-Athlete Awards.
Coming into college, McDonald held status as the No. 308 recruit nationally. He was also the No. 42 player and No. 15 right-handed pitcher in the state per Perfect Game. He earned five all-tournament team nods at PG events from 2020-23 and was a PG Preseason All-Region honoree each of the last two years.
