Florida Gators get commitment from outfielder Kyle Jones

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators landed back in Gainesville on Thursday and quickly received good news. Kyle Jones, one of the most sought-after outfielders in the transfer portal, committed to Florida shortly after Florida’s plane landed after the College World Series. Jones announced his commitment on both his Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) pages.

He was tabbed the ASUN Freshman of the Year after leading the Hatters in batting average, runs, doubles, stolen bases, and on-base percentage. Jones drove in 29 runs while crossing the plate 46 times on the season and holds a .346 batting average entering postseason play.

He finished the season leading the Hatters with a .355 batting average. Jones also posted a .459 on-base percentage. He drove in 32 runs, swiped 23 bases and hit five home runs as a freshman.

The Gators will lose outfielders Jaylen Guy, Tyler Shelnut, and likely Ty Evans to the MLB draft. Michael Robertson is only a redshirt sophomore with two years of eligibility left but has already graduated from Florida. He could also return next season. Florida has yet to start exit interviews with the team since returning to Gainesville on Thursday.

Kyle Jones played big in the NCAA Tournament

Jones and the Stetson Hatters were the No. 4 seed in the Tallahassee Regional. He was named to the All-Regional team. Jones led the Hatters in the Tallahassee Regional with a .417 average, going 5-for-12 at the plate. He drove in a pair of runs, each coming on a solo home run in back-to-back games. With an on-base percentage of .417 across the three games, Jones scored a team-high three runs. 

Jones, the ASUN Freshman of the Year and All-Freshman team member, was an All-ASUN Third team selection. On their way to the program’s ninth conference tournament title, Jones played a key role, earning a spot on that All-Tournament team, as well.

He joins three other transfer portal commitments for Florida. The Gators secured a commitment from former Miami Infielder/outfielder Blake Cyr, as well as infielders Landon Stripling and Justin Nadeau.

Cyr was only able to play in 25 games for the Canes last season due to injury. Despite breaking his thump in April, he still slashed .284/.397/.537 with seven home runs, the infielder played just 25 games. As a freshman at Miami, Cyr, played in 59 games. He slashed a stellar .306/.420/.628 season. Cye hit 17 home runs and drove in 63 RBI’s as one of the best hitters in the ACC. Cyr posted 18 multi-hit performances and 19 multi-RBI efforts, while registering a .427 on-base percentage and .620 slugging percentage. He was named to the ACC All-Freshman team.

As a freshman at Texas Tech, Stripling appeared in 33 games with 24 starts for the Red Raiders. He batted .253 with four home runs, 20 runs batted in, three doubles, and drew 17 walks in 99 plate appearances.

During his senior season in high school, Stripling hit .430, with 13 home runs, 52 hits, 43 runs, 45 RBIs and seven doubles. He posted a 1.55 ERA with 10 wins and 12 starts on the mound and assisted his team in a State Championship win in 2021. Stripling was elected as All-State First team, First team All-American (2023), and Gwinnett County Pitcher of the Year (2022/2023).

Nadeau just finished his sophomore season and will have two years of eligibility to play. As a freshman at JU, he started all 49 games he appeared in (47 at second base, 2 at first base). He finished third on the team in batting average, tied for third in hits, and fourth in on-base percentage. Nadeau was the first JU freshman to reach the 30 RBI mark since 2010. He was second on the team with 17 multi-hit games and had seven multi-RBI games. He was named to the ASun All-Freshman team.

Florida is expected to continue to be aggressive this year in the transfer portal as they look to reload a team that just finished its season as one of the last three teams still playing in the College World Series.