Kolozsvary Becomes 78th Gator to Debut in MLB
Former Florida Gators catcher Mark Kolozsvary made his Major League Baseball debut for the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night. Kolozsvary entered the game behind the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning against the San Diego Padres.
Although Kolozsvary failed to register a plate appearance, he caught the final two innings of the matchup for Cincinnati. As a result, he became the 78th Gator to debut in the MLB including the 26th player to do so under Kevin O’Sullivan. The Olympic silver medalist is the first former Florida player to debut during the 2022 season, following the 2021 debuts of Jonathan India (Reds), Jackson Kowar (Kansas City Royals), Taylor Gushue (Chicago Cubs), and Kirby Snead (Toronto Blue Jays).
The most notable member of that group is India, who Kolozsvary now joins as a member of the Reds. Kolozsvary and India suited up in Orange & Blue together for two seasons from 2016-17, ultimately winning the 2017 National Championship alongside Kowar.
Kolozsvary is the first member from Florida’s eight-player 2017 MLB Draft class to be promoted to the big leagues. He was the fourth Gator to have his name called in the draft that year, going to the Reds as the 197th overall pick in the seventh round.
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Kolozsvary on Team USA
On top of capturing a national title for Gator Nation in 2017, Kolozsvary also collected some hardware this past summer. After being chosen to represent Team USA as the starting catcher at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, the Tavares, Fla. native brought home a silver medal as the U.S. turned in a 4-2 overall record. Kolozsvary started all six games for Team USA behind the plate, posting a .983 fielding percentage and going 4-for-21 offensively with two runs scored, two RBI and one stolen base.
Across parts of five seasons in the Minor Leagues, Kolozsvary owns a .221/.331/.350 slash line with 17 home runs, three triples, 48 doubles, 117 runs and 93 RBI to go with a .990 fielding percentage.
Over the course of his three-year career at Florida, Kolozsvary batted .272/.367/.444 with five home runs, one triple, nine doubles, 32 RBI, 27 runs and three walks. He played in 78 games including 39 starts and delivered a .992 fielding percentage over 241 defensive chances.
Gators on Opening Day rosters
Pete Alonso – New York Mets
Harrison Bader – St. Louis Cardinals
Anthony DeSclafani – San Francisco Giants
Dane Dunning – Texas Rangers
Jonathan India – Cincinnati Reds
Jackson Kowar – Kansas City Royals
Brady Singer – Kansas City Royals
Darren O’Day – New York Yankees
A.J. Puk – Oakland A’s
Kirby Snead – Oakland A’s
Mike Zunino – Tampa Bay
