UF BSB: Three Gators Garner Preseason All-SEC Baseball Honors

Florida was represented by 2B Cade Kurland (First Team), C Luke Heyman (Second Team) and SS Colby Shelton (Second Team).

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators had three players named to the Southeastern Conference’s Preseason All-SEC Teams, as announced by the league office on Wednesday morning.

Voted on by the SEC’s 16 head coaches, second baseman Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/17328> was Florida’s lone First Team selection. He was joined by a pair of Second Team honorees in catcher Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/17327> and shortstop Colby Shelton<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/colby-shelton/17335>.

The Gators were also picked to finish fifth overall in the new-look SEC, highlighted by one vote to win the conference outright. Five different schools received first place votes to win the SEC.

Representing Florida on the First Team, Kurland enters his junior campaign as a two-year starter at second base. Helping lead the Gators to back-to-back College World Series trips, the Tampa, Fla. native earned 2023 First Team All-SEC honors as a freshman by hitting .297/.404/.555 with 17 homers in 67 starts. Although his offensive production took a step back as a sophomore, he gutted through injuries to finish with a gaudy .804 OPS across 62 games. He owns a .272/.376/.508 career slash line accompanied by 31 home runs and 25 doubles in 130 games.

Similar to Kurland, Heyman’s Second Team nod comes on the heels of two-consecutive seasons serving as an everyday starter. After playing primarily as a designated hitter in his 2023 Freshman All-SEC campaign, the Longwood, Fla. product became UF’s starting catcher last year and batted .246/.342/.481 backed by 16 homers, 14 doubles and 52 RBI. Overall, Heyman wields a .275/.352/.512 career batting line with 28 big flies, 20 two-baggers and 91 runs driven in. Defensively, he has committed just four errors over 700 chances for a pristine .995 fielding percentage.

Back for year two in Orange & Blue, Shelton batted .254/.374/.551 with 20 homers, 14 doubles and 56 RBI in his debut season in Gainesville. Making a successful transition into one of the SEC’s premier defensive shortstops, the Lexington, S.C. native boasts 45 career homers (fourth most in SEC) to go along with a .275 batting average and .630 slugging percentage. Shelton’s 20 home runs last season were the most of any returning Division I shortstop while his 56 RBI rank seventh.

The 2025 regular season for SEC teams begins Feb. 14 with conference play set to begin March 14. Eleven SEC teams have been ranked in the top-25 of the national preseason polls.

The 2025 SEC Baseball Tournament will take place May 20-25 at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Ala.

2025 SEC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Texas A&M (10) – 228
2. Tennessee (1) – 215
3. Arkansas (3) – 214
4. LSU (1) – 204
5. Florida (1) – 183
6. Georgia – 165
7. Vanderbilt – 156
8. Texas – 146
9. Mississippi State – 112
10. Kentucky – 102
11. Oklahoma – 101
12. Auburn – 100
13. Alabama – 98
14. South Carolina – 61
15. Ole Miss – 60
16. Missouri – 31

() – First place votes

2025 Coaches Preseason All-SEC Baseball Team
First Team
C: Ike Irish, Auburn
C: Devin Burkes, Kentucky
1B: Jared Jones, LSU
1B: Hunter Hines, Mississippi State
2B: Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/17328>, Florida
3B: Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M
SS: Justin Lebron, Alabama*
SS: Dean Curley, Tennessee*
OF: Jace LaViolette, Texas A&M
OF: Ethan Petry, South Carolina
OF: Max Belyeu, Texas*
OF: Tre Phelps, Georgia*
DH/Util: Hayden Schott, Texas A&M
SP: Ryan Prager, Texas A&M
SP: Gabe Gaeckle, Arkansas
SP: Liam Doyle, Tennessee
SP: Kade Anderson, LSU
RP: Nate Snead, Tennessee
RP: Alton Davis II, Georgia
RP: Gavin Guidry, LSU

Second Team
C: Rylan Galvan, Texas*
C: Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/17327>, Florida*
1B: Cooper McMurray, Auburn
2B: Gavin Kilen, Tennessee
2B: Wyatt Henseler, Texas A&M
2B: Daniel Dickinson, LSU*
3B: Andrew Fischer, Tennessee
3B: Slate Alford, Georgia*
SS: Colby Shelton<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/colby-shelton/17335>, Florida
OF: RJ Austin, Vanderbilt
OF: Hunter Ensley, Tennessee
OF: Caden Sorrell, Texas A&M
DH/Util: Will Hodo, Alabama
SP: Zane Adams, Alabama
SP: Landon Beidelschies, Arkansas
SP: Hunter Elliott, Ole Miss*
SP: JD Thompson, Vanderbilt*
SP: Kyson Witherspoon, Oklahoma*
RP: Christian Foutch, Arkansas
RP: Miller Green, Vanderbilt
RP: Robert Hogan, Kentucky