Outfielder Wyatt Langford, right-handed pitcher Hurston Waldrep, right-hander Brandon Sproat and catcher BT Riopelle each garnered their first-career Preseason All-America honors.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Four Florida baseball student-athletes were honored with Preseason All-America recognition by Collegiate Baseball on Tuesday morning in outfielder Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15097>, right-handed pitcher Hurston Waldrep, right-hander Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15106> and catcher BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15114>.
Langford and Waldrep collected the highest honors, as they were both named Preseason First Team All-Americans at their respective positions. Meanwhile, Sproat was handed a Second Team nod and Riopelle capped off the list as a Third Team recipient. Florida’s four players on Collegiate Baseball’s list tied for the second-most in the country.
Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15097> – First Team (OF)
Hurston Waldrep – First Team (SP)
Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15106> – Second Team (SP)
BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15114> – Third Team (C)
Tuesday’s announcement represents the first-career Preseason All-America recognition for each member of the quartet. However, Florida has now placed two players on Collegiate Baseball’s Preseason First Team in each of the last three seasons. One year ago, southpaw Hunter Barco<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hunter-barco/15091> and outfielder Jud Fabian<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jud-fabian/15127> made the cut – one year after Fabian and right-hander Tommy Mace<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/tommy-mace/14223> accomplished the feat in 2021.
Langford is coming off one of the greatest seasons in the history of the Orange & Blue. The Trenton, Fla. native tied Florida’s single-season home run record and paced the Southeastern Conference with 26 long balls en route to First Team All-America status. As one of two Gators to start all 66 games last year, Langford slashed .355/.447/.867 while adding three triples, nine doubles, 73 runs, 63 RBI and seven steals to his resume.
Waldrep enters his first season as a Gator after transferring in from Southern Miss during the offseason. Highly regarded as one of the top arms in the nation, Waldrep was named a 2022 Third Team All-American by D1Baseball after churning out 90 frames of 3.20 ERA ball with 140 strikeouts – translating to 14.0 strikeouts per nine innings. The Thomasville, Ga. native was equally brilliant in limited action as a freshman in 2021, working to a 3.35 ERA and .217 batting average against with 16 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings of work.
Back in Gator Country for a fourth campaign, Sproat collected Southeast All-Region Second Team honors in 2022 after pitching to a 9-4 record and 3.43 ERA across 89 2/3 frames. Hailing from Pace, Fla., Sproat was tremendous for the Gators down the stretch, going 5-0 with a 1.59 ERA and .218 batting average against in his last six starts of the season. The right-hander wields a 3.92 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 117 1/3 career innings.
For Riopelle, the Gators backstop collects Preseason All-America recognition in advance of his second season in Orange & Blue. In his 2022 SEC debut, Riopelle led all SEC catchers with 15 home runs, 55 RBI and a .551 slugging percentage. The Marietta, Ga. native also posted a .304 batting average and .447 on-base percentage to go with 125 total bases, one triple, nine doubles, 38 runs and six stolen bases while turning in a .992 fielding percentage.
Florida’s 2023 season<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/schedule> officially opens at home on Friday, Feb. 17 with the first of three games in a weekend series against Charleston Southern. Fans will have plenty of opportunities to cheer on the Gators at Condron Family Ballpark, as 20 of Florida’s first-22 games take place at home.
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