Kolozsvary is the 78th Gator to debut in the MLB including the 26th player to do so under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Former Florida Gators catcher Mark Kolozsvary made his Major League Baseball debut for the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday night, entering 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 head coach Kevin O’Sullivan<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_coaches.aspx-3Frc-3D1291&d=DwIFAw&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=GCx_0SLz-rPMYAr24YQrnZq3Ath45lBeNvVEIssOj44QZ1ruqElJA97gMLHlApGk&s=N0cDBkazSMLxbR4RJ-wVgJcFV-0R_OyvA90MinaRJfE&e= >. 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.
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<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_news_2021_7_28_baseball-2Dkolozsvary-2Dolympic-2Ddream-2Dcomes-2Dtrue-2Dwith-2Dteam-2Dusa.aspx&d=DwIFAw&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=GCx_0SLz-rPMYAr24YQrnZq3Ath45lBeNvVEIssOj44QZ1ruqElJA97gMLHlApGk&s=PfRp7rB-yYRxlnI3n17rfSwnBqpDQJQ5j8-B1Bq-R9k&e= > 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.
Below is a complete list of Gators to debut in the MLB under O’Sullivan.
MLB Players Under O’Sullivan
Player Drafted (Round) MLB Debut Team
1 Nick Maronde 2011 (3rd) September 2, 2012 Los Angeles Angels
2 Paco Rodriguez 2012 (2nd) September 9, 2012 Los Angeles Dodgers
3 Mike Zunino 2012 (1st – 3rd overall) June 12, 2013 Seattle Mariners
4 Kevin Chapman 2010 (4th) August 9, 2013 Houston Astros
5 Matt den Dekker 2010 (5th) August 29, 2013 New York Mets
6 Anthony DeSclafani 2011 (6th) May 14, 2014 Miami Marlins
7 Cole Figueroa 2008 (6th) May 16, 2014 Tampa Bay Rays
8 Preston Tucker 2012 (7th) May 7, 2015 Houston Astros
9 Brian Johnson 2012 (1st – 31st overall) July 21, 2015 Boston Red Sox
10 Nolan Fontana 2012 (2nd) May 22, 2017 Los Angeles Angels
11 Austin Maddox 2012 (3rd) June 17, 2017 Boston Red Sox
12 Harrison Bader 2015 (3rd) July 25, 2017 St. Louis Cardinals
13 Bobby Poyner 2015 (14th) March 31, 2018 Boston Red Sox
14 Justin Shafer 2014 (8th) August 19, 2018 Toronto Blue Jays
15 Eric Hanhold 2015 (6th) September 4, 2018 New York Mets
16 Richie Martin 2015 (1st – 20th overall) March 28, 2019 Baltimore Orioles
17 Pete Alonso 2016 (2nd) March 28, 2019 New York Mets
18 Shaun Anderson 2016 (3rd) May 15, 2019 San Francisco Giants
19 A.J. Puk 2016 (1st – 6th overall) August 21, 2019 Oakland Athletics
20 Brady Singer 2018 (1st – 18th overall) July 25, 2020 Kansas City Royals
21 Dane Dunning 2016 (1st – 29th overall) August 19, 2020 Chicago White Sox
22 Jonathan India 2018 (1st – 5th overall) Thursday, April 1, 2021 Cincinnati Reds
23 Jackson Kowar 2018 (1st – 33rd overall) Monday, June 7, 2021 Kansas City Royals
24 Taylor Gushue 2014 (4th) Wednesday, June 30, 2021 Chicago Cubs
25 Kirby Snead 2016 (10th) Wednesday, July 28, 2021 Toronto Blue Jays
26 Mark Kolozsvary 2017 (7th) Wednesday, April 20, 2022 Cincinnati Reds
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