Outfielder Wyatt Langford and right-handed pitcher Hurston Waldrep garnered first and second team status, respectively.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two Gators received their second Preseason All-America nods of the winter on Thursday morning, as Perfect Game tabbed outfielder Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15097> to its first team and right-hander Hurston Waldrep to its second team.
Langford and Waldrep were previously named Preseason First Team All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball on Dec. 19.<https://floridagators.com/news/2022/12/19/baseball-four-gators-receive-preseason-all-america-status.aspx>
Entering the 2023 season as a potential Golden Spikes Award front runner, Langford is coming off one of the greatest seasons in the history of the Orange & Blue. While slashing .355/.447/.867, the Trenton, Fla. native tied Florida’s single-season home run record with an SEC-leading 26 big flies. The 2022 First Team All-American started all 66 games for the Gators a season ago, finishing with three triples, nine doubles, 73 runs, 63 RBI and seven steals. Perhaps most impressively, he turned in a 1.000 fielding percentage across 125 chances while playing in the outfield fo the first time in his career.
Joining Langford as a PG Preseason All-American is Waldrep, who enters his first season in Orange & Blue 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. That track record carried into this past fall, where Waldrep fired four scoreless frames against Georgia and Stetson, highlighted by an immaculate inning against the Hatters.
At present, Langford and Waldrep are ranked as the No. 3 and No. 10 overall prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft according to MLB Pipeline, respectively.
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.
Florida’s 2023 Preseason All-America Honors
Wyatt Langford<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/wyatt-langford/15097> – First Team (Collegiate Baseball, Perfect Game)
BT Riopelle<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bt-riopelle/15114> – Third Team (Collegiate Baseball)
Brandon Sproat<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-sproat/15106> – Second Team (Collegiate Baseball)
Hurston Waldrep – First Team (Collegiate Baseball), Second Team (Perfect Game)
###
