The Texas Rangers selected Gators outfielder Wyatt Langford with the fourth pick in the 2023 MLB draft. Langford became the first Florida player selected in the top five since Jonathan India was selected fifth overall by the Cincinnati Reds in 2018.
The junior from Trenton, Florida, was one of the best talents in college baseball in 2023. He slashed a .373 batting average, a .498 on base percentage and a .784 slugging percentage with 21 home runs and 57 RBIs for the Gators during his junior year.
“We’ve had some really good players here,” UF head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He’s really good. He could do all kinds of things on the field. He can hit, hit for power and plays great defense.”
Langford came to Gainesville as an infielder and catcher and appeared in just four games his freshman season. His lack of playing time led him to switch positions. Langford played summer ball in the Valley Baseball League and gained experience as an outfielder.
“When he went to Charlottesville after his freshman year, he came back and his body looked totally different,” O’Sullivan said. “I’ve never seen a guy go from here to there.”
The work put in during his freshman offseason earned him the starting spot as the Gators’ left fielder. He led the Gators with 26 home runs and 63 RBIs in 2022 and began receiving recognition from several MLB scouts.
He entered his junior season projected to go No. 3 overall by MLB Pipeline and helped lead the Gators to the College World Series finals. Florida fell to the Louisiana State Tigers in three games.
Langford was named First Team All-SEC, Second Team All-American and a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award in his junior season.
Contact Luke Adragna at ladragna@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @lukeadrag.
Luke Adragna is a third-year journalism student and the Florida Gators football reporter at The Alligator. He is a cat ethusiast and completes the NYT Daily Mini in less than a minute each day.
