After Oklahoma eliminated Florida from the 2022 postseason, right-hander Brandon Sproat crouched alone on the mound at Condron Family Ballpark. Many expected it was Sproat’s last time donning the Gators’ uniform.
Sproat was selected 90th overall later that summer by the New York Mets in the 2022 MLB draft. It was likely a million-dollar contract the Mets offered him, but he returned to Florida for one final season.
One year later, Sproats' name was called once more on draft night. The Mets selected him again with the 56th pick.
The right-hander served as Florida’s ace for two seasons. He tossed a 4.09 ERA during the two-year span and tallied a 17-7 record on the mound.
Sproat experienced struggles with consistency his final year with the Gators and was unable to throw two consecutive quality starts until he did so four times in the postseason.
However, there were glaring improvements made in his repertoire. His high-speed heater was his go-to pitch throughout a majority of the season, and Sproat averaged 11.3 strikeouts over nine innings — three more than he did the prior year.
Sproat complemented his potent fastball with offspeed pitches that often resulted in strikes. When Florida played South Carolina in the Super Regional round, the Gamecocks had his fastball timed up in the early innings.
Sproat surrendered seven hits and three runs in the first two innings and was forced to shy away from his go-to pitch. After making the change, he held the Gamecocks to three hits and no runs in the final four innings of the outing.
His best performance of the season came at the introduction of Southeastern Conference play against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The two foes faced off on Florida’s home turf and Sproat went the whole nine innings. He gave up just one hit and tossed 11 strikeouts.
The right-hander was named Second Team All-SEC in 2023. He is now the third Gator selected in the 2023 draft.
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.
