For every kid that grows up playing baseball, the ultimate dream is to make it to the big leagues. This dream could have been a reality for a pair of Gators during the offseason. Instead, both decided to come back to Gainesville in hopes of returning to Omaha to win the most prestigious prize in college baseball: an NCAA title.
Shortstop Colby Shelton and catcher Luke Heyman, both juniors, tested the waters of the 2024 MLB Draft before determining it would be best to give college ball one more shot. Shelton was selected in the 20th round by the Washington Nationals, while Heyman went undrafted but had the opportunity to sign as a free agent.
“No matter where you get picked, it’s cool to hear your name called or see it on the screen,” Shelton said. “Most kids growing up, their dream is to play professional baseball, so just to see your name called at some point is a really cool experience.”
The road to UF
Shelton began his collegiate career with the Alabama Crimson Tide. He started 59 games as a true freshman, hitting .300 with 25 home runs and 51 RBIs. This production at the plate earned him a first-team freshman All-American selection, per D1Baseball.
After Crimson Tide head coach Brad Bohannon was fired near the end of Shelton’s freshman year, the star left-handed hitter entered the transfer portal as D1 Baseball’s No. 6 transfer in college baseball. The high-profile pickup was poised for a great sophomore season with the Gators, but Shelton’s numbers dropped in Gainesville.
He hit .254 and slugged significantly less in 2024 than the year prior. Shelton did still hit for power, as he knocked out 20 long balls and brought in 56 RBIs. However, the production he wanted for his stock to rise in a draft-eligible year was not there.
“Obviously last year, I didn’t have the best year to put me in a place to get picked super, super high,” he said. “I just thought I was going to go a little higher than I did and ultimately just didn’t get picked where I wanted to.”
As for Heyman, he was tabbed as the No. 128 overall prospect going into 2024’s draft, according to Perfect Game. He was another draft-eligible sophomore for the Gators who shined during his first year in Gainesville, earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors, and had big expectations going into his sophomore campaign.
However, like Shelton, his numbers took a turn for the worse in 2024. Heyman’s average dropped 68 points to .246 last season, and his strikeout rate went up, fanning 74 times in 66 games.
“Performance-wise, not what I wanted,” Heyman said. “Team-wise, we did everything we wanted. We wanted to go to Omaha, we came short of a championship.”
Heyman said he didn’t have high expectations going into the draft following his relatively disappointing offensive numbers in 2024. Through the three days and 20 rounds, Heyman did not hear his name called, sparking his willingness to come back to UF.
His agent spoke with multiple teams after the draft concluded, but the organizations knew there was almost no chance of Heyman signing, he said.
“I pretty much knew I was coming back,” Heyman said. “This is home to me. It’s the best program in the country, and it was pretty easy for me to come back, spend another year here, have a great season with our team and have another chance of winning a national championship.”
Junior leaders
Heyman and Shelton share a similar sentiment and the same ultimate goal: win a title before beginning their professional careers.
Going into their junior year, both have the proper level of experience and are ready to take on more of a leadership role in 2025.
“In order to be able to lead other guys, I think you got to have a pretty good grasp of your job,” Florida associate head coach Chuck Jeroloman said. “I think they’ve definitely taken it by the horns this year, they’re able to do that.”
Shelton was a transfer to the Gators in 2024 and had to learn a position he hadn’t played before. As a freshman at Alabama, he was the Tide’s everyday third baseman, but Florida’s coaching staff entrusted him to be the top position in the infield at shortstop.
While Heyman was at UF as a freshman, he also was forced to learn a new role last season. He was mostly a designated hitter in 2023, as BT Riopelle handled the bulk of Florida’s catching duties. In his sophomore year, with Riopelle gone, Heyman became the starting backstop for Florida — another position where being a vocal leader is essential for a team’s success.
“I think you could really see Luke [Heyman] carry on that down the stretch for our team last year,” Jeroloman said. “Luke took on an ownership of trying to get pitchers through outings and truly catching and playing to win. With that, I think that was a huge reason for why we had the success that we had.”
Not only does Jeroloman see the pair being stronger leaders on the field and in the locker room in 2025, he hopes to see their numbers improve as well. After down years in terms of hitting for both Sheton and Heyman, Jeroloman expects to see them become more complete batters, as he wants them to cut down on the strikeout numbers and improve with runners in scoring position.
Trending back to Gainesville
Coming back to UF after entering the MLB Draft has become somewhat of a trend in recent years. Two players who have seen success with this in the past are Brandon Sproat and Jud Fabian.
Sproat, a sizable right-handed pitcher measuring in at 6 feet 3 inches, was taken by the New York Mets in the third round in 2022. However, the two sides could not come to terms on a contract, and Sproat returned to the Gators for one more year. After a strong junior campaign in 2023, he was again taken by the Mets in the draft, but this time in the second round. Last season, Sproat was named as the Mets minor league pitcher of the year and is ranked as the organization’s No. 1 prospect, per MLB Pipeline.
As for Fabian, he was a second-round selection in 2021 by the Boston Red Sox, but like Sproat, wasn’t able to agree on a contract. He bet on himself, risking big money to come back to Florida. It worked out as a year later, he was again taken in the second round, this time by the Baltimore Orioles, and signed with them.
Seeing players turn down opportunities to play professionally to come back speaks volumes of the program that head coach Kevin O’Sullivan has built in Gainesville, Jeroloman said.
“When we have players that are turning down opportunities to play professional baseball to come back here, I think that tells you everything you need to know about our culture here,” he said.
That culture is one of success and winning. Heyman and Shelton have immersed themselves in it and have already led to a hot start for the Gators this season.
While that dream each kid has of playing in the majors remains in the back of their minds, Heyman, Shelton and the rest of the Gators’ roster has one goal right now: bring a national title back to Florida for the first time since 2017.
Contact Hugh Green at hgreen@alligator.org. Follow him on X @HGreen_15.
Hugh is the Spring 2025 baseball beat reporter for The Alligator. He is a fourth-year journalism sports and media major. In his free time, Hugh enjoys watching all kinds of sports with his friends.
