Déjà vu: Pace's Brandon Sproat selected by New York Mets in 2023 draft
Pace alumnus Brandon Sproat is headed to the Big Apple – again.
Sproat, who just finished his collegiate baseball career at the University of Florida, was drafted 56th overall by the New York Mets in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.
It’s not the first time the Mets have called Sproat’s name. The right-handed pitcher was selected by New York in the 2022 draft with the 90th pick, but Sproat opted to return to the Gators for his senior season.
In four seasons with the Gators, Sproat had a combined 19-8 record with 56 total appearances. He struck out 242 batters in 223.2 innings pitched. He allowed 99 walks and had a 4.27 ERA. More than half of his collegiate strikeouts came during his senior season where he fanned 134 batters.
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Sproat saw action in the NCAA Regional Tournament against Texas Tech, the NCAA Super Regional against South Carolina, and in the College World Series against both Virginia and Louisiana State. The Gators fell in the championship to the Tigers.
Sproat was a two-time Pensacola News Journal All-Area First Team selection, in 2018 and 2019. Also in 2019, his senior year at Pace High School, Sproat was a Florida Regional All-High School Senior First Team, All-Region First Team for Region 3, and a 2019 All-State team selection.
In his senior season, Sproat went 5-2 with a 1.53 ERA with 53 strikeouts. During his junior campaign, which he led Pace to the Class 7A State Championship Game, he boasted a 10-4 record with a 1.78 ERA.
According to 247sports, Sproat “owns a high-powered fastball, which lived in the upper 90s and backs it up with what multiple MLB scouts called a ‘big-league ready’ changeup, a strong power slider and a curveball that showed a lot of progress throughout the 2023 season and even became a pitch he threw for strikes early in counts toward the end of the year.”
Sproat was one of three Gators taken during the first day of the draft. Also drafted were outfielder Wyatt Langford with the fourth overall pick by the Texas Rangers, and Hurston Waldrep, another right-handed pitcher, with the 24th pick by the Atlanta Braves.
The Pensacola News Journal will update this story with other potential area draft picks.
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on Twitter (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pace's Brandon Sproat selected by New York Mets in MLB Draft
