Kyle Jones announced his transfer to the Florida Gators on Thursday afternoon. The 6’3”, 170-pound center fielder was recognized as the ASUN Freshman of the Year and earned second-team Freshman All-American honors (NCBWA) for his performance with the Hatters.
In his freshman season, Jones hit .355, collecting 88 hits, 38 RBIs, 53 runs, 15 doubles, and five home runs.
Hailing from Athens, Georgia, Jones proved to be one of the most challenging batters to strike out in college baseball, with only 27 strikeouts in 248 at-bats, resulting in a strikeout rate of 10.8%. For comparison, Gators’ star Jac Caglianone had 28 strikeouts in the same number of at-bats (248) in 2024. Jones’ strikeout rate is considerably lower than Florida’s team average of 28.4%. He also walked more times (33) than he struck out (27).
Jones displayed exceptional speed and base-running ability, stealing 23 bases out of 28 attempts, leading the Hatters and ranking T-57th in college baseball for stolen bases last season.
His speed was also evident in the outfield, where he was a 2024 NCAA D1 Gold Glove Finalist for his performance in center field, maintaining a .994 fielding percentage on 167 chances with only one error.
During the NCAA Tournament, Jones hit .416, scoring three runs, driving in two RBIs, stealing one base, and hitting two home runs, earning him a spot on the Tallahassee All-Regional team.
Despite his five home runs last year, Jones possesses the raw power to hit more, as evidenced by his home runs in his final two games at Stetson against UCF and Alabama in the NCAA Tournament.
Against Power 5 teams, all of which made the NCAA Tournament, Jones went 15-46 at the plate, achieving a batting average of .326. Against SEC pitchers, he batted .312 with one home run in 16 at-bats.
Projected as a center fielder for the Gators, Jones has three years of eligibility remaining and will be draft-eligible in two years. He is the fourth transfer addition for the Gators this cycle, joining Miami’s Blake Cyr, Jacksonville’s Justin Nadeau, and Texas Tech’s Landon Stripling.
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