Stepping into the box next in the 2022 Meet the Gators series is transfer infielder Tyler Shelnut, who brings his talents to Florida after two impressive years at Santa Fe Community College. As a native of Lake City, Fla., Shelnut attended Fort White High School during his prep years. He will don jersey No. 6 in his debut season in Orange & Blue.
While starring at Santa Fe CC from 2021-22, Shelnut slashed a combined .306/.339/.627 with 26 home runs, two triples, 19 doubles, 85 RBI, 84 runs and four stolen bases over 84 career games. That performance earned him First Team All-Conference honors in 2022 and Second Team status in 2021. En route to being named First Team All-State last season, he set the Santa Fe single-season home run record with 19 long balls and batted .333/.420/.747 across 45 games.
Having also competed as a two-way player in his first campaign at Santa Fe, Shelnut was named the 2021 Mid-Florida Conference Fireman of the Year as the league's top reliever. The Saint-turned-Gator worked to a 3-3 record that year with 12 saves, a 3.09 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 35 innings.
Prior to college ball, Shelnut excelled as a four-time letterwinner and two-way standout under Head Coach Rick Julius at Fort White. From 2017-20, he collected four sets of All-Conference, All-Section and All-City honors while earning All-State recognition in three-straight seasons from 2018-20. In 2018, Shelnut was honored as the Class 5A State Player of the Year.
Over the course of his high school career, Shelnut posted a .319/.494/.556 batting line with one homer, 12 triples, 17 doubles, 53 runs, 36 RBI and 21 stolen bases. His work on the mound was equally as impressive, backed by a 1.84 ERA, .213 batting average against and 216 strikeouts in 152 frames.
Shelnut also competed for Gatorball Baseball Academy during his prep years. Entering college, he was ranked as the No. 75 shortstop and No. 369 overall recruit nationally on top of being the No. 13 shortstop and No. 67 player in Florida.
As the son of Darryl and Wendy Shelnut, Tyler has one brother, Nick. He intends to major in education sciences at the University of Florida.
Follow the Gators
#GoGators
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
