Gators Rookie Quartet Lands Inside 2027 Draft Top 75
Wednesday, January 8, 2025 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Perfect Game ranked the top-75 overall prospects for the 2027 MLB Draft, highlighted by four Florida freshmen in right-handed pitchers Joshua Whritenour, Aidan King and Jackson Barberi in addition to infielder Brendan Lawson.
Leading the way at No. 13 was Whritenour while King followed at No. 24. Barberi was ranked No. 46 and Lawson at No. 68. The Gators represent one of three programs in the country with at least four players on the list alongside Texas and LSU.
Gators in the Rankings
RHP Joshua Whritenour – No. 13
RHP Aidan King – No. 24
RHP Jackson Barberi – No. 46
INF Brendan Lawson – No. 68
Although early in the draft process to be ranking freshmen, the aforementioned rookies are just over one month away from the start of their first campaigns on a college campus.
As the top-ranked Gator on the list, Whritenour will not pitch in 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November. Coming to UF as the No. 85 recruit in the country, Whritenour was the 2024 A3 Academy Pitcher of the Year. Across 40 innings in the Perfect Game National Academies Association, he fanned 55 batters against 16 walks for 12.4 strikeouts per nine and 3.6 walks per nine.
Expected to Florida's top rookie contributor on the mound this year, King dominated over four years at Bishop John J. Snyder High School. He posted a sub-2.10 ERA while totaling 47-plus innings in all four seasons. All told, King pitched to a stellar 1.64 ERA and .187 batting average against with 368 strikeouts across 221 1/3 varsity frames – good for 15.0 strikeouts per nine. He walked just 54 of the 905 batters he faced and arrived on campus as the No. 432 player in the class nationally.
Holding status as UF's highest-ranked incoming recruit to reach campus this past cycle, Barberi was the No. 49 player in the 2024 class. He delivered a dominant 8-1 record as a senior at Brookwood High School, as the Broncos went 29-12 to improve to 48-24 across his final two seasons. The electric righty really emerged as a top prep arm in the country across his 10 appearances last year, finishing with a dominant 0.68 ERA and .151 batting average against.
As the lone UF position player to make the cut, Lawson was the top-ranked Canadian prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. Despite being selected in the 19th round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, Lawson elected to bring his talents to Gainesville. Prior to arriving in Gator Country, he played in 10 games with the Trenton Thunder of the MLB Draft League and posted a .344/.533/.375 slash line with 11 hits, six runs and more walks (12) than strikeouts (10).
Florida opens the 2025 regular season at home on Friday, Feb. 14 against Air Force, hosting the Falcons for a three-game series (Feb. 14-16) for the first time in program history. Season tickets and SEC Five-Pack Mini-Plans are currently on sale now.
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Leading the way at No. 13 was Whritenour while King followed at No. 24. Barberi was ranked No. 46 and Lawson at No. 68. The Gators represent one of three programs in the country with at least four players on the list alongside Texas and LSU.
Gators in the Rankings
RHP Joshua Whritenour – No. 13
RHP Aidan King – No. 24
RHP Jackson Barberi – No. 46
INF Brendan Lawson – No. 68
Although early in the draft process to be ranking freshmen, the aforementioned rookies are just over one month away from the start of their first campaigns on a college campus.
As the top-ranked Gator on the list, Whritenour will not pitch in 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November. Coming to UF as the No. 85 recruit in the country, Whritenour was the 2024 A3 Academy Pitcher of the Year. Across 40 innings in the Perfect Game National Academies Association, he fanned 55 batters against 16 walks for 12.4 strikeouts per nine and 3.6 walks per nine.
Expected to Florida's top rookie contributor on the mound this year, King dominated over four years at Bishop John J. Snyder High School. He posted a sub-2.10 ERA while totaling 47-plus innings in all four seasons. All told, King pitched to a stellar 1.64 ERA and .187 batting average against with 368 strikeouts across 221 1/3 varsity frames – good for 15.0 strikeouts per nine. He walked just 54 of the 905 batters he faced and arrived on campus as the No. 432 player in the class nationally.
Holding status as UF's highest-ranked incoming recruit to reach campus this past cycle, Barberi was the No. 49 player in the 2024 class. He delivered a dominant 8-1 record as a senior at Brookwood High School, as the Broncos went 29-12 to improve to 48-24 across his final two seasons. The electric righty really emerged as a top prep arm in the country across his 10 appearances last year, finishing with a dominant 0.68 ERA and .151 batting average against.
As the lone UF position player to make the cut, Lawson was the top-ranked Canadian prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. Despite being selected in the 19th round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals, Lawson elected to bring his talents to Gainesville. Prior to arriving in Gator Country, he played in 10 games with the Trenton Thunder of the MLB Draft League and posted a .344/.533/.375 slash line with 11 hits, six runs and more walks (12) than strikeouts (10).
Florida opens the 2025 regular season at home on Friday, Feb. 14 against Air Force, hosting the Falcons for a three-game series (Feb. 14-16) for the first time in program history. Season tickets and SEC Five-Pack Mini-Plans are currently on sale now.
Follow the Gators
#GoGators
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