Meet the Gators: The Righties
Friday, December 5, 2025 | Baseball
With Gator Nation anxiously awaiting the return of Florida Baseball in the New Year, the 2025 Meet the Gators series returns to help fill the diamond void. Having already introduced the catchers, southpaws and infielders, five new right-handed pitchers have completed their warm-up tosses and are ready to steal the show: transfers Ricky Reeth (Notre Dame), Russell Sandefer (UCF) and Cooper Walls (Hawaii), and prepsters Cooper Moss and Minjae Seo.
Cooper Moss
Calling Panama City, Fla. home, Moss will don No. 18 as a Gator after excelling as a two-way star under head coach Chris Jones at J.R. Arnold High School. Letting all four years, Moss holds status as the only baseball player in Bay County history to record 300 strikeouts and 20 home runs in his career. As a senior, he posted a career-best 0.63 ERA over 15 appearances (12 starts) while holding hitters to a .158 batting average and striking out 141 batters against 30 walks in 78 1/3 frames. That dominance earned him 2025 Bay Country Player of the Year, First Team All-County and Class 4A Florida Dairy Farmers Player of the Year honors – the latter making him a finalist for Florida's Mr. Baseball award.
In 56 career appearances including 39 starts, Moss dominated to the tune of a 23-8 record, 1.28 ERA, .185 BAA and 389-to-83 K-to-BB ratio across 247 innings. He finished with 14.2 strikeouts per nine and 3.0 walks per nine at J.R. Arnold. At the plate, Moss slashed .351/.449/.632 with 20 homers, three triples, 31 doubles, 103 RBI and 81 runs in 120 games. Also competing for USA Prime 17U National and the Detroit Tigers Scout Team, he was ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 182 recruit in the country on top of being the No. 16 overall player and No. 3 right-handed pitcher in the state.
Ricky Reeth
Returning to his home state as a product of Windermere, Fla., Reeth spent the past four years at Notre Dame where he pitched in each of the last three seasons for the Fighting Irish. After redshirting his freshman campaign, Reeth produced a 7-6 career record, 4.95 ERA, three saves and a 93-to-30 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 112 2/3 innings pitched. Last season, he worked to a 4-2 record, 4.31 ERA, three saves and 43-to-12 K-to-BB ratio. All but one of his 47 career appearances have come in relief.
Prior to college, Reeth was a two-way talent at West Orange High School from 2017-21. Wielding a dangerous bat as a prepster, he hit .397 with two home runs and 21 RBI over 58 at-bats his senior season on his way to being ranked as the No. 138 player and No. 31 outfielder in Florida as a member of the 2021 class. Reeth was also a three-time PG Preseason Honorable Mention All-American (2019-21) and was invited to the 2019 PG Junior National Showcase. From 2017-20, he collected eight sets of all-tournament team accolades at PG events. As a member of the Orange & Blue, he will suit up in jersey No. 31.
Russell Sandefer
Changing out of No. 21 at UCF and into No. 17 as a Gator, Sandefer comes to Gainesville after one season with the Knights in 2025. As a native of Tampa, Fla., the right-hander made 18 appearances including six starts for UCF last season, grabbing hold of the Sunday starter role down the stretch. On his way to churning out a 3.38 ERA and one save, Sandefer struck out 49 batters to 19 walks over 50 2/3 frames. His 2024 campaign was spent at Division II Saint Leo, where he logged a 5-2 record, 3.38 ERA, one save and 39-to-four strikeout-to-walk ratio over 11 appearances (eight starts) spanning 45 2/3 innings.
Suiting up at T.R. Robinson High School for head coach Alex Barron, Sandefer finished his three-year varsity career with a 2.83 ERA, .259 batting average against and 87-to-24 K-to-BB ratio across 76 2/3 frames. He walked just 2.8 batters per nine innings. As a senior in 2023, Sandefer pitched to a 2.45 ERA, .245 BAA and 55-to-16 K-to-BB ratio in 48 2/3 innings while batting .371 with a .423 on-base percentage over 62 at bats. Graduating in 2023, he was ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 417 player and No. 144 right-handed pitcher in the class.
Minjae Seo
Joining Moss as a rookie righty on the UF roster, Seo prepped at Hebron High School in Carrollton, Tex. where he played for coaches Corey Farra and Steve Stone. Expected to rep No. 45 at Florida, Seo was a 2025 Baseball America Preseason Third Team All-American in advance of his final campaign. Having also been selected to attend the 2024 Perfect Game National Showcase, he was a three-time PG Preseason First Team All-Region recipient in addition to a second team nod in 2022. While pitching at the 2023 MLB States Play Invitational as a top-ranked future star, he dazzled to the tune of three shutout, hitless frames while striking out six batters
Also competing for Sticks Baseball and the White Sox Scout Team 17U Brewster, Seo was named to eight all-tournament teams at PG events from 2021-24. He was tabbed by PG as the No. 279 recruit in the country while being the No. 26 player and No. 9 right-handed pitcher in Texas.
Cooper Walls
Taking home 2025 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors last season, Walls will suit up in No. 38 in Orange & Blue after spending his rookie campaign at Hawaii. The Carlsbad, Calf. native was outstanding in his first taste of college action, delivering a 3.73 ERA and 45-to-15 strikeout to walk ratio across 60 1/3 innings pitched. Of his 15 appearances for the Rainbow Warriors, 13 were of the starting variety. On March 16, the 6-foot-5 right-hander fired seven shutout innings on four hits and two walks while striking out three to earn the win over UC Santa Barbara. Less than two months later, he blanked Oregon State over five two-hit frames to log the victory on May 4, fanning five and issuing just two free passes.
As a member of the 2024 prep class, Walls attended La Costa Canyon High School where he was a top-100 right-handed pitcher nationally, according to Perfect Game. In the state of California, Walls slotted in as the No. 17 right-hander and No. 54 overall recruit. As a senior, he was an All-CIF San Diego Section recipient while registering a 1.34 ERA and 51 strikeouts over 40 2/3 innings. That came on the heels of an utterly dominant junior season in which Walls threw up a 4-0 record, 0.81 ERA, 30-to-12 K-to-BB ratio and a .130 batting average against over 26.0 frames.
Fans can catch a glimpse of all of these Gators newcomers when Florida opens the 2026 season at home on Friday, Feb. 13 with the first contest of a three-game series against UAB.
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Cooper Moss
Calling Panama City, Fla. home, Moss will don No. 18 as a Gator after excelling as a two-way star under head coach Chris Jones at J.R. Arnold High School. Letting all four years, Moss holds status as the only baseball player in Bay County history to record 300 strikeouts and 20 home runs in his career. As a senior, he posted a career-best 0.63 ERA over 15 appearances (12 starts) while holding hitters to a .158 batting average and striking out 141 batters against 30 walks in 78 1/3 frames. That dominance earned him 2025 Bay Country Player of the Year, First Team All-County and Class 4A Florida Dairy Farmers Player of the Year honors – the latter making him a finalist for Florida's Mr. Baseball award.
In 56 career appearances including 39 starts, Moss dominated to the tune of a 23-8 record, 1.28 ERA, .185 BAA and 389-to-83 K-to-BB ratio across 247 innings. He finished with 14.2 strikeouts per nine and 3.0 walks per nine at J.R. Arnold. At the plate, Moss slashed .351/.449/.632 with 20 homers, three triples, 31 doubles, 103 RBI and 81 runs in 120 games. Also competing for USA Prime 17U National and the Detroit Tigers Scout Team, he was ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 182 recruit in the country on top of being the No. 16 overall player and No. 3 right-handed pitcher in the state.
Cooper Moss '25 (FL)
— Cayden Hatcher (@CaydenHatcherFL) May 20, 2025
6'3" 220 lbs
Moss came into game unexpectedly and was a bulldog all night in the 4A Semi
SPL was ON for whiffs‼️
FB: 89-92 T93 (2158)
SL: 75-78 (2438)
SPL: 85-86 (1803)
7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K (67% K)@GatorsBB recruit@AHS_MARLINS | @ShooterHunt pic.twitter.com/RFEbE3e0HS
Ricky Reeth
Returning to his home state as a product of Windermere, Fla., Reeth spent the past four years at Notre Dame where he pitched in each of the last three seasons for the Fighting Irish. After redshirting his freshman campaign, Reeth produced a 7-6 career record, 4.95 ERA, three saves and a 93-to-30 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 112 2/3 innings pitched. Last season, he worked to a 4-2 record, 4.31 ERA, three saves and 43-to-12 K-to-BB ratio. All but one of his 47 career appearances have come in relief.
Prior to college, Reeth was a two-way talent at West Orange High School from 2017-21. Wielding a dangerous bat as a prepster, he hit .397 with two home runs and 21 RBI over 58 at-bats his senior season on his way to being ranked as the No. 138 player and No. 31 outfielder in Florida as a member of the 2021 class. Reeth was also a three-time PG Preseason Honorable Mention All-American (2019-21) and was invited to the 2019 PG Junior National Showcase. From 2017-20, he collected eight sets of all-tournament team accolades at PG events. As a member of the Orange & Blue, he will suit up in jersey No. 31.
❌ Ricky Reeth closes out the sixth with a K! #GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/XvUHe5Naq5
— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) March 14, 2025
Russell Sandefer
Changing out of No. 21 at UCF and into No. 17 as a Gator, Sandefer comes to Gainesville after one season with the Knights in 2025. As a native of Tampa, Fla., the right-hander made 18 appearances including six starts for UCF last season, grabbing hold of the Sunday starter role down the stretch. On his way to churning out a 3.38 ERA and one save, Sandefer struck out 49 batters to 19 walks over 50 2/3 frames. His 2024 campaign was spent at Division II Saint Leo, where he logged a 5-2 record, 3.38 ERA, one save and 39-to-four strikeout-to-walk ratio over 11 appearances (eight starts) spanning 45 2/3 innings.
Suiting up at T.R. Robinson High School for head coach Alex Barron, Sandefer finished his three-year varsity career with a 2.83 ERA, .259 batting average against and 87-to-24 K-to-BB ratio across 76 2/3 frames. He walked just 2.8 batters per nine innings. As a senior in 2023, Sandefer pitched to a 2.45 ERA, .245 BAA and 55-to-16 K-to-BB ratio in 48 2/3 innings while batting .371 with a .423 on-base percentage over 62 at bats. Graduating in 2023, he was ranked by Perfect Game as the No. 417 player and No. 144 right-handed pitcher in the class.
.@GatorsBB's Kevin O'Sullivan has high hopes for Russell Sandefer, who is expected to be in the mix for a weekend rotation spot after posting a 3.38 ERA in 50.2 innings at UCF last season.
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) September 18, 2025
See where @SandeferRussell lands in our ranking of college baseball's top transfer arms ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/rLt12xjm1b
Minjae Seo
Joining Moss as a rookie righty on the UF roster, Seo prepped at Hebron High School in Carrollton, Tex. where he played for coaches Corey Farra and Steve Stone. Expected to rep No. 45 at Florida, Seo was a 2025 Baseball America Preseason Third Team All-American in advance of his final campaign. Having also been selected to attend the 2024 Perfect Game National Showcase, he was a three-time PG Preseason First Team All-Region recipient in addition to a second team nod in 2022. While pitching at the 2023 MLB States Play Invitational as a top-ranked future star, he dazzled to the tune of three shutout, hitless frames while striking out six batters
Also competing for Sticks Baseball and the White Sox Scout Team 17U Brewster, Seo was named to eight all-tournament teams at PG events from 2021-24. He was tabbed by PG as the No. 279 recruit in the country while being the No. 26 player and No. 9 right-handed pitcher in Texas.
2025 Minjae Seo RHP @HebronBaseball FB 90-93, blended breaking ball 74-79, CH 83-84. 1IP. @PrepBaseball_TX @PBRGowins pic.twitter.com/bXwvOGSkvx
— Max Semler (@MSemlerPBR) April 26, 2025
Cooper Walls
Taking home 2025 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors last season, Walls will suit up in No. 38 in Orange & Blue after spending his rookie campaign at Hawaii. The Carlsbad, Calf. native was outstanding in his first taste of college action, delivering a 3.73 ERA and 45-to-15 strikeout to walk ratio across 60 1/3 innings pitched. Of his 15 appearances for the Rainbow Warriors, 13 were of the starting variety. On March 16, the 6-foot-5 right-hander fired seven shutout innings on four hits and two walks while striking out three to earn the win over UC Santa Barbara. Less than two months later, he blanked Oregon State over five two-hit frames to log the victory on May 4, fanning five and issuing just two free passes.
As a member of the 2024 prep class, Walls attended La Costa Canyon High School where he was a top-100 right-handed pitcher nationally, according to Perfect Game. In the state of California, Walls slotted in as the No. 17 right-hander and No. 54 overall recruit. As a senior, he was an All-CIF San Diego Section recipient while registering a 1.34 ERA and 51 strikeouts over 40 2/3 innings. That came on the heels of an utterly dominant junior season in which Walls threw up a 4-0 record, 0.81 ERA, 30-to-12 K-to-BB ratio and a .130 batting average against over 26.0 frames.
Five from Hawaii baseball earn All-Big West honors including Cooper Walls selected as conference freshman pitcher of the year https://t.co/45vNlXAOEi #HawaiiBSB #GoBows 🤙🏽 @HawaiiBaseball @KHONnews @khon2SportsTV pic.twitter.com/1mCVfwEKoq
— Rob DeMello (@RobDeMelloKHON) May 20, 2025
Fans can catch a glimpse of all of these Gators newcomers when Florida opens the 2026 season at home on Friday, Feb. 13 with the first contest of a three-game series against UAB.
Follow the Gators
#GoGators
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