Florida Gators

2016 All-SEC Second Team
2016 SEC All-Defensive Team
2015 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American
2015 All-SEC Second Team
2015 SEC All-Freshman Team
2015 SEC Freshman of the Week (March 30)
 
AS A JUNIOR (2017): Played in 47 games with 34 starts at catcher and 10 at designated hitter…Also started a game at first base and one at third base…Hit .238 on the year with 28 RBIs and three home runs…Missed a month of action with a broken hamate bone in his left hand…Hit .361 (13-for-36) in 11 SEC games before missing the rest of the conference season with the injury…Ended the season with a streak of 31 games reaching base safely…Had eight games with multiple RBIs, third-most on the team…Caught eight runners stealing in 22 attempts and also had two pickoffs…Selected in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians (192 overall).
 
AS A SOPHOMORE (2016): Appeared in 67 games for the Gators, starting 66, mainly at catcher and DH…Hit .245 (56-229) with 47 RBI and 33 runs scored…20 of his 56 hits went for extra bases, including 9 home runs, 2 triples, and 9 doubles, good for a slugging percentage of .419…Walked 28 times to go along with 26 strikeouts, giving him an OBP of .347…Tied with Buddy Reed for the team lead in sacrifice bunts with 5…Ranked second on the team with 9 HBP…Hit .263 (26-99) in SEC play while starting all 29 SEC games…Slugged .434 against SEC competition, which ranked third on the team…Knocked in the Gators first two runs of the season with a sac fly and solo home run against Florida Gulf Coast…In the three game series against Tennessee, went 5-12 with 2 home runs and 6 RBI…Only committed 3 errors on the year, contributing to a fielding percentage of .994…Threw out 15 of 30 runners attempting to steal against him…Hit .389 (7-18) on the Gators’ run to the SEC Tournament championship game…Had the second most games with multiple RBI on the team with 16…Named to the All-SEC Second Team…Earned All-SEC Defensive Team honors for his work behind the plate.
 
AS A FRESHMAN (2015): Earned Freshman All-American recognition from Louisville Slugger…Became the first Gator freshman catcher to be chosen All-SEC since Mike Stanley in 1982 by being named to the second team…Joined teammates Dalton Guthrie and JJ Schwarz on the SEC’s All-Freshman Team…Started 65 of the 66 games he played in as a rookie, with 41 starts behind the plate and 24 at designated hitter…Batted .271 with 48 RBI, 31 runs, 16 walks, 11 doubles, five sacrifice flies and three homers…Contributed 15 multiple-hit games and 13 multiple-RBI efforts…Had a .258 average in 28 conference games, with a team-high 21 RBI, 12 runs, three doubles and a pair of homers…Led the Gators at the NCAA College World Series by going 7-for-18 (.389)…Tied the third meeting with Virginia by driving in Schwarz with a sixth-inning RBI single and was 2-for-4…Had an RBI single and a run-scoring double in the Gators’ 10-5 triumph over the Cavaliers…Started his action in Omaha by going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs versus No. 8 Miami (FL)…Connected on a two-run single in the first inning and had a fielder’s choice that plated Schwarz in the third inning in Game 1 of the NCAA Gainesville Super Regional against No. 10 Florida State…Drove in two runs in UF’s NCAA Tourney opener versus Florida A&M with a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly…Tied for the team lead with six RBI during the SEC Tournament, when he was 5-for-17 (.294), with three runs, three doubles and a round-tripper…Doubled and scored in the 7-3 victory over No. 9 Vanderbilt that secured the title…Snapped a 1-1 tie with a leadoff homer in the ninth inning to provide the winning margin as the Gators knocked off No. 1 LSU in the SEC Tourney semifinals…Smashed a two-run double during the eight-run, third-inning outburst against Auburn…Chipped in with two RBI in the SEC Tourney opener versus Arkansas…Batted .429 (3-for-7) during the series with Kentucky and went 2-for-3 with two RBI in the finale…Laced a two-run triple in the ninth inning to help complete a sweep at Mississippi State…Went 3-for-5 with a two RBI singles as UF downed No. 21 South Carolina to finish a sweep at McKethan Stadium…Named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the first time in his career on March 30 after notching a .467 average during the Gators’ four games that week…Batted .467 (7-for-15) as Florida claimed three of four contests and posted a series victory over Alabama…Tied for the team lead by driving in five runs, scored three times and drew a pair of walks…Hit .417 (5-for-12) against Alabama and tallied an RBI in each game…Went 1-for-3 with an insurance run-scoring single during UF’s three-run eighth inning that paved the way for a 7-4 triumph in Saturday’s rubber game...Helped the Gators forge a split of Friday’s doubleheader by going 2-for-4 with an RBI single in the nightcap…Started the series with the Tide by going 2-for-5 with a two-run homer and scored twice…Powered the offense at Ole Miss by going 5-for-12 (.417) and tallied five RBI...Debuted against No. 11 Florida State with a 3-for-5 performance in which he scored twice and had a run-scoring single…Cranked a two-run homer to left center in the sixth inning of the second matchup with Tennessee…Was a career-best 4-for-4 in the series-clinching victory over Maine…Came through with a two-run single in the sixth inning of the opener versus No. 8 Miami (FL)…Began his collegiate career with a .375 (3-for-8) clip in the sweep of Rhode Island, including a sacrifice fly on opening night and a 2-for-3, three-run effort in game two.

HIGH SCHOOL: Catcher who played for head coach Craig Faulkner at Venice High School…Teammate of fellow Gator sophomore Dalton Guthrie…Chosen in the 33rd round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft by the Oakland A’s with the 1,002nd overall pick…Captured back-to-back state championships in Class 7A during his sophomore and junior years and reached the semifinals in his final season…Rivera ranked No. 35 in the state of Florida and was No. 3 at catcher in the Class of 2014 Final Rankings from Perfect Game…Rated as the No. 21 catcher nationally by Perfect Game…Earned all-state acclaim in Class 6A…First-team Preseason All-American by Louisville Slugger…Participated in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA) All-Star Baseball Classic…Named to the Florida All-Region First Team by Rawlings/Perfect Game prior to his senior year…First-team Louisville Slugger High School All-American as a junior, when he batted .506 with 25 RBI and 18 doubles…Was a MaxPreps Underclass All-American and made the Sarasota Herald-Tribune All-Area Team…Chosen All-Tournament at the 2013 National High School Invitational (NHSI) in Cary, N.C., after going 7-for-12 (.583) with three RBI and a pair of doubles…Member of the 2013 USA 18-U National Team, along with Gator freshman JJ Schwarz, which repeated as World Champions after winning the 18-U World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan...Drove in a team-high 11 runs and batted .364 (16-for-44), good for third on squad, with seven runs and three doubles.

MAJOR:
Received bachelor's degree in Anthropology in May 2024.
 
MIKE RIVERA CAREER STATS