Aidan King (left) and Brendan Lawson (right) bump gloves during their freshman seasons in a game against Stetson on Feb. 25, 2025 at Melching Field in DeLand, Fla.
Gators Boast Four Top Prospects for 2027 MLB Draft
Monday, August 3, 2026 | Baseball
Florida is the only college program with four players ranked inside the top-50 prospects.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Baseball America has ranked four Florida Gators among the top-100 prospects for the 2027 MLB Draft, featuring every member of the UF quartet inside the top 40.
Headlined by next summer's No. 3 overall prospect in junior shortstop Brendan Lawson, the Gators have an opportunity to produce a program-record four first-round draft picks at the 2027 MLB Draft. Three Florida right-handed pitchers follow Lawson in the rankings: junior Aidan King (No. 18), junior Jackson Barberi (No. 32) and redshirt sophomore Joshua Whritenour (No. 39). All three hurlers honed their craft as members of the USA Collegiate National Team this past offseason.
Florida is the only college program with four players ranked inside the top 50 of Baseball America's list.
Florida's Top-100 MLB Draft Prospects
3. SS Brendan Lawson
18. RHP Aidan King
32. RHP Jackson Barberi
39. RHP Joshua Whritenour
As the aircraft carrier of the UF offense, Lawson started 51 of his 56 games at shortstop and paced Florida in OPS (1.210), OBP (.511), slugging (.699), extra-base hits (32), home runs (19), runs scored (68), total bases (130), walks (53) and the second-most hit-by-pitches in program history (24). Leading the SEC with the sixth-best OBP ever by a Gator, the Canadian sophomore set career highs in nearly every offensive statistic while ranking second in the conference in hit-by-pitches, third in walks and sixth in runs scored. He homered in eight of the last 12 games of the campaign, slashing .409/.567/1.023 in that stretch with 45 total bases, 23 runs, 12 RBI and four steals. Lawson also improved defensively as the season progressed, committing just one error across 59 chances at shortstop in the final 14 games of the season for a .983 fielding percentage.
Becoming the first Gator underclassman to collect SEC Pitcher of the Year honors including the fourth in league history, King led Florida with eight wins, a 3.21 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 97.0 innings pitched while holding hitters to a .218 batting average. On the season, King fanned 92 batters against 19 free passes, equating to a 4.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In SEC action, he led all starters with a 0.89 WHIP, tied for the top spot in victories (six) and held hitters to a .184 batting average. As a true workhorse, King fired a team-high eight quality starts including six in SEC play – pitching into the seventh inning five times against SEC foes. His 62.0 SEC innings trailed only Alabama's Tyler Fay. From April 3 through May 1, King went 4-0 with five-straight quality starts and a 1.51 ERA across 35 2/3 frames for an average of 7.1 innings per outing.
In his second collegiate campaign, Barberi dominated to a 5-2 record, .156 batting average against, 55-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 1.02 WHIP, 3.13 ERA and two saves over 19 outings spanning 37 1/3 frames. The righty pitched in five of UF's seven shutouts with 11 scoreless appearances – 10 being four outs or more. Barberi finished his sophomore season boasting 13.3 strikeouts per nine and 5.1 hits allowed per nine. Across four appearances with the Collegiate National Team this summer, Barberi worked 4 2/3 innings with just one run allowed on one hit, two walks and five strikeouts for a 1.93 ERA and 0.64 WHIP.
Frequently touching triple digits, Whritenour made his collegiate debut as a redshirt freshman and led the Gators with seven saves as the primary closer. Making 25 appearances out of the bullpen, Whritenour held opposing hitters to a .223 batting average while delivering a 1.23 WHIP. The fire-balling righty racked up 49 strikeouts against 14 free passes in 36 2/3 frames, translating to 12.0 strikeouts per nine, 3.4 walks per nine and a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Across three relief outings at CNT Training Camp, Whritenour turned in three shutout, no-hit innings. He walked two and fanned three batters en route to a 0.67 WHIP.
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Headlined by next summer's No. 3 overall prospect in junior shortstop Brendan Lawson, the Gators have an opportunity to produce a program-record four first-round draft picks at the 2027 MLB Draft. Three Florida right-handed pitchers follow Lawson in the rankings: junior Aidan King (No. 18), junior Jackson Barberi (No. 32) and redshirt sophomore Joshua Whritenour (No. 39). All three hurlers honed their craft as members of the USA Collegiate National Team this past offseason.
Florida is the only college program with four players ranked inside the top 50 of Baseball America's list.
Florida's Top-100 MLB Draft Prospects
3. SS Brendan Lawson
18. RHP Aidan King
32. RHP Jackson Barberi
39. RHP Joshua Whritenour
As the aircraft carrier of the UF offense, Lawson started 51 of his 56 games at shortstop and paced Florida in OPS (1.210), OBP (.511), slugging (.699), extra-base hits (32), home runs (19), runs scored (68), total bases (130), walks (53) and the second-most hit-by-pitches in program history (24). Leading the SEC with the sixth-best OBP ever by a Gator, the Canadian sophomore set career highs in nearly every offensive statistic while ranking second in the conference in hit-by-pitches, third in walks and sixth in runs scored. He homered in eight of the last 12 games of the campaign, slashing .409/.567/1.023 in that stretch with 45 total bases, 23 runs, 12 RBI and four steals. Lawson also improved defensively as the season progressed, committing just one error across 59 chances at shortstop in the final 14 games of the season for a .983 fielding percentage.
Becoming the first Gator underclassman to collect SEC Pitcher of the Year honors including the fourth in league history, King led Florida with eight wins, a 3.21 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 97.0 innings pitched while holding hitters to a .218 batting average. On the season, King fanned 92 batters against 19 free passes, equating to a 4.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In SEC action, he led all starters with a 0.89 WHIP, tied for the top spot in victories (six) and held hitters to a .184 batting average. As a true workhorse, King fired a team-high eight quality starts including six in SEC play – pitching into the seventh inning five times against SEC foes. His 62.0 SEC innings trailed only Alabama's Tyler Fay. From April 3 through May 1, King went 4-0 with five-straight quality starts and a 1.51 ERA across 35 2/3 frames for an average of 7.1 innings per outing.
In his second collegiate campaign, Barberi dominated to a 5-2 record, .156 batting average against, 55-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 1.02 WHIP, 3.13 ERA and two saves over 19 outings spanning 37 1/3 frames. The righty pitched in five of UF's seven shutouts with 11 scoreless appearances – 10 being four outs or more. Barberi finished his sophomore season boasting 13.3 strikeouts per nine and 5.1 hits allowed per nine. Across four appearances with the Collegiate National Team this summer, Barberi worked 4 2/3 innings with just one run allowed on one hit, two walks and five strikeouts for a 1.93 ERA and 0.64 WHIP.
Frequently touching triple digits, Whritenour made his collegiate debut as a redshirt freshman and led the Gators with seven saves as the primary closer. Making 25 appearances out of the bullpen, Whritenour held opposing hitters to a .223 batting average while delivering a 1.23 WHIP. The fire-balling righty racked up 49 strikeouts against 14 free passes in 36 2/3 frames, translating to 12.0 strikeouts per nine, 3.4 walks per nine and a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Across three relief outings at CNT Training Camp, Whritenour turned in three shutout, no-hit innings. He walked two and fanned three batters en route to a 0.67 WHIP.
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