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Junior college catcher AJ Malzone commits to Gators

On3 imageby: Keith Niebuhr06/05/25On3Keith
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Photo courtesy of UAA Communications

The Florida Gators baseball program is having a big Thursday. First, UF landed a commitment from Notre Dame transfer pitcher Ricky Reeth. Now, the Gators have gotten a pledge from junior college catcher/DH AJ Malzone of Wabash Valley College in Illinois.

“I’m really excited,” Malzone told Gators Online. “I’m ready to get to work. Get back to Omaha.”

Malzone had a big freshman season in 2024 during which he batted .372 with 8 homers and 42 RBI over 55 games. In conference play — 27 games — he hit .349 with 5 home runs and 26 RBI.

In 2025, he batted .347 and had 10 homers, 58 RBI and a .602 slugging percentage over 58 games according to Pro Baseball Radar. He was named All Conference, All Region and earned a Region 24 Gold Glove.

Malzone, a Chicago native, is a left-handed hitter and right-handed thrower.

“Florida has been a dream school since I was young,” Malzone said. “I think they’re a very winning program and they’ve done well with the catchers in the past. I’m super excited to work with Coach (Kevin) O’Sullivan.”

According to Malzone, the Gators began recruiting him about a month ago. He chose UF over Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and others.

Last season Reeth posted a 4-2 record, 4.31 ERA and 43 strikeouts against 12 walks in 22 appearances. He allowed 23 earned runs and 44 hits in 48 innings.

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