Junior college catcher AJ Malzone commits to Gators

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.”
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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.