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Gators big man Isaiah Stokes has elected to transfer from Florida, per multiple reports.
With the departure of Stokes, the 2017 recruiting class now has no members. Fellow classmates Chase Johnson, Deaundrae Ballard, and Michael Okaru all elected to transfer over the last year.
Stokes role was expected to be limited after Kerry Blackshear announced his decision to transfer to play his final year of eligibility at Florida.
The former four star recruit averaged 2.7 points and 1.0 rebounds in only 7.1 minutes of action as a redshirt freshman.
Former Gator Dorian Finney-Smith has oped to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks after agreeing to a 3-year, $12M deal, according to multiple reports.
Free agent Dorian Finney-Smith has agreed to a three-year, $12M deal to re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA@Stadium.
The 6’8, 220 lb forward has averaged 5.9 points and 3.7 rebounds in his three year career, but recorded career highs with 7.5 points and 4.8 boards in 24 minutes while playing in 81 games in 2018-19.
The Portsmouth, VA native transferred to Florida from Virginia Tech after his freshman season and averaged 12.1 points and 7.1 rebounds in three years in an orange and blue uniform (2013-16).
Former Florida first baseman Pete Alonso was selected to the National League All-Star team on Sunday.
The Tampa native has been one of the few bright spots in the 2019 incarnation of the New York Mets.
A second round selection in the 2016 draft, Alonso has slugged 28 homers and driven in 62 this season. The 28 homers mark a Mets rookie record and tied Mark McGwire for the MLB rookie record before July 1.
His 28 home runs has made him one of the most feared hitters in the game.
Alonso also announced via Twitter that he had accepted an invitation to the 2109 Home Run Derby as well. The winner of the Derby will earn a $1 Million bonus. Alonso’s rookie salary is $550,000.
The derby and All-star Game will take place at Progressive Field in Cleveland on July 8 and 9.
Former Gators star Rhamat Alhassan has been named to the USA women’s volleyball roster for the Pan American Games. The announcement was made Thursday by USA Volleyball.
Alhassan was a four-time All-American at Florida from 2014-17. She amassed 1,278 kills and 674 blocks in her collegiate career and was named the Honda Award winner for the 2017-18 year.
Since graduation, Alhassan has been playing professionally in Japan. The Pan American Games will take place August 7-11 in Lima, Peru.
*Information for this article was provided by the UF Volleyball Press Release.
Mike White has rounded out his 2019-20 roster with one of the most talented big men in the college basketball game.
According to multiple reports (and first reported by Stadium’s Jeff Goodman), Kerry Blackshear, Jr has opted to transfer to Florida, where he will be eligible to play immediately.
Kerry Blackshear, barring a last-minute change of heart, is expected to choose Florida, source told @Stadium. Huge pickup for Mike White and the Gators.
Blackshear averaged 14.9 points and 7.5 rebounds in 30 minutes of play while facing a gauntlet schedule in the ACC.
Blackshear was a four-star prospect out of Evans High School in Orlando. He was rated the No. 121 prospect in the nation and the No. 13 prospect in Florida for the 2015 recruiting cycle. According to 247Sports, the power forward never received an offer from Florida, but did from Florida State, Georgia, and Tennessee among others.
Virginia Tech graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear expected to land at Florida, sources confirmed to ESPN.
Was the No. 1 transfer in the country. Think the Gators are a top-10 team with him in the fold.
Over the last few weeks, Blackshear has made visits to Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Kentucky.
With his family positioned in Orlando and his younger brother Kenan signed to play at Florida Atlantic, it’s likely that Gainesville’s proximity to home was a key factor in his decision.
Florida is now likely to be a Top-10 team entering the season as Blackshear was the top transfer available in the portal this year.
Updated Preseason Top 25 with Blackshear/UF News:
1. MSU
2. Louisville
3. UK
4. KU
5. Duke
6. Maryland
7. UF
8. UNC
9. UVA
10. Nova
11. TT
12. SHU
13. Baylor
14. LSU
15. Gonzaga
16. Memphis
17. FSU
18. UA
19. Purdue
20. UW
21. VCU
22. Gtown
23. Harvard
24. Miss St
25. Utah St
Florida received another commitment for the class of 2020, on Wednesday afternoon. Antwaun Powell, a 6’3″ 234-pound weak-side defensive end made his announcement via Twitter.
The four star athlete is a Portsmouth, Virginia native who has spent his prep career playing for I. C. Norcom High School. His commitment comes a little over a week after making an official visit to Gainesville.
Powell checks in as the nation’s sixth rated defensive end and holds a 247Sports composite score of 94.05%. This puts the young defender well within the nation’s top 150 prospects at 119.
Florida was among a list of twenty-one schools to have offered Powell a scholarship and they bested rival such as, Miami, Michigan, and Tennessee in the recruiting battle. Torrian Gray and Todd Grantham are credited with drawing the talented athlete in.
Florida seems to have reestablished the Lakeland pipeline that proved so prosperous in the past. After pulling three Dreadnaughts in the 2019 class, the Gators just received another Lakeland commitment on Monday.
Fenley Graham, a three star cornerback has announced that he will be taking his services to the University of Florida. The 5’8.5″ 151-pound recruit currently holds a composite rating of 86.63% and is a speedster, clocking a 4.59 forty time.
Tabbed as the No. 54 player at his position, Graham was recruited heavily by coach Larry Scott and selected Florida over rival Miami. This is another win in a weekend full of recruiting victories for Dan Mullen and his staff.
Chicago, IL- Pete Alonso has made an immediate impact on the New York Mets roster this year.
Alonso ranks second in Major League Baseball with 27 homers (behind only 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich).
On Sunday, the former Gator crushed a 454 foot bomb in the fourth inning against the Cubs (off of Cole Hamels) that tied the game at one. The homer set the New York Mets rookie record, surpassing the mark Darryl Strawberry set in 1983.
For the record, Strawberry played in 122 games that year. It’s only June 23rd, and Alonso has only played in 77 including today’s contest.
On the season (entering Sunday) Alonso is hitting .274 and slugging at a .632 clip. He has 17 doubles and 61 RBI to go along with his team leading number of homers.
With the kickoff of the 2019 college football season looming ever closer, we continue our preview of each position group by taking a deep look at the unit that Gators fans have hung their hats on for more than a decade now. As is the expectation for a school known as “DBU,” the defensive backs at Florida are among the best in the nation. But how does the group stack up as a whole? What should we expect out of them in the coming season?
As far as the cornerbacks are concerned, I see very little drop off. In fact, with the return of Marco Wilson from a season ending ACL injury vs Kentucky in 2018, this group might actually be even better than last year’s unit. At the very least, the depth issues that hurt the Gators last season appear to have been addressed and should no longer be an issue.
Marco, the younger brother of former Gator’s great, Quincy Wilson, has worked extremely hard to recover from the injury and be ready to go, come August 24th.
When asked about how he feels about his rehabilitation, Wilson replied, “I feel real good. It’s a lot of motivation to see other people on that field and know you can’t do anything about it. Going out there, I’m going to be like an uncaged animal. I sat on that sideline too long to not go out on that field and make plays.”
Following a freshman season that saw Wilson record thirty-five tackles and breakup ten passes, he has plenty of reason to feel confident.
His return signals bad news for opposing quarterbacks and receivers who will be forced to go head to head with Wilson on one side of the field, and CJ Henderson on the other.
During his freshman campaign, Henderson emerged as one of the most talented young cornerbacks in the nation, recording twenty-two tackles, four interceptions, and a pair of touchdowns. In 2018, he added to his legend by locking down receivers and only allowing around a 41% completion percentage with zero touchdowns when thrown his way.
One of the major positives that came out of Marco Wilson’s injury was the experience that was thrust upon then freshman, Trey Dean. Although he suffered a few lumps along the way, Dean handled his newfound role admirably and that baptism by fire has prepared him for another starring role (pun intended) this season. Dean will replace the stellar playmaker Chauncey Gardner-Johnson at the Star position.
This move suits Dean quite well as he is fast, intelligent, agile, and plays with a similar swagger to Gardner-Johnson. Part linebacker, part cornerback, this position will allow for Dean to disrupt offenses with versatility and regularity.
Amari Burney showed great improvement over the course of the season and throughout spring, and will likely be a solid addition either at the nickelback or safety positions.
If there is a position of concern, in my eyes, it is the safety position. This isn’t one that is necessarily a liability, but it is worth noting that we didn’t really have a true standout at the position last year. Donovan Stiner certainly made a handful of plays in 2018, most notably the sack of Nick Fitzgerald to kill any threat of a Mississippi State comeback. However, I wasn’t completely sold on him.
For that matter, I want to see more out of the group as a whole. John Huggins impressed the coaching staff near the end of last season and during the spring, but still needs to take the next step. Jeawon Taylor has the tools and, like Huggins, began to show what he is capable of as the 2018 season began to wind down. Also like Huggins, he will need to show that he can put a complete season, full of relentless effort, together.
Brad Stewart is yet another who flashed last season and yet still leaves us with questions as to what we will see from him. It is because we got some but not all from each of these players that I have any concern about the Safety position. The talent is there, and in droves. But who will emerge as the consistent playmakers?
What are your thoughts and predictions for the coming season? Leave your comments or join the conversations on Twitter @MikeyPfeffer and @ChompTalk.
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