Gators' Heyman Out for Season

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Another crucial piece of the Florida Gators is set to miss the rest of the 2025 season.

Catcher Luke Heyman, who exited Thursday's matchup against Alabama in the first inning after being hit in the wrist by a pitch, will miss the rest of his junior season with a forearm fracture, head coach Kevin O'Sullivan confirmed.

"Everybody's disappointed for him, and he's worked his tail off," he said after Florida's 7-6 comeback win. "You guys have seen the improvement he made since his first year to his second year, in his second year to his third year, and now we're coming down the stretch, and we put ourselves in position, not only to make the tournament, there was, you know, there's discussions about hosting, and he was a big part of that."

He is the fourth season-ending injury to the Gators this season alongside outfielder Kyle Jones (shoulder), pitcher Frank Menendez (elbow) and second baseman Cade Kurland (shoulder). The Gators have also been without shortstop Colby Shelton (wrist) since the Arkansas series, although he could return to the field depending on how far Florida goes in the postseason.

Heyman has emerged as one of Florida's top options in the team's turnaround after starting 1-11 in SEC play. Prior to Thursday's game, he had recorded 16 hits over his last 12 games with five home runs and 15 RBIs.

Designated hitter/first baseman Brody Donay will become the team's fulltime starter behind the plate for the rest of the season.

Heyman wasn't the only Gator to exit Thursday's comeback win with an injury as infielder Justin Nadeau suffered a finger injury in the fourth inning while fielding a ground ball. O'Sullivan confirmed he tore off his nail, but that the team will superglue it back on Friday and go from there.

"It's not fractured or anything, just he ripped the nail off," O'Sullivan said. "So I guess they said that they’ll super glue it and see how it feels tomorrow. But you know, if he can't play, then we're certainly not going to push him, but we certainly would have a similar lineup than we had out there for the last seven innings."

With Kurland, Shelton and now Nadeau out, the Gators have reshuffled its infield with first baseman Brendan Lawson moving to third base, third baseman Bobby Boser moving to shortstop, outfielder Blake Cyr taking over at second base and Landon Stripling taking over at first base after Donay's move to fulltime catcher.

The Gators will host Alabama for Game Two of the series Friday at 6:30 p.m.

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