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2025 MLB Draft Bonus Tracker: Florida Gators

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sam Dunn | Last updated Jul 26, 2025 12:53 PM ET

Which Florida baseball alumni have cashed in the biggest with their professional clubs? Get the dollar details on Colby Shelton, Jake Clemente, and more.

As an admittedly annoying television ad campaign used to assert, "The University of Florida is in Gainesville; Gator Nation is everywhere."

This theorem is put to the test constantly. But in the wake of the 2025 MLB Draft during All-Star festivities earlier this month in Atlanta, we can confirm with full certainty that Gator Nation now includes Chicago's South Side, Miami, Chicago's North Side, Sacramento, Seattle, and Tampa.

That's right: six of Kevin O'Sullivan's Gator baseball boys were selected by pro clubs -- and their financial dreams have all officially come true.

Let's take a closer look at the dollar details behind the MLB draft pick bonuses headed into the pockets of Florida alums like Colby Shelton, Luke Heyman, Jake Clemente, and more.

2025 Florida Gators' MLB Draft Pick Bonuses

For players drafted before Round 11, table notes whether they received a signing bonus worth the full amount of their draft slot's standard assigned value, under, or over.


PLAYER	PICK	CLUB	VALUE (vs. slot)
SS Colby Shelton	Round 6, 166 overall	Chicago White Sox	$447.5K (over)
RHP Jake Clemente	Round 7, 198 overall	Miami Marlins	$500K (over)
LHP Pierce Coppola	Round 7, 198 overall	Chicago Cubs	$278.5K (full)
3B Bobby Boser	Round 11, 320 overall	Athletics	$150K
C Luke Heyman	Round 14, 422 overall	Seattle Mariners	$230K
C Brody Donay	Round 17, 507 overall	Tampa Bay Rays	$150K

Shelton -- whose selection marked the third consecutive year in which a Gator shortstop heard his name called at the MLB Draft -- hit .377 with a 1.064 OPS as a junior in 2025. His hot bat froze solid, however, due to a hamate injury that forced him to miss the last five weeks of the season.

He did well on balance, however, as the White Sox offered him a $477,500 signing bonus that overshot his slot value of $403,900.

But Jake Clemente would not be outdone by his fellow Orange and Blue alum.

Despite coming off the board more than a full round later, the Miami Marlins handed the right-hander a half-million dollars against a slot value of $309,400.

When you simply must have a 6-foot-4 All-SEC closer with power stuff to spare, you pay whatever it takes to make it happen.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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