The Gators baseball program has beefed up their 2021 recruiting class, as JUCO right-handed pitcher Shawn Guilliams committed to Florida last Tuesday.
Guilliams, a product of College of Central Florida, is the 23rd commit in UF's 2021 recruiting class, which ranks second in the country only behind the Vanderbilt Commodores. Guilliams was originally at the University of North Florida but entered the transfer portal and made a double commitment to CCF and Florida.
The JUCO RHP only spent a few months at UNF before opting for a change of scenery.
“The player development at UNF was not what I expected,” Guilliams told GatorsTerritory on why he transferred. “I didn’t see myself growing as a player if I stayed there.”
Guilliams was a 2020 prospect in high school and one of the top prospects in the country. On Perfect Game, Guilliams was the 195th-ranked prospect and 67th-ranked RHP in the country.
When he was a high school prospect, Florida was interested but couldn’t get him in its 2020 recruiting class.
“They [Florida] reached out to my summer coach,” Guilliams said. “However, their recruiting class was pretty much finished by then.”
When Guilliams entered the transfer portal, O’Sullivan and the Gators didn’t waste any time contacting him.
“I was in the transfer portal for three days and Florida was one of the first to reach out,” Guilliams said. “I first talked to Florida and committed within 24 hours of being in the portal.
Florida got Guilliams quickly, but other programs were recruiting the Florida native as well.
“Some of the biggest schools I talked to were Florida, Kentucky and Notre Dame,” said Guilliams.
He was contacted by Clemson and USF, but they didn’t play much of a factor in his recruitment. Guilliams also added that Notre Dame was the other school that pushed for him the hardest.
"Coach [Chuck] Jeroloman called me the first day I was in the transfer portal and basically said they missed out on me coming out of high school,” said Guilliams. “They told me they weren’t going to miss out of me again.”
The Gators head into the season expecting to the No. 1 team in the country and have a top recruiting class as well. Guilliams will only play one season at College of Central Florida before transferring to Florida. He will have three years of eligibility once relocating to Gainesville.
“They [Florida] have the best coaching staff in the nation along with the resources they have there are unbeatable,” Guilliams said. “Coming to play with the best players in the country is only going to better me, and who doesn’t want to compete for a national championship every year?"
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