The Florida Gators have signed their top-ranked commit catcher Luke Heyman. According to Perfect Game, Heyman is the 34th ranked prospect and the third-ranked catcher in the country. He’s also the seventh-ranked prospect and the #1 catcher in the state of Florida.

Heyman signed his NLI with Florida today as the Lake Brantley product has been committed to the Gators since he started high school. “It was early my freshman year,” Heyman said when asked about when he committed to Florida. “I went to a camp my freshman year and committed the next day.”

Once Heyman committed to Florida, he also shut down his recruitment as he knew Florida was the school he wanted to play for. “Florida had been my top school and after getting up to Gainesville, I knew that was where I wanted to go,” Heyman told Gators Territory.

The Gators were the only program to offer the Central Florida catcher but he definitely drew interest from some of the top programs in Florida. Miami and Florida State were also involved in Heyman’s recruitment but didn’t have enough time to try to get him since Florida offered him so early in the recruiting process.

It’s not rare for high school baseball prospects to commit to a school as a sophomore or junior but committed a freshman is very young. However, Heyman had plenty of reasons why he announced his verbal commitment to Florida so early.

“The coaching staff is top-notch, Florida is a winning program, their player development and the academics are also amazing,” Heyman said on why he committed to Florida. “The university is also only two hours away from home so so my parents can come up and watch me.”

Florida head coach, Kevin O’Sullivan, was the coach that offered Heyman and the Perfect Game All-American Classic MVP. Heyman doesn’t remember much about what he said during the conversation but he does remember what it felt like when Florida’s skipper had offered him.

“I couldn’t really talk as I was just excited for the opportunity,” Heyman told GT. “I had chills and all around was just a great feeling to hear that and I committed to the Florida Gators right after Coach O’Sullivan offered me.”

Now, that Luke Heyman has signed and faxed his NLI to Florida, he’s just excited for the future and possibility of playing for the Gators.

“It feels real good,” Heyman said about signing with Florida. “Just one step closer to my dream of getting up there, developing and playing with my boys to go win a national championship.”