The Florida Gators baseball program signed one of their JUCO commits who’s also one of the top JUCO prospects in the country. College of Central Florida right-handed pitcher Shawn Guilliams signed his National Letter of Intent to the University of Florida.
Before becoming one of the top JUCO prospects in the country, Guilliams was a freshman at the University of North Florida. After some time with the Ospreys, Guilliams decided that UNF wasn’t the school he wanted to be at and put his name in the Transfer Portal.
Shortly after putting his name in the Transfer Portal, Guilliams started to hear from some of the top college baseball programs in the country but it was the University of Florida that stood out to him. “Kevin O’Sullivan and the Florida coaching staff reached out to me quickly once I was in the portal,” Guilliams told Gators Territory.
“I honestly didn’t have plans on committing to a D1 program knowing that I would be going JUCO,” said Guilliams. “However, Florida reached out and in less than 24 hours, I was committed to the Gators.”
Guilliams was sold on the Gators but wanted to go play JUCO ball so he would be eligible to play his freshman season. “I basically knew everything about the Florida program but Chuck Jeroloman basically just ran me down all of the new things with the stadium,” Guilliams said. “Florida is my dream school so he didn’t have to sell me much.” Besides Florida, Guilliams was contacted by a couple of schools but the other programs that stood out to him were Clemson, Kentucky, and Notre Dame.
When Guilliams signed his NLI to Florida, it was just him and his parents but it was still an incredible moment for him and his family. “It feels surreal,” Guilliams said about signing with Florida. “I use to dream of doing this as a kid and it’s crazy that it happened.”
The freshman pitcher out of the College of Central Florida is set to enroll at the University of Florida next fall unless the MLB comes calling. Shawn Guilliams is one of the top JUCO prospects in the 2021 MLB Draft. On Prospects Live, Guilliams is the 248th ranked prospect in the 2021 draft class.
Guilliams has received plenty of attention from the MLB clubs and could realistically hear his name called during the 2021 MLB Draft in mid-July. “I would say almost all 30 teams have been in contact with me or my advisor at some point this year,” Guilliams told GT. “Teams just like my frame and that could put on weight fast.”
Another reason Guilliams is an intriguing prospect to MLB teams is how young he is. The Florida signee is still 18 years old but will turn 19 years old in June. Guilliams also possesses a four-pitch mix highlighted by his fastball. His fastball sits in the low-90s but tops out at 96 mph with life. Guilliams also has a firm changeup, plus curveball, and also mixes in a slider.
If Guilliams does make it to campus, he will have three years of eligibility for the Gators and would make an immediate impact either in their rotation or bullpen. During his freshman season at the College of Central Florida, Guilliams made seven appearances including six starts. Guilliams posted a 3-0 record with a 2.41 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, and a 13.1 K/9.
