Kevin O’Sullivan and the Florida Gators have landed another top 2023 prospect in the country. Right-handed pitcher Alex Philpott announced his commitment to the University of Florida on Instagram on Wednesday.
Alex Philpott is a 6’5” 170-pound right-handed pitcher out of Strawberry Crest High School in Dover, Florida. On Perfect Game, Philpott is the 205th ranked prospect and the 62nd ranked right-handed pitcher in the country. He’s also the 31st ranked prospect and the seventh-ranked right-handed pitcher in Florida.
During his recruitment, Philpott was contacted and offered by some of the top college baseball programs in the country. Some of the schools that were interested in the Tampa native were FSU, LSU, Arkansas, South Carolina, Notre Dame, Wake Forest and others.
Florida didn’t really start becoming involved in Philpott’s recruitment until this summer. “The Gators first contacted me in the beginning on June,” said Philpott.
The tall right-hander was contacted by assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, Chuck Jeroloman.
“He talked about how the program has really nice facilities and they are always a top baseball program,” Philpott told Gators Territory. “He also talked about Coach [Kevin] O’Sullivan and how good of a coach he’ll be as my pitching coach.”
Even though Philpott had plenty of other offers from top programs, Florida was always a favorite for him and his family. “My family loves the school and how close to home it is,” Philpott told GT. “UF has been one of my favorite schools since I was a kid and I got a good offer to attend a great school with a great coaching staff.
Philpott didn’t take long to announce his commitment to Florida once he was offered. The Tampa native waited two days until he called the Florida coaching staff to let him know he was committing. “I had to reach out to a couple of family members and coaches,” said Philpott. “We knew it was a really good offer so we didn’t waste too much time.”
With all of the schools interested in Philpott, the two other schools that were recruiting the Sunshine State right-hander were South Carolina and Wake Forest. However, Philpott has found his future home at the University of Florida and is done with recruiting. “It feels really good and relieving,” Philpott said when asked about committing to Florida.
On the mound, Alex Philpott has a four-pitch mix that includes a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup. His fastball sits in the upper 80s and tops out at 90 mph. Both of his breaking pitches are in the mid-70s range. Philpott’s changeup is an upper 70s pitch with some depth.
