GAINESVILLE, Fla.– After exhausting his collegiate eligibility and departing from the Florida Gators baseball program, outfielder Blake Cyr’s post-collegiate baseball career has officially begun.
Cyr, who spent two seasons at Florida, was taken in the 18th Round with the 548th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees, becoming the final Gator drafted and the lone graduating senior taken from UF.
After transferring from Miami, Cyr arrived at Florida in 2025 with high hopes but with a heavy heart after his father, Steve, passed away in 2024. He batted just .254 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs that season, underachieving after being a freshman All-American with the Hurricanes. Those struggles on and off the field fueled a bounce-back campaign as a senior in 2026.
Cyr batted a career-high .316 with 14 home runs, 15 doubles and 58 RBIs. His doubles total set a new career-high, while his home-run total and RBI total each were second-most in his career and second-most on the Gators. After Florida’s season-ending loss to Troy in the Gainesville Regional, Cyr reflected on his two-year stint with the Gators.
“I would just say I’m just so thankful for everything,” he said. “To all the coaches, the number one thing that I said was just, ‘Thank you for bringing me on, because like it means a lot to me, but it means a lot to my dad and my family to be able to be able to play for the University of Florida.’
“The amount of gratitude that I have for the whole university for just bringing me on here and being able to play here, I think that’s carrying more than the sadness of what’s going on. It’s just like I can’t believe that I ever even got to be able to put this uniform on. It really does mean the world.”
Cyr’s selection rounds out an impressive draft for the Gators, which saw six players and one high school signee selected. Pitcher Liam Peterson (Round 1, Pick 19 – Cleveland Guardians), outfielder Kyle Jones (Round 3, Pick 102 – Milwaukee Brewers), pitcher Russell Sandefer (Round 4, Pick 132 – Los Angeles Dodgers), pitcher Luke McNeillie (Round 5, Pick 152 – New York Mets) and outfielder Hayden Yost (Round 5, Pick 162 – Seattle Mariners) were all selected before Cyr and are expected to sign professional contracts.
The Gators also saw signee Kevin Roberts Jr. drafted by Baltimore in the Fourth Round on Saturday.
Sign up for our free Florida Gators newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news!
Add us as a preferred source on Google
