Senior second baseman Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.), senior right-hander Matt Campbell (Tampa, Fla.) and junior left-hander Nick Maronde (Lexington, Ky.) from the 2011 Gator baseball team each signed professional contracts this week.
Chosen by the Florida Marlins in the 13th round with the 403rd selection in June’s Major League Baseball Draft, Adams has been assigned to the Jamestown (N.Y.) Jammers of the New York-Penn League, the organization’s Class A short-season affiliate.
In his final campaign, Adams became just the fourth UF baseball player in school history to achieve All-SEC status in three different seasons, as he previously garnered first-team accolades in 2008 and 2009 before becoming a second-team recipient this year. He is now a member of an elite group that includes Mike Stanley (82-84-85), Marc Valdes (91-92-93) and Brad Wilkerson (96-97-98) after batting .351 with 21 RBI, 15 runs and eight extra-base hits (five doubles, three homers) in league action.
Adams closed a stellar career in style by earning second-team All-South recognition for the second time in his career after making the squad as a freshman in 2008. During his senior season, he hit .323 with 43 RBI, 34 runs, 11 doubles and six homers and finished his tenure in Gainesville as the school’s all-time leader in games played (253) and games started (252).
Boasting a career average of .305, Adams departs with his name found throughout the school’s career charts, as he is first in both double plays turned (152) and sacrifice bunts (27), tied for first in at bats with Mark Ellis (1996-99) (941), second in hits (287), third in assists (644), fifth in runs batted in (188) and total bases (437), tied for fifth in doubles (51) and is ninth in walks (122).
Taken in the 24th round with the 751st overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies, Campbell made 15 appearances for the Orange and Blue this season and was 0-0 with a 5.28 earned run average. He will be playing for Phillies’ squad in the Rookie Gulf Coast League. The righty collected 13 strikeouts in 15.1 innings and picked up his first career save against UNF on May 11. Campbell was drafted in 2010 by the Cincinnati Reds in the 43rd round.
The highest Gator draft pick this year, Maronde was chosen in the third round by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim with the 104th choice and has been assigned to the Orem (Utah) Owlz of the Pioneer League, the Angels’ rookie affiliate.
Florida’s leader with 36 appearances, the southpaw was 0-1 and registered a 2.09 ERA in ’11. Over 43 innings, Maronde totaled 55 strikeouts, issued nine walks, collected a pair of saves and was part of five shutouts. In addition, he limited opponents to a team-low .178 average, including a .086 performance with runners on base. The lefty threw two perfect innings in the Gators’ 8-4 victory over Texas in the opening round of the NCAA College World Series and appeared in six of UF’s 11 NCAA Tournament games.
Maronde had previously been picked in the 43rd round of the 2008 MLB Draft by Oakland. Over 79 career appearances at Florida, including 12 starts, the lefty was 5-2 with a 3.99 ERA and four saves and had 151 strikeouts in 130.2 innings.
