UCF Knights shortstop Antonio Jimenez heard his name called on Night 1 of the 2025 MLB Draft.
The Miami (FL) transfer was selected late in the third round with the 102nd overall pick by the New York Mets.
With Jimenez’s selection, UCF’s streak of having at least one player drafted every year since 1992 remains alive. He is the sixth Knights shortstop to get drafted, the first since Alex Freeland was taken by the Dodgers in 2022, even getting selected just three picks earlier.
The Davie native is the Knights’ highest MLB Draft selection since Eric Skoglund was drafted 92nd overall by the Kansas City Royals in 2014 and also joins Skoglund to become the 11th Knight drafted in the Top 3 rounds in program history.
The Mets are no stranger to drafting UCF players, though it has been a while. Jimenez marks the seventh Knight drafted by them in team history but he is the first since the 2011 selection of pitcher Chasen Bradford, who made his MLB debut with the team on June 22, 2017. UCF Hall of Famer Drew Butera was drafted by the Mets in 2005, but never played for them in The Show, as he was traded to the Minnesota Twins two years later.
Outlook
Jimenez’s selection points to the Mets throwing another hat in the ring for their shortstop of the future, or at the very least one to have in the wings. Current starter Francisco Lindor may be starting in his fifth career All-Star appearance this summer and is locked down until 2032 on a 10-year deal, but he is also 31 years old and has been in The Show since 2015.
Currently, six of the Mets’ Top 50 prospects are labeled as shortstops, including their #1 prospect Jett Williams, who plays both shortstop and outfield. However, #8 prospect Elian Pena is the only one of the six labeled as a pure shortstop, while half of them reside on the Mets’ Rookie and Single-A affiliates.