Brandon Neely is Headed to the Boston Red Sox

Florida Gators pitcher Brandon Neely is headed to the Boston Red Sox in the MLB Draft

Florida Gators pitcher Brandon Neely is headed to the Boston Red Sox / Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

Florida Gators right-handed pitcher Brandon Neely has been selected by the Boston Red Sox in the third round of the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft. Boston selected Neely with the 86th overall pick and is the second Gator to be taken in the draft.

On Sunday, pitcher/first baseman Jac Caglianone was taken sixth overall by the Kansas City Royals.

With their 3rd-round pick (No. 86 overall), the @RedSox select @GatorsBB right-handed pitcher Brandon Neely, No. 193 on the Top 250 Draft Prospects list.

Watch LIVE: https://t.co/tzt8Hes2Rj pic.twitter.com/JtUYowEP5t

— MLB Draft (@MLBDraft) July 15, 2024

Prior to the draft, MLB Pipeline ranked Neely as its No. 193 overall prospect in this year’s draft class. 

Despite a 5.13 ERA in 2024, a career-high, Neely has been heralded for his ability to step up in big moments throughout his collegiate career. 

In an elimination game against Oklahoma State during regional play, Neely took the mound out of the bullpen and pitched 5.2 innings of near-perfect play. In a season-high 101 pitches, he shut out the Cowboys with 11 strikeouts against only one hit.

He was named to the 2024 Stillwater Regional All-Tournament Team as a result. It was reminiscent of a strong performance in regional play the year before. 

In 2023, he was named to the Gainesville Regional All-Tournament team after putting up five total shutout innings across three total appearances. Two of his appearances came against Texas Tech in elimination games. 

Read Neely’s full scouting report on MLB.com below: 

Neely attended the same high school as Rockies prospect Zac Veen, who was a first-round pick in 2020, but went undrafted in 2021 and headed to the University of Florida. He established himself as a reliable reliever and thrived as the Gators closer in 2023, saving 13 games. He’s largely pitched in relief again in 2024, though he’s been given some opportunities to start, with mixed results, leaving his Draft outlook somewhat cloudy.

While most of his collegiate work has come out of the bullpen, many scouts think his best chance at the next level might be as a back-end starter. His bulldog mentality and toughness on the mound stand out more than any of his individual offerings, but he could have a complete starter’s repertoire. While his fastball has been up to 96-97 mph, it’s averaged around 93 mph but misses bats with it thanks to its ride, especially when it’s up in the zone. His slider is his go-to secondary pitch, and the mid-80s breaker can be a tight out pitch with power. He has a curve he doesn’t use, though some think it could be very effective and he mixes in a solid average upper-80s changeup.

Neely has never had pinpoint command but tends to be around the plate. Some teams may decide to send him out as a starter and see if something clicks, though he’s lacked the consistency to be seen as a sure-fire future rotation member. He doesn’t necessarily have the kind of plus out pitch teams like to see coming out of the pen. He does tend to step up in bigger moments, something teams considering him on Day 2 of the Draft might be banking on regardless of what role he has.

Neely is also the third overall Gator-related player to be taken. Following Caglianone, Florida shortstop commit Kellon Lindsey, the Gators’ top commit of the current class, was taken 23rd overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers.