Former Trenton and University of Florida standout Wyatt Langford made history in Sunday night’s Major League Baseball Draft. 

Langford was taken fourth overall by the Texas Rangers—the second-highest a Gator baseball player had been taken in the history of the draft. 

The 21-year-old slugger is coming off a second straight standout season for the Gators. A year after tying UF’s single-season home run record, Langford hit .373 with 21 home runs and a .498 on base percentage while leading the Gators to within a game of a national title.

Some draft projections showed Langford going as high as No. 1, but the Pittsburgh Pirates chose LSU ace Paul Skenes as the top pick. The Washington Nationals then took LSU outfielder Dylan Crews, and the Detroit Tigers surprisingly selected Indiana high schooler Max Clark at No. 3.

Langford was the first player from Trenton to sign to play baseball with the Gators. He helped lead the Tigers to a state baseball title as a freshman in 2017, while also winning a football state title as an eighth-grader in 2015 as the Tigers went a perfect 14-0. He also was named to the FHSAA Class 1A All-State second team as a freshman linebacker in 2016. 

But his future was always in baseball. As an 8th-grader in 2016 he led the Tigers in batting average at .359 and on base percentage at .481. Then as a freshman the following season he helped lead Trenton to the state title, batting .391 with a .496 OBP, and tied for the team lead with 34 runs scored and second with eight doubles. 

Langford also won the 2019 Perfect Game National Home Run Derby and was named the No. 144 overall prospect from Perfect Game in 2020. 

Langford’s selection makes him the area’s second No. 4 overall professional pick in the last three months. In April, the Indianapolis Colts made Eastside grad and UF quarterback Anthony Richardson the No. 4 pick in the NFL draft.

Editor’s note: This is a developing story and will be updated.