ORLANDO, Fla. – Former UCF shortstop Antonio Jiminez was selected by the New York Mets in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft on Sunday, continuing the program’s streak of having at least one player drafted every year since 1992.
Taken with the 102nd overall pick, Jiminez became the ninth highest player picked in the school’s history, the sixth to be selected in the third round of an MLB draft and the seventh Knight ever drafted by the Mets, UCF said in a news release.
UCF Knights ➡️ New York Mets
— UCF Baseball (@UCF_Baseball) July 14, 2025
Congratulations to SS Antonio Jimenez for getting drafted by the @Mets in the 3rd Round ‼️ pic.twitter.com/AX6kCatcuh
Jiminez earned second team All-Big 12 Conference honors in his sophomore year with UCF this season. He batted .329 with 11 home runs, 14 doubles, two triples, scored 55 runs and recorded 51 runs batted in.
Defensively, Jiminez started all 55 games at shortstop and finished the year with 71 putouts, 124 assists and a .961 fielding percentage. He helped UCF earn 52 double plays this season, the ninth most in the country.
Jiminez played his freshman year in Miami before transferring to UCF.