BASEBALL: Former Venice standout Guscette signs with Braves as NDFA

Former Venice High baseball standout Mac Guscette on Wednesday signed with the Atlanta Braves as an undrafted free agent.

Guscette is coming off a strong senior season at Alabama, where he was a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award as the nation’s top collegiate catcher.

During his time at Venice, Guscette was a key cog in Venice’s back-to-back state championships in 2018 and 2019. In 2020, he was in the mix for the Sun Preps baseball player of the year but the pandemic ended the season prematurely and no award was given.

He committed to Florida before the start of his senior year at Venice and spent the first two seasons of his college career with the Gators. In limited action as a freshman, Guscette batted .298 with three doubles across 21 games, including 16 starts.

His sophomore year saw his playing time increase to 36 games, but he struggled to find himself at the plate for much of the year before coming alive in postseason play.

Guscette went 25 days — from May 3 to May 28 — without a hit, but became a key presence in the lineup for the SEC Tournament, going 4-for-12 with three runs and five RBI, including a double and a home run as the Gators finished as runners-up to Tennessee.

He stayed hot for the NCAA Tournament, with a hit in each of the four games he played — three against Oklahoma and one against Central Michigan. He went 4-for-16 with a run and two RBI, including a solo home run in the first game against the Sooners.

In all, Guscette finished his sophomore season batting .238 with 15 runs, 25 hits, four doubles, five home runs, 18 RBI, eight walks and 10 strikeouts in 36 games played. Struggling to get on the field consistently with the Gators, Guscette decided to enter the transfer portal, landing at SEC rival Alabama for his final two seasons, where he blossomed.

As the primary catcher with the Crimson Tide in 2023, Guscette saw action in 48 games, including 43 starts, batting .260 with five doubles and nine home runs. He also displayed his prowess behind the plate, posting a .995 fielding percentage with just two errors. Once again, he saved his best for the postseason, patting .455 with a home run, five RBI, four runs scored and a walk to earn a spot on the Tuscaloosa Regional All-Tournament team.

Finally as a senior, Guscette was able to start fast at the plate and stay hot. In 50 games (47 starts), Guscette batted .321 with seven doubles and four home runs, driving in 39 runs and scoring 34 while drawing 10 walks and was hit-by-pitch a whopping 19 times.

He had hitting streaks of six and seven games during the regular season and maintained his lofty .995 fielding percentage, which earned him a spot on prospect boards going into this week’s Major League Baseball draft.

His first assignment is not yet know, but he likely will start play close to home with Atlanta’s affiliate in the Florida Complex League, which plays at CoolToday Park in Wellen Park.