Florida Baseball’s Cyr Faces Former Team This Weekend

Miami transfer Blake Cyr is playing against his former team at his new home this weekend.

For many collegiate athletes growing up, they become passionate about one sport and work toward propelling their career. However, Cyr played a multitude of sports, not realizing baseball was his passion and ultimate career goal until seventh or eighth grade.

“[At this time] I kind of realized that baseball is a sport I wanted to play forever,” Cyr said. “So I just took on baseball, stopped playing every other sport and actually started to take it serious.”

Following this decision to continue the baseball path, Cyr got scouted. He first toured the University of Miami and committed there in eighth grade without looking at any other schools.

“Picking Miami was mainly just me being different,” Cyr said. “Everyone usually goes to Florida and Florida State. And they [Miami] have a history of being super good.”

Playing 85 games as a Hurricane during his freshman and sophomore years, he hit 34 home runs and had 84 RBIs. He was also on the 2023 All-ACC Freshman and Academic Team.

Entering Portal

Cyr’s decision to transfer was based on looking for a change.

“I just kind of wanted a fresh start,” Cyr said. “It was nothing to do with anything that happened down there.”

As Cyr entered the NCAA transfer portal, he knew he wanted to go to the SEC. Florida felt like the right place for him after visiting. Another aspect that resonated with him was the fact that his dad was a Florida fan before passing away.

“I always knew that UF might have been meant for me,” Cyr said. “With him passing, the opportunity to go to Florida and represent him, I thought was kind of cool.”

The Florida coaching staff was another deciding factor as meeting them was “too good to be true.”

So Far So Good

Cyr’s first season as a Gator has been nothing but great. He said he has the opportunity to do more things than just baseball, which helps give him breaks when needed.

“I love it,” Cyr said. “I wish I would have been here for all three years. I’m also more of a country boy. I get to take my dog out and hunt up here.”

After two full weeks of ball, Cyr has hit one homer, double and scored four runs. The only game he has not had a hit was during game three of the Dayton series.

This weekend marks the Florida vs. Miami baseball rivalry that dates back to 1940. Cyr will meet his old teammates and coaches again, but this time in orange and blue.

“I’m definitely excited to play against them,” Cyr said. “I’m glad that they come up here. It’s going to be a fun series,  just the history that I have with the staff and those guys.” 

In Florida’s Friday 6-2 win against the Hurricanes, Cyr had a single and a sacrifice bunt that led to a run and a 4-2 lead in the sixth.

Season Goals

Other than winning a national championship, Cyr looks forward to competing with a new staff and team in the SEC, a powerhouse in college baseball.

“Everybody talks about it,” Cyr said. “Even playing against SEC teams when I was in the ACC, you always knew that the SEC was the best conference.” 

Being a Gator allows him to have a clean slate and focus on experiencing every opportunity college offers. His ultimate goal is to play for a greater good.

“I think my biggest motivation for this year is I’m playing for something that’s more than just like myself,” Cyr said. 

Game Time

Game 2 of the series is set for a 4:30 p.m. start Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday on the SEC Network+ and on ESPN 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.