Matheu Nelson
American baseball player (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Matheu Adam Nelson (born January 14, 1999) is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He played college baseball for the Florida State Seminoles.
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| Matheu Nelson | |
|---|---|
Nelson with the Dayton Dragons in 2022 | |
| Free agent | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: January 14, 1999 Clearwater, Florida, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
Amateur career
Nelson grew up in Largo, Florida and attended Calvary Christian High School, where one of his coaches was Hall of Fame pitcher Roy Halladay until his death.[1] He was named the Pinellas County Player of the Year after batting .465 with five home runs, 14 doubles and 45 RBIs.[2] Nelson was selected in the 39th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, but opted not to sign with the team.[3]
Nelson batted .282 with six home runs and 29 RBI in 57 games as a freshman. After the 2019 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[4] Nelson hit .250 with a home run, 14 RBIs and 16 runs scored before his sophomore season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.[5] After the season was canceled, Nelson worked on his conditioning and lost 25 pounds.[6][7] As a junior in 2021, he started 53 of the Seminoles games and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Year after batting .330 with 17 doubles and a conference-leading 23 home runs.[8][9] His 23 home runs also tied for the most in NCAA Division I and were the most by a Florida State player since the introduction of the BBCOR standard for bats in 2011.[10] Nelson was also named the National Player of the Year by Perfect Game/Rawlings as well as a first team All-American by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and the NCBWA as a catcher and by Baseball America as a designated hitter and won the Buster Posey Award as the nation's best catcher.[11][12][13]
Professional career
Cincinnati Reds
Nelson was selected the 35th overall pick in the 2021 Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds.[14] Nelson signed with Cincinnati for a $2.1 million bonus.[15] He made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League Reds and was later promoted to the Dayton Dragons of the High-A Central.[16] Over ten games and 28 at-bats between the two affiliates, Nelson batted .179 with two doubles. He missed time during the season after being hit in the hand while batting.[17]
Nelson made 82 appearances for Dayton in 2022, hitting .219/.303/.364 with eight home runs, 24 RBI, and one stolen base.[18] He split the 2023 season between Dayton and the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts, batting a cumulative .229/.340/.437 with 21 home runs, 47 RBI, and six stolen bases across 101 total appearances.[19] Nelson returned to Chattanooga for the 2024 campaign, slashing .198/.328/.287 with four home runs and 21 RBI over 76 games.[20]
Nelson made 29 appearances for Double-A Chattanooga in 2025, hitting .088/.253/.138 with one home run and three RBI. Nelson was released by the Reds organization on July 21, 2025.[21]
Lake Country DockHounds
On January 6, 2026, Nelson signed with the Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association of Professional Baseball.[22] He was released by the DockHounds on May 18.[23]