It has been an up-and-down season for Florida baseball in 2021. The team started the schedule ranked first in the nation but quickly tumbled from the top after some shaky play in the early going. However, the squad has pulled together and made a strong push as the postseason grows near.
The story arc of UF’s star center fielder Jud Fabian has followed a similar trajectory this season. After a slow start and a few rough patches, the third-year sophomore has dialed it up over the past couple of months and now leads the Southeastern Conference in home runs while raising his batting average from the sub-Mendoza depths to a respectable .267 as of Wednesday.
The Florida Gators official baseball Twitter account posted a video of all 20 of Fabian’s home run swings on Tuesday. Here they are in all of their glory — how sweet is that stroke?
All 2️⃣0️⃣ SEC-leading home run hacks from @judfabe.#GoGators // 🐊⚾️ pic.twitter.com/MzCca8FzI8
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 18, 2021
While Florida’s immensely talented outfielder lost a bit of draft stock this season — coming into the year he was projected as a top-10 pick, if not top-5 — he has generated some inertia as the schedule wanes and a strong postseason showing could put him back into the first round. After all, he came to Gainesville early out of high school and is still only 20 years old.
Regardless of where he lands when he leaves, he is a big part of what makes this current baseball roster so special.
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