The grass is cut, the lights on the scoreboard have been replaced and it’s time once again to begin another Florida Gators baseball season.
UF starts its season with a weekend series at home against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers, and it will be a chance for the Gators to see how the new-look starting rotation fares against a beatable opponent. Gone is [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] after being selected in the second round of the 2022 MLB draft, but head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] has reloaded with Southern Miss and Preseason All-American [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag]. Not to mention Florida’s retention of last year’s No. 2, [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag], despite a third-round selection in the draft.
Two-way sophomore [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], who spent the second half last season as the team’s designated hitter, should get the Sunday start. It’ll be his first competitive game back on the mound since undergoing Tommy John surgery as a senior in high school.
On offense, all eyes are on projected first-round pick [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag]. The Gators’ left fielder tied the team’s season record for home runs a season ago and led Florida in nearly every major offensive statistic. He’ll be the biggest bat in the lineup this year, but there are plenty of others that can hit on the team.
Catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag], shortstop [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag] and third baseman [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] all return despite interest from the pros. They’ll be looked at as the leaders of the team early.
Finally, there are the freshmen. As usual, Florida has an incredibly strong freshman class on the roster and they are most likely to get playing time early in the year. Fans could be seeing some of the future this weekend.