Tag: Kevin O’Sullivan

Florida baseball still figuring out Sunday starter with Coppola out

Left-hander Pierce Coppola is going to need a bit longer to get back to 100%, so who does Florida turn to on Sundays in the meantime?

The 1-2 punch of [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] and [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag] will lead Florida’s weekend rotation in 2023, but it’s going to take some time for the Gators to figure out who the third pitcher in the group will be with lefty sophomore [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] on the mend until conference play.

Gators head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] put the timeline for Coppola’s return out there on Monday during his first media availability of the preseason. Coppola, of course, started the 2022 season off as the Gators’ Sunday guy but had his season end after one start.

A bulging disc in his back that was already bothering him worsened quickly, and he had surgery on it. He’ll have to wait until the middle of March to get back out on the mound regularly, but Sully doesn’t seem to mind moving slowly on this one if it means keeping Coppola healthy.

“We’re just bringing Pierce along slowly,” O’Sullivan said. “Obviously, he didn’t play this summer. He pitched a very little bit this fall, so our goal with him is to get him to hopefully be at 100% by SEC play.”

In the meantime, O’Sullivan says the team has plenty of options to work with for the third starter spot. Guys like [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] are candidates to get a shot at the Sunday spot, and there’s plenty of competition on the mound.

“I think you’ll probably have to look at Jac (Caglianone),” he said. “You have to look at (Brandon) Neely. Neely had a good freshman year. You know, Slater. (Phillip) Abner’s been throwing the ball better. We’ve got a lot of options, but I think the biggest thing is the next week or so is important. We’ve got to figure out who’s going to be that Sunday starter.”

Caglianone is coming off of Tommy John surgery during his senior year of high school. He returned to action in the second half of last season but stayed in the designated hitter spot to protect his arm. Now that he’s throwing from the mound again (and topping out in the upper 90s), Florida hopes to use him as a starter regularly.

“It’s really hard to bring a guy in the middle of a game and long relief, and honestly, if we’re going to be as good as we want to be, (Caglianone)’s going to have to pitch significant innings for us,” he said. “He’s just too talented to not run him out there as much as you can.

“There will be some growing pains because it’s been since I think May of his senior year that he’s actually pitched in a real competitive game other than the two fall games we had. You don’t have many players that can hit the baseball over 100 mph and throw close to 100 on the mound. They just don’t come around very often.”

[autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] had a strong freshman year and is one of the other names O’Sullivan mentioned. He made 21 appearances, including 10 starts, in 2022, finishing the year with a 3.76 ERA  and 74 strikeouts and just 20 walks. He could emerge as a strong weekday starter, too.

[autotag]Phillip Abner[/autotag] could also get some looks on the mound after starting a game last year and making 26 total appearances for Florida. His 8.06 ERA left a lot to be desired and wasn’t making too many batter swing and miss, but he should take a step forward after a year in the league.

O’Sullivan obviously feels the pressure to figure out who his third starter is, but Florida can afford to give everyone a shot while Coppola is on the mend. They have an answer for the second half of the season, so it might be better to see what everyone’s got rather than establishing a starter and moving him out of that routine.

Florida’s first three-game series begins on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. EST against Charleston Southern.

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5-star QB commit could be a two-sport athlete for Florida

5-star quarterback DJ Lagway wants to continue his baseball career at Florida, but football will always come first.

Florida’s quarterback of the future, 2024 five-star Willis signal caller [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag], might also be a future baseball star for the Gators.

Schools recruited Lagway for both sports throughout high school. He picked up baseball offers from well-established programs such as LSU, Oklahoma and Texas A&M before committing to Florida for football, and the assumption is that he’ll end up playing for baseball head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s squad at some point.

During his most recent visit to the Swamp, Lagway followed up a day of football activities with a day at Condron Family Ballpark, according to Jacob Rudner of 247Sports. He got to check out the Gators’ practice and scrimmage before and even had a lengthy talk with Sully. The two speak often and are familiar with each other, but the plan right now is for Lagway to prioritize football before figuring out what his role on the baseball team might be.

His path to the diamond might be similar to freshman quarterback [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag]’s. He recently joined the baseball team this spring after missing fall practices to be with the football team. When spring practices start, football will again be the priority.

“We’ll see what it looks like after I get there but the way (Brown) did it could be how it works for me,” Lagway said.

Lagway wants to be a pitcher for Florida but also says that left field could be a spot for him depending on his arm. It’s unclear what Brown or Lagway’s role on O’Sullivan’s club will be when the time comes, but it’s clear that head football coach Billy Napier is willing to work with student-athletes that want to keep playing baseball.

Lagway is ranked at No. 24 overall on the 247Sports composite and is at No. 4 among quarterbacks in the class of 2024. Perfect Game has him ranked as the No. 312 overall outfielder in his class.

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Billy Napier prioritized this 2024 5-star QB recruit last weekend

The Gators made a big impression on one of the best of the next crop of recruits.

The biggest weekend of [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s tenure to date has come and gone. Recruits from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes spent the past few days in Gainesville, with most participating in the Gators’ annual Friday Night Lights recruiting event and Saturday’s cookout event organized by the Florida staff.

One player who received a significant amount of attention was 2024 5-star quarterback DJ Lagway. The Houston area native was given extra special attention, as 247Sports reported that Lagway had several staffers with him at all times, with head coach Napier and offensive analyst/quarterbacks coach [autotag]Ryan O’Hara[/autotag] making an effort to spend time with the No.3 passer in the 2024 class — even going so far to say that he reminds them of current Gators’ current starter [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag].

This was Lagway’s second visit to Gainesville, and the fact that he spent the entire weekend getting to know the environment that Napier and his staff are creating was a big deal. Another thing that plays well in the Orange and Blue’s favor is how strong of a baseball program the Gators field. Lagway has previously expressed his desire to play both football and baseball collegiately, and head coach [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] believes Lagway can be someone who can help Florida on the diamond.

If Florida fans expect to be cheering Lagway in the fall, spring & summer, they’ll have to hope both Napier and Sully fight other top-tier programs for the 6-foot-2, 225-pound right-hander. Lagway currently holds offers from programs such Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and many more.

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2022 MLB Draft: Tracking every UF player/signee selected

Follow along for complete and total coverage of the 2022 MLB draft as it pertains to Florida Gators.

The 2022 MLB draft kicked off Sunday night and 80 of the finest prep and college players in the country heard their names called.

Day 2 kicked off on Monday, July 18, at 2 p.m. with coverage of Rounds 3-10, and then Day 3 begins Tuesday at the same time for the final 10 rounds. Gators Wire will be tracking every Florida player drafted, including those who have only signed a letter of intent and have yet to play a game at Condron Family Ballpark.

Four Gators heard their names called on Sunday: incoming first baseman [autotag]Xavier Isaac[/autotag], outfielder [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag], left-handed pitcher [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] and outfielder [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag]. All are expected to sign deals with the clubs that drafted them, but that might not be the case for those selected on Day 2 or 3.

Entering Day 2, [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] has produced 97 draft picks under his tutelage in Gainesville. He should hit 100 by the end of the draft.

Check back here throughout the draft to stay up to date with all of the moves that concern the orange and blue.

Florida baseball adds key arm through transfer portal

Billy Napier’s group wasn’t the only team at UF making noise in the transfer portal on Thursday.

There’s a good chance Florida baseball loses both [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] and [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] to the MLB draft in the next 10 days, but [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag]’s latest move might make that blow hurt less than expected. [autotag]Hurston Waldrep[/autotag], Southern Mississippi’s Sunday starter for most of 2022 who entered the transfer portal after a breakout season, committed to the orange and blue on Thursday, according to Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball.

Waldrep was a key member of one of the nation’s top pitching staffs last year. The Golden Eagles finished second among all Division I programs in earned run average (3.29), strikeouts per nine innings (11.3) and strikeout to walk ratio (4.22). Waldrep ended his sophomore campaign with an ERA of 3.20, 140 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.16 over 90 innings of work in 17 starts.

Although he played in Conference USA, Waldrep’s final two games came against SEC opponents. He racked up double-digit strikeouts in both NCAA Tournament outings — 11 against LSU in the regional round and 12 against Ole Miss in the super regionals. He’s also teammates with [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] on the USA collegiate national team.

A rising junior, Waldrep has a chance to be the Friday night starter at Florida if Barco and Sproat do end up leaving. Assuming those in the transfer portal end up leaving, [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag], [autotag]Pierce Coppola[/autotag] and [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag] are the expected returning starters. Waldrep likely starts the season ahead of all of those names and Barco won’t be ready for opening day anyway if he does return.

This is Sully’s third pick-up through the transfer portal after adding Coastal Carolina infielder [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag] and Mercer outfielder [autotag]Colby Thomas[/autotag]. The Gators will likely add another name or two through the portal when all is said and done. Follow all of Florida’s transfer portal actions with our tracker for more on those two.

Waldrep features a fastball, curveball and changeup. The fastball tops out around 95-96 mph with reports of it touching 98 mph, but he sat around 92-93 mph with Team USA a week ago.

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Tracking Florida baseball’s 2022 transfer portal movement

It could be a busy offseason for Florida baseball in the transfer portal. Here are the latest moves being made.

It could be a busy offseason for the Florida Gators in the transfer portal, including additions and subtractions from the 2022 team. A few players have made their intentions to depart known early and the Gators are expected to at least compete for some of the top talent in the portal (yes, Tommy White is still an option but FSU is the favorite).

[autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] tested the waters a year ago by bringing in catcher [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] and that worked out beautifully. Riopelle was an All-SEC First Team selection and is now expected to return, according to Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre. It’s worth pursuing some more talent after a success like that, and Florida will have holes after losing [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] and [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] among others to the draft and graduation.

Florida did have 16 new faces join the team last year with all but one being freshmen, so some were bound to transfer out. Gators Wire will keep track of those roster movements as they come in and keep an eye on where they land.

It will be interesting to see just how much Florida utilizes the portal this offseason. The new rules changed the game immediately for football and basketball, but it seems that baseball is just now catching up.

Florida’s Brandon Sproat unsure about future, ponders MLB draft

Gator Nation would love for Brandon Sproat to return for another run in the Orange and Blue, but is that the best choice for his career?

Sophomore right-hander [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] left everything on the field this season for the Florida Gators. He capped off his sophomore campaign with a career-high 114 pitches over seven innings against Central Michigan in the opening round of the NCAA regionals.

[autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] opted against bringing in Sproat following the rain delay that allowed Oklahoma to come back and claim the victory three days later. The Sooners sent their ace out there to close it out, and Sproat walked out to the mound and crouched to take in the moment.

Was this his final time wearing the Orange and Blue?

How could it be with the team falling six outs short of making it to the next stage and giving Sproat another chance to win the first game of a best of three?

Well, the MLB is calling and Sproat is draft eligible. After being selected in the seventh round out of Pace High School in 2019, his stock has only risen. He can touch the high-90s and his starting to show just how deep he can go into games. MLB.com recently included him in a list of college draft prospects on the rise, and that article was published before Sproat showed his stuff against CMU.

“One of the most intriguing pitchers in the Draft, Sproat has a big-time arm but a limited performance track record. He turned in one of his best outings of the season against South Carolina in Hoover, though. Sproat allowed a run on four hits over 8 1/3 innings, striking out seven against one walk. He had not lasted more than 6 2/3 innings in any previous start and had walked multiple batters in seven of his previous 10 starts.

Ranked No. 112 (roughly a fourth-round projection) on MLB.com’s draft tracker, Sproat can head to the minors and continue to establish that track record. Or, he can return to Florida and settle some unfinished business.

He did just see [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] turn down a second-round contract from the Boston Red Sox a year ago to return for another year. It’s certainly not out of the cards. Sproat quote tweeted a post from Nick de la Torre of Gators Online and claimed that he was unsure of what the future held. He also took the opportunity to thank the Gators faithful for always supporting him.

A farewell makes the most sense, but there’s a lot to support the idea of returning for another season. It all depends on where he’s taken this summer. The projections are sure to change over the next month and a half, and Sproat could continue to move up those rankings. A fourth or fifth round offer is easier to turn down than a second or third round offer.

Whatever happens, Sproat’s contribution to the team won’t be forgotten. Especially when he and [autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] called off Sully in the seventh to let him finish the inning against Central Michigan. That’s the kind of intangible you want to see from an MLB prospect, and let’s face it, calling off Sully takes some guts to pull off.

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Game Preview: Florida faces off in regional rubber match against Oklahoma

These Gators sure have a flair for the dramatic, huh? Florida baseball faces off with Oklahoma for the third time in three days to determine which club heads to the Super Regionals.

Florida took care of both Central Michigan and Oklahoma on Sunday to force a third and final game with the Sooners on Monday to decide which team continues their season in the Super Regional round of the NCAA Baseball Championship Tournament.

The Gators won’t have [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag] on the mound Monday to go nine innings against OU, but the freshman’s clutch outing has the momentum firmly on UF’s side. At a certain point on Sunday, the Sooners looked perplexed as they continued to pop up Finnvold’s high 70s to low 80s stuff without changing their swings. That kind of funk carries over in a tournament like this, especially as pitching depth gets stretched further and further.

After using both [autotag]Timmy Manning[/autotag] and Finnvold on Sunday, Florida is essentially out of starters with decent experience. [autotag]Anthony Ursitti[/autotag] gave up six earned runs the last time he was on the mound against Alabama, and [autotag]Garrett Milchin[/autotag] hasn’t made a start since [autotag]Nick Pogue[/autotag] took over the No. 3 spot. It might fall on one of them Monday, but the bullpen is sure to work most of the ballgame barring another miraculous pitching performance.

The good news is Florida’s best hitters are hitting. [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] went yard twice in the late game Sunday, and [autotag]Wyatt Langford [/autotag]hit a pair of long balls in the early matchup. That puts Fabian at 24 homers for the year and Langford at 25, which is good enough for the Nos. 2 and 3 spots in the school’s single-season record book.

[autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] has been on another planet since regionals started, hitting 8-for-14 so far through the four games. It also comes right after a 4-for-25 slump in the conference tournament, so [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] is really enjoying having his bat back.

First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT at Condron Family Ballpark on Monday.

Finnvold hurls full 9 innings to force regional final rematch with Oklahoma

Florida baseball is one win away from a Super Regional berth after Carsten Finnvold led the Gators to victory over Oklahoma.

True freshman [autotag]Carsten Finnvold[/autotag] pitched the game of his life Sunday to give Florida another chance at extending their season on Monday. The lefty came in relief for the Gators during the very first inning, but he’d close out the game for the Orange and Blue, throwing 116 pitches along the way. UF came out on top, 7-2, and will play Oklahoma again on Monday to decide which club heads to the Super Regionals.

[autotag]Timmy Manning[/autotag] got the ball to start the game after proving himself against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament, but [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] pulled him before he recorded an out Sunday night. In Sully’s defense, Manning loaded the bases on 11 pitches (hit by pitch, two walks) and losing this game would mean an end to the Gators’ 2022 campaign.

“I knew this had the potential to be our last game,” Finnvold said. “So, I just really wanted to give my team a chance to win and try to keep the score close and strand the runners where they were.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Finnvold came out and worked his way out of the bases-loaded jam by forcing three-straight balls in the air. Pop-ups and flyouts would become a theme in this one for Finnvold, who recorded just one strikeout through six innings of work. That didn’t matter much though as he stayed perfect through the next four innings.

Trouble came in the sixth, but Finnvold had a lead to work with after [autotag]Jud Fabian[/autotag] hit a home run (No. 23) in the fourth and Jac Caglianone drove in [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] in the fifth. Oklahoma strung together four-straight hits (three singles, one double) against him but it was all weak contact that scored just two runs. That’s one of the benefits of topping out in the mid-80s, opposing batters have less velocity to turn around.

[autotag]BT Riopelle[/autotag] drove in Thompson to give Florida the lead right back in the top of the seventh, and, surprisingly, Finnvold returned for the final three innings of the ball game. He cruised through those nine outs and even managed to rack up three more strikeouts to bring his total to four on the evening.

“To (Oklahoma’s) credit, they’re a really great ball club,” Finnvold said. “A really great swinging team, a really great pitching team. I just needed to hit my spots and execute pitches in big situations.”

Fabian kicked off a four-run eighth that effectively put the game away with another home run (No. 24 for Jud). [autotag]Josh Rivera[/autotag], [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] and [autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] scored thanks to some sloppy defense by the Sooners.

Finnvold closed it out, and thank god he did because [autotag]Kris Armstrong[/autotag] was warming up in the bullpen, according to Nick de la Torre. He hasn’t pitched since his freshman year in 2019 and Florida already blew one five-run lead earlier in the day.

Florida faces one more elimination game on Monday at 1 p.m. with a Super Regional berth on the line.

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Game Preview: Florida baseball looking to down Oklahoma, advance to regional championship game

The last time Brandon Neely was on the mound for the Gators, Florida was mercy ruled. Here’s hoping things go differently this time around against Oklahoma.

Florida made it past Central Michigan on Friday thanks to a dominant outing from [autotag]Brandon Sproat[/autotag] on the mound to outduel the Chippewas’ ace, Andrew Taylor. The Gators won that game 7-3 and earned the right to face Oklahoma on the winners’ side of the bracket for a shot at the regional final.

If Florida takes this game against OU, the Gators will face the winner of Oklahoma and whoever wins the Saturday matinee between Liberty and Central Michigan. If UF loses, the team will play in that early game for a chance to rematch with Oklahoma.

With Sproat used up, [autotag]Kevin O’Sullivan[/autotag] will turn to freshman [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag] on the bump. Neely has stepped into the role nicely since joining the rotation against Arkansas and moving into the No. 2 spot once [autotag]Hunter Barco[/autotag] went down. Barco, since we’re talking about him, could be seen on the bench encouraging Sproat with a full arm brace. It appears the Tommy John surgery was a success.

Back to Neely, though. He seemed to hit his stride in the final game of the regular season against South Carolina, striking out 10 and hurling seven scoreless innings. Facing Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament, the first time around, was a different story, though. Neely left after 4 1/3 innings and three earned runs. The Gators would get mercy rules and have flipped a switch since.

If Neely has another short outing, the bullpen is ready to go. [autotag]Nick Ficarrotta[/autotag] is coming off an impressive 6 1/3-inning, 90+ pitch outing against Alabama in the conference tournament, and [autotag]Blake Purnell[/autotag] is available to eat some innings too. Winning this game is crucial because whoever loses will have to play two on Sunday to force a final tiebreaker game on Monday.

Offensively, [autotag]Sterlin Thompson[/autotag] broke out of his little slump with a game-tying solo shot in the third Friday night and [autotag]Colby Halter[/autotag] went big fly to put the Gators out front. Those were two of the hottest bats for Florida at the start of the season (Thompson has been good all year), so it’s good to see them going.

[autotag]Wyatt Langford[/autotag] struggled against CMU, going 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. Chalk that up to some nerves or pressure and expect him to bounce back against Oklahoma. [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag] continues to be the best non-redshirt decision of Sully’s lifetime. He drove in three on a pair of hits Friday, and fellow freshman [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] has also been a difference-maker at the plate and in the field.

Oklahoma is a good team. They beat up on Liberty en route to a 16-3 victory, and Gator Nation isn’t forgetful of the fact that the Flames took two of three to start UF’s season off sour. If Neely and Co. can keep the Sooners’ offense at bay, the Gators should have a chance to win this game.