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Jackson Castellano is the Baseball contributor for ChompTalk. He is a student at the University of Florida, studying sports media journalism. Contact Jackson Castellano at jaxcastellano@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter @jaxacastellano.
  • BSB: Three hits from Florida’s upset weekend over Texas

    BSB: Three hits from Florida’s upset weekend over Texas

    Photo by John Byrum | Getty Images

    Tuesday after Florida’s loss against USF, head coach Kevin O’Sullivan was unbothered. He’d already turned his attention to the weekend, where his squad had the chance to grab hold of a serious opportunity on the road against the then-top ranked Texas Longhorns.

    “We’ve been playing playoff baseball,” O’Sullivan said. “This weekend will be no different. I think they have learned their lesson with the urgency we’ve got to play with. I just want them to finish.”

    Florida did that just that, finishing off the Longhorns 4-1 Sunday after an 8-2 win Friday to take a massive weekend series against the now-No. 3 team in the county.

    Rank and file

    Florida hasn’t seen the Top 25 rankings on any outlet in a long time after its 1-11 SEC start. Last week, Baseball America included the Gators again, but they didn’t get the nod from D1Baseball. This week, Florida is No. 23 in the D1Baseball poll and was jumped up to No. 13 by Baseball America.

    King’s reign

    True freshman Aidan King has been solid all year for the Gators after transitioning into a starting role after the Miami series. But Sunday’s win is the best of his career so far.

    King went seven innings without allowing a run, giving up just two hits and tossing a career-high nine strikeouts. His effort was enough for the win and to be named SEC Freshman of the Week, his third weekly conference award of the season.

    The right-hander from Jacksonville has relied mostly on his upper-mid 90s fastball, but his secondary pitches have grown into a real part of his arsenal. His splitter looks like a riding fastball from King’s near-overhead arm slot before falling off the table. It profiles very much like the pitch that turned Hurston Waldrep into one of the nation’s best pitchers and a highly outed MLB prospect in 2023.

    “Yeah, I don’t remember a freshman pitching on the road like this and pitching as well as he did, and if it has happened, it hasn’t happened in a long time,” O’Sullivan said.

    Playoff push

    With the Gators finally reaching the 13 SEC wins benchmark, especially against the No. 1 team in the country, they will certainly make a 17th consecutive NCAA tournament.

    Even more important is that the season isn’t over. Florida has the 13th best RPI in the county. Next week the Gators host Alabama, ranked eighth in RPI, this weekend in the regular season finale. Then they’ll head to Hoover for the SEC tournament. If the Gators can win the series against Alabama and pick up one or two wins in Hoover, they’ll be firmly in the conversation to host a regional. It would be an unprecedented turnaround from the start of conference play.

    “We have to finish,” O’Sullivan said. “I feel good about this group. We just need to play the brand of baseball that we’ve been playing for the past month.”

    Florida hosts Alabama May 15 at 6:30 p.m. and will stream on ESPN SEC Network+.

  • LAX: Gators Survive, Advance Past Stanford in 2OT Thriller

    LAX: Gators Survive, Advance Past Stanford in 2OT Thriller

    Photo by Andrew Wevers | Getty Images

    With just 1:35 remaining on the clock in the second overtime period, Florida junior midfielder Kaitlyn Davies fired a shot on net in heavy traffic and got a magical bounce to send the Gators past Stanford and into the NCAA’s Elite Eight. Florida completed the 13-12 win despite heavy rain and a vicious comeback bid by the Cardinal.

    For the Gators (19-2), this is the fourth quarterfinal appearance in the last five years, including last year’s run to the Final Four.

    Since the program’s inception in 2010, Florida has advanced to the quarters seven times. They will be seeking their third trip to the Final Four.

    How It Happened:

    Stanford got the scoring started with a goal just over two minutes into the game. Florida, however, answered with a pair of goals off the sticks of Jordan Basso (33) and Gianna Monaco (70). The Cardinal evened it up at two before the end of the first period of play.

    The Gators opened the second quarter with three straight goals to take a 5-2 advantage. Basso scores two of those (35) while Josie Hahn added one with the assist from sister Frannie Hahn. Stanford scored two more before freshman Clark Hamilton (52) added another before the halftime break to make it 6-4.

    The Gators were largely outplayed in the third quarter as Stanford forced several turnovers in the offensive end. The Cardinal erupted for five goals while only allowing the Gators a pair. Stanford entered the fourth frame with a 9-8 lead and momentum from scoring the final three goals of the third.

    The start of the fourth quarter belonged to Davies. She evened the score at 9-9 just :39 into the fourth. :59 later, Basso (36) gave the Gators a 10-9 lead. But the fireworks didn’t stop there. Just eight seconds later, Davies scored again (48) to put Florida up by two.

    The Gators then went up by three less than two minutes later as Davies (49) found the back of the net again.  Florida appeared to be in cruise control from there.

    However, the Cardinal weren’t done, yet. Stanford came all the way back with three straight goals by the end of regulation. Largely, Florida’s turnovers led to opportunities that Stanford overcame.

    Both teams has an opportunity in the first overtime, but Florida turned the ball over late in their possession and relyed on a defensive stop to force another period of play.

    In the double-overtime period, UF gained possession with a draw control by Josie Hahn. A foul deep in the offensive end sent Monaco to the free position line with the win just one shot away. Monaco’s free position shot was wide but ended up in Frannie Hahn’s possession off the loose ball. Hahn got it to Davies who took a shot that struck Stanford GK Lucy Pearson’s thigh. Pearson’s stick then hit the ball backwards towards the net. The Gators celebrated and the officials pointed to the sky to signal a goal. Review wasn’t conclusive enough to say “no goal” and the Gators were declared winners.

    The Gators turned the ball over fifteen times but won the draw control battle, 16-14. Davies finished with five goals while Basso added four more. Monaco (2) and Basso (1) completed the scoring for Florida.

    Up Next:

    Florida will remain at home for their Elite 8 contest with Duke. The Blue Devils defeated No. 5 seed Virginia 17-9 to advance. Duke is 14-5 overall on the season and went 6-3 in the ACC.

  • LAX: Gators Defeat Mercer to Advance in NCAA Tournament

    LAX: Gators Defeat Mercer to Advance in NCAA Tournament

    Photo by Andrew Wevers | Getty Images

    The No. 4 Florida Gators advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 18-6 defeat of Mercer in Friday’s post-season opener.

    For Florida, it was their fifteenth straight win, improving to 18-2 overall on the season.

    Junior attacker Gianna Monaco scored a Career-High seven goals and added an assist to the ledger. She has recorded seventeen goals in her last three outings.

    Monaco opened the scoring with 9:33 remaining in the first quarter and the Gators never looked back, going wire to wire for the win.

    The Gators commanded a 4-2 lead following one period, much closer than anticipated, but rattled off a 8-0 run in the second period that gave Florida a 12-2 advantage.

    Through three quarters, Florida managed a 15-4 lead. Freshman Gabby Greene scored late in the period on a feed from Frannie Hahn, who recorded her 55th assist of the season, a program record.

    Florida completed the win with a pair of goals in the fourth by Monaco and another tally from  Jenny Markey.

    In total, three players (Kaitlyn Davies, Greene, and Gabby Koury) found the back of the net twice while five more (Jordan Basso, Josie Hahn, Celeste Forte, Clark Hamilton, and Ava Tighe) scored a goal.

    In the net, Elyse Finnelle recoded five saves before giving way to Georgia Hoey (2 saves) and Susan Radebaugh.

    Florida improved to 7-0 all time in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament with the win.

    The Gators will take on Stanford in the second round. The game will take place at Dizney Stadium in Gainesville with the opening draw set for 11:00 AM on Sunday.

  • BSB: Gators upset No. 1 Texas in series opener

    BSB: Gators upset No. 1 Texas in series opener

    Photo by Samuel Lewis | Getty Images

    Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan has talked about playing with a sense of urgency. After Tuesday’s 7-1 loss to USF, he took solace in the fact that his players had learned to do so over the course of a 10-2 SEC rebound which put the Gators firmly in playoff contention ahead of a series against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns.

    “We’ve been playing playoff baseball for the last month,” he said. “So this weekend will be no different. I think they’ve learned over the last month the urgency that we have to play with.”

    That urgency came through Friday in Florida’s (34-17, 12-13 SEC) 8-2 win against Texas (39-9, 19-6 SEC). With Gators’ ace Liam Peterson and freshman flamethrower Aidan King still available, a potential series win against the No. 1 poll and RPI team in the nation on Saturday or Sunday would essentially guarantee a playoff berth and put Florida in the conversation to host a regional if it performed well against No. 23 Alabama and in the SEC Tournament.

    Florida took off with a six-run first inning that would secure it the win regardless of the future ongoings. Hayden Yost and Ty Evans, who’ve been resurgent and key factors to the Gators’ success in the past two weeks, accounted for three of the six innings. Yost also scored Evans in the fourth for Florida’s eight and final run of the game.

    Pierce Coppola, in his second appearance since returning from injury, kept a scoreless resume since his return and added another inning as an opener. He executed the plan to perfection, keeping runs off the board and staying under 45 pitches. He struck out three but once again hit two batters.

    Perhaps the biggest factor in the win is bullpen management. Yes, Florida had to go to Luke McNeillie when Jackson Barberi couldn’t pick up behind an excellent scoreless four innings behind Billy Barlow, but the Gators got a productive close from Christian Rodriguez. That keeps Jake Clemente, Matthew Jenkins, Alex Philpott and Rodriguez and Barberi, who only threw 18 and 14 pitches respectively, available for the weekend. Caden McDonald also should be available.

    Florida will seek a massive series win tomorrow at 2 p.m. on ESPN SEC Network+.

  • BSB: Gators unravel versus Bulls, spoil perfect home midweek record

    BSB: Gators unravel versus Bulls, spoil perfect home midweek record

    Photo by Samuel Lewis | Getty Images

    Fresh off a fourth-straight weekend series win and with a matchup against the No. 1 team in the country looming, Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan opted to take stock on his bullpen arms, cycling through nine pitchers Tuesday against USF. To his dismay and worry, they put up a poor showing, and without any run support, Florida spoiled its perfect home midweek record.

    The Gators (33-17, 11-13 SEC) fell to USF (25-21, 12-9 AAC) 7-1 Wednesday night in a loss that dampened Florida’s momentum headed into a road bout versus Texas. Florida gave up 13 hits to the Bulls and could only get three itself.

    “It was just one of those nights,” said O’Sullivan, who seemed mostly unfazed by the loss.

    Right-handed sophomore Matthew Jenkins got the start on the mound for the Gators. The Santa Fe transfer hadn’t made an appearance since March 19 against Florida A&M due to a shoulder injury. He had an excellent outing in his return, striking out seven of 10 batters faced.

    After walking his second batter of the night with two outs in the second and eclipsing his 45-pitch cap, O’Sullivan pulled Jenkins in favor of righty Caden McDonald.

    Florida outfielder Hayden Yost got the first knock of the day for either team on a leadoff single in the bottom third. The Gators would work around the order to Bobby Boser with a runner at second. He hit a ball into right field that just stayed in the field of play and kept the score at 0-0 through three.

    USF responded quickly, hitting three straight singles in the top fourth to go up 1-0. Right-handed redshirt freshman Christian Rodriguez took over for McDonald to secure the third out.

    It wouldn’t take long for Florida to even things out. Freshman Brendan Lawson led off the bottom fourth with a double before stealing third. An error on the throw allowed him to round the base and touch home plate.

    Florida was able to put two runners on with no outs in the bottom fifth, prompting USF to pull its starter. The Gators then hit into a double play and struck out to end the inning with the score still tied at 1-1.

    Alex Philpott took over for Rodriguez with two outs in the fifth and returned for the next frame. He’d give up three-straight hits without an out and allow the Bulls to take a 2-1 lead. Right-handed sophomore Luke McNeillie took over and gave up a trio of RBI singles himself.

    Junior righty Billy Barlow took over for McNeillie, inheriting two runners, two outs and a 5-1 deficit. He would be the one to finally get the third out for the Gators. He’d be replaced in the eighth by right-hander Carson Montsdeoca, the first freshman to make an appearance on the night. He gave up a single and a double and was quickly swapped for righty Blaine Rowland.

    After another 2 RBI single, Rowland secured the third out. Florida went 1-2-3 through the bottom frame and trailed 7-1 after eight innings.

    The Gators entered the ninth needing six runs to tie the ballgame. They went 1-2-3 and went out quietly with the loss.

    “We’ve been playing so well for the past month,” said O’Sullivan. “Everything’s in front of us.”

    Florida heads to Austin to take on the No. 1 Texas Longhorns this weekend. First pitch Friday is set for 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPNU.

  • MBB: Todd Golden inks 6-year, $40.5 million extension

    MBB: Todd Golden inks 6-year, $40.5 million extension

    Photo by James Gilbert | Getty Images

    Just 37 days after Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden cut down the nets alongside his players in San Antonio, the 39-year-old locked in a new contract which will keep him in Gainesville through 2031.

    Golden signed a 6-year, $40.5 million extension with the Gators Tuesday. Fresh off of a national championship, Florida has its coach locked up for the better half of a decade, new facility upgrades coming in and a substantial gains to its NIL allocation as it seeks a potential second back-to-back men’s basketball championship.

    “Todd has done an incredible job getting Florida men’s basketball back where it belongs,” Stricklin said. “We believed in his vision, his competitive nature and his modern approach to the game back in 2022, and he has validated that belief in a relatively short time and helped create memories of a lifetime for another generation of Gator fans.”

    Florida brought Golden to Gainesville after three seasons and an NCAA tournament appearance as the head coach at San Francisco. He went 16-17 in his first season with an inherited roster from Mike White that really didn’t fit Golden’s system.

    The Gators steadily improved both on the court and in the recruiting sphere despite a heartbreaking first-round tournament exit in 2024 before going on 2025’s title run.

    Golden’s contract has some added securities to keep him from skipping town early. He’d owe the Gators $16 million if he left for another school or $3 million if he left for the NBA. Florida has done everything it can to keep its championship coach around for the long haul, and Golden seems as happy as Florida.

    “My family and I look forward to our future here at UF and to the continued success of our men’s basketball program,” he said.

  • BSB: Three quick hits from Gators’ sweep of South Carolina

    BSB: Three quick hits from Gators’ sweep of South Carolina

    Photo by Jay Biggerstaff | Getty Images

    Thirteen is the magic number. If you’ve been following Florida baseball before the last two weekend series (good on you), then you’ve definitely heard this. Even when the Gators were off to their worst-ever start in the SEC, fans could cling to the fact that Florida turned it around last year and made the NCAA tournament on the strength of its 13 SEC wins.

    With a sweep of the South Carolina Gamecocks this past weekend, Florida sits at 11-13 in the SEC and need two wins in its final six conference matchups to be a lock for the postseason. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s look back at three highlights from the weekend:

    The Yost with the most

    Sophomore outfielder Hayden Yost has come into his own these past few series since taking over for Justin Nadeau in center field. This weekend was no different. Yost went 5-for-10 against the Gamecocks and hit two homers. His eight RBIs over the weekend were the most in the SEC and earned him conference Player of the Week honors.

    “You know, the other guy that probably gets overlooked sometimes is Hayden Yost,” Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “He swung the bat extremely well today, you know, his home run there really opened up that second game.”

    Florida always seems to have a guy step up out of the woodworks come tournament time, and Yost is definitely making his case as the next Gator to join those ranks.

    Fire up the old PC

    Maybe the best storyline from the weekend is the return of starting pitcher Pierce Coppola. The lefty has been battling injuries his entire collegiate career and was once again sidelined for two months after a great start to the season. He returned in game three, picking up two strikeouts and two walks in one scoreless inning.

    It’s still not apparent to what extent Coppola will be pitching this coming weekend or by the tournament. Expect the Gators to take it slow. He might pitch one, maybe two more innings next Sunday. He might not pitch at all. But if Coppola is physically able to pitch in a potential postseason game, he’s the type who would go out there with the intent of leaving everything on the mound.

    Bats are back and boomin’

    It’s not just Yost who’s playing well at the dish right now. The Gators are swinging with some serious power right now and resembles the dangerous hitting lineup we’ve seen in years previous.

    The Gators outscored South Carolina 39-8 over the weekend as eight of nine Florida starters recorded three hits on the weekend. Ty Evans and Yost, who entered the weekend with a pair of homeruns between them, combined for 16 RBIs on the weekend.

    “Like I said, the big innings, usually the winning team scores more runs in one inning then the losing team does throughout all nine,” O’Sullivan said. “And we had three in the fourth, five in the eighth and 11 runs in the ninth.”

    Florida will host USF for a midweek bout tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. before heading off to Austin for its inaugural SEC series against the No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns.

  • LAX: Gators Named 4-Seed For NCAA Tournament

    LAX: Gators Named 4-Seed For NCAA Tournament

    Photo by Andrew Wevers | Getty Images

    The Florida Gators were named the nation’s No. 4 seed for the NCAA Tournament in Sundays selection show. Additionally, the Gators will host the first and second rounds Friday and Sunday.

    On Friday, Florida will face Mercer at 4:00 PM and will be followed by Denver vs Stanford (scheduled for 7:00 PM).

    For the Gators, this marks the fourteenth straight appearance in the tournament. Florida is 16-13 overall in NCAA Tournament games. The team has advanced to the national semifinals six times in addition to two Final Four appearances (2012, 2024).

    This year’s squad is 17-2 overall and swept through Big 12 play, including the conference tournament.

    The Gators are led, offensively, by five players who have recorded 50+ points this season. Frannie Hahn leads the team with 83 points (30 G, 53 A) while Gianna Monaco leads the team with 62 goals. Freshman Clark Hamilton found the back of the net 50 times in her debut season.

    Defensively, the Gators are led by Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year, Elyse Finnelle and All Big 12 defender Theresa Bragg.

    Mercer Bears:

    12-7 overall, 7-1 Big South Conference

    LAST MEETING: Florida defeated Mercer 22-9 in Macon, GA on March 15, 2025

    Denver Pioneers:

    14-5, 5-1 Big East Conference

    LAST MEETING: Florida defeated Denver 18-6 in the 2018 Big East Tournament title game

    Stanford Cardinal:

    14-5, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference

    LAST MEETING: Florida defeated Stanford 15-10 in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament

  • SB: Gators Knock Off No. 1 Oklahoma in Regular Season Finale

    SB: Gators Knock Off No. 1 Oklahoma in Regular Season Finale

    For the first time in program history, the Florida Gators have won a series against the nation’s No. 1 ranked team. Florida (43-13, 14-10) claimed a 6-4 win in the regular season finale to clinch the series victory in front of 2,653 fans Saturday.

    How It Happened:

    The Gators got on the scoreboard early on with a Reagan Walsh sacrifice fly that scored Jocelyn Erickson in the first inning.

    In the top of the second, Florida CF Kendra Falby robbed Cydney Sanders of a home run with a sensational leaping grab over the outfield wall.

    Florida added two more runs in the bottom of the third as Korbe Otis hit a two-run double down the right-field line that scored Erickson and Taylor Shumaker.

    The Sooners got one back in the top of the fourth with a solo blast by Sanders (who had been robbed by Falby in her previous at-bat).

    In the fifth, Oklahoma once again got one back. The inning opened with a pair of base runners getting on and chasing Rothrock from the game. A sacrifice fly plated a run and closed the gap to within one.

    In the bottom of the sixth, Ava Brown crushed a solo homer behind the pitching lab in left to make it a 4-2 ballgame. Florida would add a pair of extra insurance runs as Falby scored on a passed ball that didn’t get far from the catcher, but her feet first slide kicked the ball out of the catcher’s glove. That was followed by an erant throw home that allowed Brooke Barnard to score and increase the lead to 6-2.

    The Sooners weren’t done yet, though. Gabbie Garcia hit a two-run homer to center to close the gap to 6-4. Oklahoma got two more runners on base before Brown forced a groundout to first to end the ballgame.

    Shumaker (2-3) and Kenleigh Cahalan (2-3) were the only Gators to record multiple base hits but Erickson (0-1, 3 BB) scored twice. Walsh and Otis each finished with two RBI.

    In the circle, Keagan Rothrock received the start in a rematch of Thursday’s starters. Rothrock (W, 12-5) tossed four innings allowing two runs on five hits and striking out three. Brown (S, 4) entered the circle in the fifth inning and completed the final three innings of play.

    The Sooners had only four at-bats (1-4) all game with runners in scoring position.

    On Deck:

    Florida receives a first round bye in this week’s SEC Tournament. The Gators will open postseason play Wednesday in Athens, GA.

  • SB: Gators Power Past No. 1 Oklahoma To Even Series

    SB: Gators Power Past No. 1 Oklahoma To Even Series

    The Florida Gators evened their series against No. 1 Oklahoma with a display of power that the Sooners have rarely seen. Florida blasted four home runs to claim a 9-4 victory Friday night.

    For Florida, it’s the first time they’ve beaten the nation’s No. 1 ranked team since the 2014 College World Series and the first time they’ve won a home contest against the top ranked team since 2007.

    How It Happened:

    Oklahoma got on the scoreboard first as Gabbie Garcia grounded out to score Kasidi Pickering to take the early lead in the top of the first.

    Florida (41-13, 12-10) rebounded to plate a run in the bottom half of the inning on Reagan Walsh’s single up the middle that plated Jocelyn Erickson.

    Freshman Taylor Shumaker hit a grand slam in the second inning on the first pitch she saw to put the Gators ahead 5-1. Shumaker’s blast came with two outs following Erickson’s four pitch walk.

    The Sooners cut the deficit to just one with a three-run homer by E_ Parker in the top of the fifth but senior CF Kendra Falby likely saved a run with a ridiculous leaping catch in center.

    The Gators carried that momentum into the bottom of the fifth, responding with three home runs to increase the advantage to 9-4. Reagan Walsh led off the inning with a blast to left on a 1-0 pitch. Three batters later, sophomore Mia Williams crushed her 19th homer of the season off the pitching lab beyond the fence in left. Fellow sophomore Ava Brown followed with a solo shot of her own.

    The Sooners had a big opportunity in the sixth inning as a walk and single put two on with no outs. Ava Brown entered the circle in relief and induced a fielder’s choice for the first out. Brown then recorded a strikeout and forced a fly out to end the threat without any damage to the scoreboard.

    A Sooner reached third base in the top of the seventh, but Brown got S_ Barker to ground out to third to end the game and even the series.

    Walsh finished the game 4-4 at the plate. Korbe Otis was the only other Gator to record multiple hits, going 2-3. Despite going 0-2 at the plate, Erickson scored twice after reaching on walks.

    In the circle, Kara Hammock (W, 8-1) got the start for the Gators. She tossed four innings before turning it over to freshman Katelyn Oxley in the fifth inning. After Oxley threw one inning, head coach Tim Walton made the move to sophomore Ava Brown. Brown (S, 3) finished the final two innings allowing no hits and just one walk.

    On Deck:

    Florida and Oklahoma will enter the final day of the regular season with a rubber match on hand. The game is set for a 5:00 PM first pitch and will air live on ESPN.