Gator baseball: Regional host on the line as Gators finish off regular season at LSU

Kevin O'Sullivan has the Gators in contention to host an NCAA regional (Photo by Chris Spears)

It’s the final weekend of the 2026 college baseball regular season and the 19^th ranked Florida Gators (34-18, 15-12 SEC) travel to the Bayou to face archrival LSU (29-24, 9-18 SEC) beginning Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. EST.

LSU is having its worst season in years and will have to win the SEC tournament next week just to make the NCAA tournament. The Gators, fresh off a series win versus Kentucky, could lock in a spot as regional host if they win the series in Baton Rouge.

Fun Away from Home

The Gators have proven time and time again this season that winning on the road, especially in tough environments, is not a problem. In four road series versus ranked teams, the Gators have gone 10-2 and have not lost any of those series. Despite LSU not being as good in 2026, Alex Box Stadium will still be loud and raucous but that shouldn’t affect the boys in Orange & Blue too much. Their 11-5 road record and one series loss on the road shows this group can win anywhere, which bodes well for postseason play.

Aidan King’s breakout season

The sophomore from Jacksonville has turned into a bonafide ace and currently sits as the frontrunner for SEC Pitcher of the Year. In 13 starts/74 innings, King sports a 2.19 ERA (second in the SEC), 0.89 WHIP (SEC leader) and .187 batting average against, which would be the lowest by a Gator since Nick Maronde in 2016. King came into the season as the #2 starter behind Liam Peterson but has surpassed his teammate and become the Friday night starter at the beginning of SEC play. King may not have the 100-mph fastball and massive strikeout numbers, but he is a pure pitcher who knows how to work the zone and force bad contact.

The Rise of Mac-tani Continues

Caden McDonald continues to impress at the plate and on the mound after notching two hits, a go-ahead home run and 4 1/3 shutout innings (with six strikeouts) in Sunday’s win versus Kentucky. His performance landed him on Baseball America’s National Team of the Week as the two-way player for the third time in 2026. McDonald is hitting .400 with nine extra-base hits and 14 RBI across 10 games in the starting lineup. As mentioned in last week’s preview, head coach Kevin O’Sullivan has a knack for finding unknown/underused players late in the season and McDonald has become that player over the past few weeks.

Key Pieces Returning at the Perfect Time

An important variable to a team’s postseason hopes is the overall health of the team and the Gators got two key reinforcements last weekend with freshman outfielder Cash Strayer returning from a fractured hand and sophomore pitcher Jackson Barberi coming back from a lower-body injury. Strayer started two of the three games versus Kentucky and managed to go 3-for-6 to raise his batting average to .283 in 92 at bats. Barberi, a high leverage arm out of the bullpen, did not pitch versus Kentucky but was available. For the season, Barberi has a 2.00 ERA, .143 batting average against and 40 strikeouts in 27 innings. Strayer’s return makes the lineup a little longer and allows for more defensive versatility. It cannot be understated how important it is to have Barberi back in the fold for the pitching staff. Barberi has the stamina to pitch multiple innings in high leverage situations and take the pressure off of younger arms such as Joshua Whritenour and McDonald.

Postseason implications

As said earlier, the Gators have a good chance to host a regional in the NCAA tournament but will need to win at least two of three in Baton Rouge and maybe one more in the SEC tournament. The Gators are currently projected to be the #6 seed in the SEC tournament, which would give them a first-round bye. As for the NCAA tournament, Baseball America projects the Gators to be #8 national seed and would be hosting Oklahoma State, North Carolina State and Florida Gulf Coast.

LSU Names to Keep an Eye on

Despite the poor record and postseason hopes, the Tigers have a dangerous lineup that plays well in their home park. Future MLB first round pick Derek Curiel leads the charge with a .346 batting average, six home runs, 44 runs batted in and 13 stolen bases. Other standout Tiger bats include Steven Milam (.288, 7 HR, 39 RBI), Cade Arrambide (.323, 16 HR, 46 RBI) and Jake Brown (.309, 16 HR, 49 RBI, 10 stolen bases). Pitching has been the Achilles heel for the Tigers as they carry a 5.49 team ERA into the final series. It’s expected that LSU will throw William Schmidt (5-4, 4.22 ERA, 64 innings, 85 Ks) on Thursday versus King and follow up with Casan Evans (2-3, 5.96 ERA, 54 innings, 79 Ks) on Friday versus Liam Peterson. Saturday will be a bit of a mystery until an announcement is made but the Gators will be starting Russell Sandefer (3-2, 4.30 ERA, 46 innings, 50 Ks).

Odds and Ends

First pitch on Thursday/Friday is slated for 7:30 p.m. and Saturday will be at 3 p.m., all three games will be broadcast on SECN+. The Gators took two out of three in their last trip to Baton Rouge (2024) and O’Sullivan is 26-22 all-time versus the Tigers.