Thoughts of the Day: June 14, 2026

A few thoughts to jump start your Sunday morning:

Thanks to a second place finish by the Florida women at the NCAA Track and Field championships in Eugene, Oregon Saturday night, the Gators have a shot at keeping alive their 41-year streak of top ten finishes in the Learfield Director’s Cup, which is given to the overall best athletic program in the country. In addition to women’s track, the Gators, who ranked 16^th with 576.76 points after the spring sports were tallied, picked up Director’s Cup top 20 points in men’s golf, women’s golf, softball, baseball, women’s lacrosse and men’s track and field. The Gators finished seventh a year ago. Seventh might be a pipe dream this year.

Although the Texas baseball team is still playing in the College World Series in Omaha, the Longhorns are already assured they will win the cup this year. Texas has already won national championships in softball, men’s swimming and women’s rowing, plus the Longhorns had top three finishes in women’s basketball, women’s swimming and men’s tennis. Georgia, which won the women’s track championship and finished second in the men’s, could score another national title in baseball, so the Bulldogs should easily make the top ten. The same goes for Alabama, whose baseball team is in Omaha and whose softball team finished in a tie for third at the Women’s College World Series.

Here is a sport-by-sport look at Florida’s athletic year.

Men’s sports

Baseball: The Gators finished fifth in the SEC regular season, then were eliminated by SEC champ Georgia in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Gators earned the No. 8 national seed for the NCAA Tournament but didn’t get out of their own region, losing to Troy. The Gators finished 41-21 overall, 18-12 in SEC play.

Basketball: The Gators won the SEC championship with a 16-2 record, but lost to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament semifinals. The Gators were one of four No. 1 seeds for the NCAA Tournament. The Gators blasted Prairie View A&M in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but lost to Iowa in the final seconds of their second round game.  The Gators finished 27-8 overall.

Cross Country: The Gators finished 11^th in the SEC and seventh in the NCAA South Regional.

Football: The Gators finished 4-8 overall, 2-6 in the SEC. It was the Gators’ fourth losing season in the last five, which resulted in the firing of Billy Napier and the hiring or Jon Sumrall.

Golf: The Gators finished second in the SEC and were a No. 1 seed at the Columbus Regional in the NCAA Tournament. The Gators made the final eight for match play but were eliminated by Oklahoma State in the first round, so they finished in a 4-way tie for fifth place.

Swimming: The Gators finished second in the SEC and second at the NCAA championships, both times runners-up to Texas.

Tennis: The Gators finished in a 3-way tie for seventh in the SEC regular season. At the SEC Tournament, the Gators were eliminated by Texas in the second round. The Gators lost to UCF in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Florida finished 17-14 overall, 6-8 in SEC play.

Track (Indoor): The Gators finished fourth at the SEC championships with 58 points. At the NCAA championships, the Gators finished third with 26 points.

Track (Outdoor): The Gators finished third at the SEC championships with 78 points. At the NCAA championships the Gators finished 15^th with 18 points.

Women’s sports

Basketball: The Gators finished tied for 12^th in the SEC. After beating Mississippi State in the first round of the SEC Tournament, Florida’s season ended with a loss to Oklahoma in the second round. Kelly Rae Finley was fired as the head coach, replaced by Tammi Reiss. The Gators finished 18-15 overall, 6-8 in SEC play.

Cross Country: The Gators won the SEC championship, won the NCAA South Regional championship and finished fifth at the NCAA championships.

Golf: The Gators lost to Auburn in the semifinals of the SEC championships. The Gators finished third in the NCAA Tallahassee Regional. At the NCAA championships, the Gators had a bad final round in stroke play to finish 11^th, outside the top eight that qualified for match play.

Gymnastics: The Gators finished second in the SEC regular season to Oklahoma, but came on strong at the SEC championship event to win the program’s 13^th title. The Gators won the Tempe Regional but finished behind national champ Oklahoma and LSU at the NCAA championships in Fort Worth. The Gators finished the season with a 30-4 record.

Lacrosse: The Gators went undefeated in Big 12 Conference play, but lost to Colorado in the championship game of the league tournament. Florida lost to Denver in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Gators finished the season 15-4.

Soccer: The Gators finished 11^th in the SEC with a 6-7-5 record overall, 2-3-5 in SEC play. Samantha Bohon resigned as head coach and Nick Zimmerman was hired.

Softball: The Gators finished third in the SEC regular season, then lost to Alabama in the semifinals of the conference tournament. As the No. 6 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Gators hosted and won their regional, but lost to eventual NCAA runner-up Texas Tech in three games of the Gainesville Super Regional. Florida finished 52-12 overall, 17-7 in the SEC.

Swimming: The Gators finished third in the SEC and 10^th at the NCAA championships.

Tennis: The Gators finished sixth in the SEC regular season, then lost to Auburn in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The Gators beat Toledo in the first round of the NCAA Tournament but lost to Michigan in the second round. Florida finished the season 17-8 overall, 10-5 in SEC play.

Track (Indoor): The Gators won the SEC championship with 78 points then finished fifth at the NCAA championships with 27 points.

Track (Outdoor): The Gators made it two-for-two by winning the SEC title with 107 points. At the NCAA championships, the Gators came on strong on the final day to finish with 43 points, good enough for second place to national champion Georgia.

Volleyball: The Gators finished fifth in the SEC regular season, lost to Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Seeded No. 16 nationally, the Gators won their opening match of the NCAA Tournament, then upset No. 3 Pittsburgh in the second round. The Gators lost to No. 6 Stanford in the NCAA Tournament sweet 16 round.

A FEW WEEKEND OBSERVATIONS

Cinderella’s glass slipper lost a spike heel Friday when Troy dropped a 7-5 decision to West Virginia at the College World Series in Omaha. The Trojans came out of the loser’s bracket to win the Gainesville Regional so they know what it’s like to have their backs to the wall. They face Ole Miss today in an elimination game.

Georgia blew past Texas Saturday night in Omaha, setting up a Monday night all-SEC encounter with Oklahoma, which destroyed Alabama. Georgia seems to have the most complete team in Omaha, but Oklahoma is the most dangerous with its hot hitters and incredible team speed. This might end up being the best game of the entire tournament.

I love basketball and I tried – I really tried – to watch the Knicks beat the Spurs in the NBA championship series but I gave up every single game and didn’t watch it all the way through. I think purists like John Wooden, Dean Smith, Bob Knight and Al McGuire would roll over in their graves to see how the NBA has evolved. There are people doing hard time in Raiford for less than what goes on in an NBA game. And, it’s one pass then someone launches a three. I much prefer the college game where they still have something called post play. What a concept.

I also tried to watch part of the Brazil-Morocco World Cup match. The announcer kept trying to tell me how exciting it was. The final score was 1-1. In the time it would take you to drive to your local Papa John’s, pick up a pizza and then drive home you wouldn’t have missed anything.

North Carolina State is thinking of taking legal action against LSU for what it believes is unethical conduct in the way it poached basketball coach Will Wade. Rather than take legal action against LSU, North Carolina State needs to thank God Wade is gone. Wherever he goes there is a trail of trouble. A couple of years from now, North Carolina State will look back on the year Will Wade was its basketball coach and realize a bullet was dodged. Will Wade and Lane Kiffin at the same school … all the Clorox in the world can’t wipe away the slime.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Kennedee Jackson flipped his commitment from Florida to Georgia Saturday, a splash of water on the raging fire that is Florida recruiting the last couple of months. A 4-star offensive tackle from Lithonia, Georgia, Jackson was thought to be a rock solid commitment but Georgia got to him. Distance certainly factored into his decision, but it’s likely Kirby Smart’s bag men came up with what seemed to Jackson to be a more attractive NIL package.

Because there are no guardrails and what NIL rules there are tend to be conveniently ignored, it’s open season when it comes to recruiting. Whoever has the biggest gun and the most bullets is going to win the majority of battles. Like it or not, that’s something we need to get used to.

I’m reminded of my formative years spent in exile in Mississippi. Across from our home on Westview Circle in McComb lived bank VP Buddy Prestridge and his toothless dog. As a puppy the dog fell out of a moving car and lost all his teeth. The dog had attitude and if he didn’t like you would attack. How many times during our three years in McComb did I have to go inside the house to change pants because Buddy’s toothless dog attacked and tried to tear up my leg. A pants leg covered in dog slobber is neither a pretty site nor a pleasant smell. Anyway, this is today’s NCAA. They’re like Buddy’s dog, always on the attack, but toothless.

Now Jon Sumrall will land another tackle. One as good as Jackson? Maybe. Maybe not, but it will be a very good football player who will benefit from the tutelage of offensive line coach Phil Trautwein. There are good offensive linemen who still haven’t committed but don’t think for a nanosecond that Sumrall doesn’t understand the way the game is played. Kirby Smart isn’t the only one out there capable of flipping a kid.

Speaking of flipping, keep a close eye today for news regarding defensive tackle Jalen Brewster, a Texas Tech commit, and wide receiver Easton Royal, a Texas commit. These two 5-stars have been in Gainesville for official visits and one or both could flip to the good guys today.

Also be on the lookout for news regarding 4-star linebacker Robert Geathers (6-2, 215, Charlotte, NC Providence Day School) and 4-star corner Raheem Floyd (6-2, 175, East St. Louis, IL). It’s entirely possible both of them will be Gators before too long.