(UAA Photo) A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: This is Tim Walton’s time of the year. Since taking over the helm of the Florida softball program in 2006, Walton has guided the Gators to 14 NCAA super regional appearances. Should the 6th-seeded Gators (51-10) dispose of 11th-seeded Texas Tech (55-6) this weekend at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, it will earn a third straight trip to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series, the 14th overall in Walton’s Florida career. The road to the super regional was simply business as usual for the Gators, who outscored Florida A&M and Georgia Tech (twice) 25-2 in their three games of the Gainesville Regional. The Gators run-ruled FAMU 12-0 and Georgia Tech 8-0 before taking down Georgia Tech in the championship game, 5-2. The Gators have won 22 straight NCAA regional games. Since 2013 Florida has 18 run-rule wins in NCAA regional play. Keagan Rothrock (29-6) got all three wins, allowing only five hits while striking out 13 in 15 innings in the circle. She gave up one hit in Sunday’s 5-2 regional clinching win over Georgia Tech. Rothrock’s 29 wins are tops in the SEC and third nationally. Taylor Shumaker was the hitting star for the weekend, going 5-10 with two home runs and seven RBI. Shumaker has 18 homers and 59 RBI this season. Her .446 batting average is tied for the lead in the Southeastern Conference. As a team, the Gators are hitting .355 (2nd SEC, 6th nationally) with 102 home runs (2nd SEC, 7th nationally). Texas Tech reached the super regional by staging one of the most outrageous comebacks in NCAA tournament history. Down 8-0 in the bottom of the seventh to Ole Miss, the Red Raiders scored eight times to send the game to extra innings where they came away with a 10-9 win. As a team, Texas Tech ranks second nationally in batting average (.389) and third in home runs (128). Former Gator Mia Williams is hitting .435 and leads Texas Tech with 22 home runs. The Red Raiders feature the pitching duo of Kaitlyn Terry (24-1, 1.39 ERA) and Nijaree Canady (23-5, 1.43 ERA). Terry also ranks seventh nationally with a .470 batting average. Super Regional matchups No. 16 LSU (40-17) at No. 1 Alabama (52-7) Arizona State (44-16) at No. 2 Texas (45-10) Mississippi State (41-18) at No. 3 Oklahoma (51-8) No. 13 Oklahoma State (41-15) at No. 4 Nebraska (49-6) No. 12 Duke (43-15) at No. 5 Arkansas (45-11) No. 11 Texas Tech (55-6) at No. 6 FLORIDA (51-10) No. 10 Georgia (41-18) at No. 7 Tennessee (45-10) UCF (41-17-1) at No. 8 UCLA (50-8) UF BASEBALL: GATORS GO TO HOOVER AS THE NO. 5 SEED With their sweep of LSU, the Gators (37-18, 18-12 SEC) earned the No. 5 seed for the SEC Tournament which begins Tuesday in Hoover, Alabama. Florida finished off the regular season by outscoring LSU 37-20 in three games, taking the final 15-11 thanks to a 6-run ninth inning highlighted by a 2-run home run by Hayden Yost and a 3-run double by Caden McDonald. Yost hit three home runs and drove in five while Cade Kurland hit two solo homers to cap a weekend in which the Gators left the yard at Alex Box Stadium 10 times. During the weekend Ethan Surowiec went 7-14 with two home runs and 10 RBI. Surowiec has 10 homers and 57 RBI for the season. Brendan Lawson, who went 3-9 with a home run against LSU, leads Florida with 14 home runs. Liam Peterson pitched a 7-inning complete game Friday night when the Gators run-ruled LSU 11-1. Peterson gave up three hits and struck out 11. As the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament, the Gators get a first round bye and won’t have to play until Wednesday when they face the winner of the Kentucky-Vanderbilt first round game. Aidan King (8-2, 2.50 ERA) is the likely starter for game one with Peterson going Thursday if the Gators win. SEC Tournament schedule Tuesday 1. No. 16 Missouri (23-30, 6-24 SEC) vs. No. 9 Ole Miss (36-20, 15-15 SEC) 2. No. 13 Kentucky (31-20, 13-17 SEC) vs. No. 12 Vanderbilt (32-24, 14-16 SEC) 3. No. 15 South Carolina (22-34, 7-23 SEC) vs. No. 10 Tennessee (37-19, 15-15 SEC) 4. No. 14 LSU (29-27, 9-21 SEC) vs. No. 11 Oklahoma (32-20, 14-16 SEC) Wednesday 5. Winner game 1 vs. No. 8 Mississippi State (39-16, 16-14 SEC) 6. Winner game 2 vs. No. 5 FLORIDA (37-18, 18-12 SEC) 7. Winner game 3 vs. No. 7 Arkansas (36-19, 17-13 SEC) 8. Winner game 4 vs. No. 6 Auburn (36-18, 17-13 SEC) Thursday quarterfinals 9. Winner game 5 vs. No. 1 Georgia (43-12, 23-7 SEC) 10. Winner game 6 vs. No. 4 Alabama (37-18, 18-12 SEC) Friday quarterfinals 11. Winner game 7 vs. No. 2 Texas 12. Winner game 8 vs. No. 3 Texas A&M Saturday semifinals 13. Winner game 10 vs. winner game 9 14. Winner game 12 vs. winner game 11 Sunday championship game 15. Winner game 14 vs. winner game 13 UF TRACK AND FIELD: WOMEN WIN SEC, MEN FINISH THIRD In winning the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championship Saturday, the Florida women completed the rare triple crown – SEC championships in cross country and both indoor and outdoor track and field. It was the second triple crown in school history. Floria and Arkansas are the only SEC schools with more than one triple crown. The Florida women finished the meet with 107 points, outdistancing second place Alabama by 20.5 points. The Florida men finished third with 78 points, trailing SEC champ Arkansas (110.5) and runner-up Alabama (94.5). Aida Van Daalen won her third straight discuss gold medal, breaking her own SEC Championship record with a 218-10 throw. Van Daalen has the top seven discuss throws in the nation this year. Asia Phillips won the women’s triple jump and Gabrielle Matthews won the 100 with a blazing 10.97 time. Matthews also placed fourth in the 200 meters. This was the 20th SEC championship for Florida coach Mike Holloway, who has won eight women’s championships, four each indoor and outdoor. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: At their spring meetings, both the Big Ten and ACC have reaffirmed their support for doubling the current College Football Playoff field from 12 to 24 teams. The Big 12 and Notre Dame are both in favor of the 24-team model presented by Big Ten commissioner Tony Petiti. Three of the four power conferences and Notre Dame would equal a majority under most circumstances, but not when the 800-pound gorilla in the room is the combination of Greg Sankey, the Southeastern Conference and ESPN. Barring being struck by lightning or by a stray piece of space junk that managed to make it through the atmosphere without being disintegrated, Sankey and the SEC will stand firm at their spring meetings, which take place next week in Destin. Sankey would prefer to stay at 12 teams but is okay expanding to 16. The SEC can afford to stand its ground because it has the full force of ESPN and all the ABC/Disney networks behind them. ESPN holds the contract to broadcast the CFP through 2031 and the network prefers to stay at 12 teams but would go along with expansion to 14 or 16 teams. Figure 16 is in the works. This is a case when the strength of the SEC/ESPN alliance far outweighs a mob rule attempt by the Big Ten, proving once again that despite the big bucks Petiti negotiated with a three-network deal for media rights, the SEC still holds the power cards. Meanwhile, as the conferences bicker over the College Football Playoff, something weird is happening in Washington DC. A bipartisan bill that has been agreed to in the Senate could be announced with sweeping changes that could lead to the antitrust exemption that college sports need to institute things such as salary caps and rules enforcement. A memo was circulated last week calling for capping coaches salaries, a Group of Six playoff and protection for the NCAA from litigation. It is rare to get any kind of bipartisan legislation through the Congress these days and times but it is a beginning. Something needs to be done to get a common sense grip on college sports that seem hell bent on destroying what has made them great. Congress is usually the last thing you want involved in college sports, but the NCAA is so inept that even Congress seems like a better route to take when instituting much-needed reforms. A better idea would be to scrap the NCAA altogether with this exception – let the NCAA continue to run championship tournaments and events. That is the one thing the organization has proven it has the organization and skills necessary to do at a high level. Everything else? Completely inept. As long as college presidents, who know little about sports and business, are in charge the idea of seceding from the NCAA might be a pipe dream. Even if the presidents decide to cede control to business and sports people, it will be time consuming. Meanwhile, something needs to be done to reel in the chaos before the NCAA’s lack of vision and power leads to the destruction of college sports as we knew them. Maybe, just maybe, Congress could save college sports. Wishful thinking perhaps, but every good idea has to have a starting point. Right now, this is the best option available.

Liam Peterson celebrates a punch out (UAA Photo) A few thoughts to jump start your Saturday morning: With their 11-1 run-rule win over LSU (29-26, 9-20 SEC) Friday night in Baton Rouge, the Gators (36-18, 17-12 SEC) put themselves in prime contention to earn the double bye for next week’s Southeastern Conference Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. A Florida win and either a loss by Texas A&M (38-13, 17-11 SEC) to Mississippi State (39-15, 16-13 SEC) or Alabama (36-18, 17-12 SEC) to Ole Miss (36-19, 15-14 SEC) will move the Gators into the top four, which means no game in Hoover until Thursday. At tournament time when pitching is at a premium, the fewer the games the better. The Gators can’t control what happens to the Aggies or Crimson Tide today, but they can control matters in Baton Rouge by sweeping the Tigers at Alex Box Stadium. Friday night, the Gators jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first two innings, giving Liam Peterson all the support he needed. In going the 7-inning distance (game called after seven because the Gators had a 10-run lead), Peterson scattered three hits, walked only one and struck out 11, easily his best outing of the season. In the first inning, the Gators got an RBI double from Ethan Surowiec and an RBI ground out by Cash Strayer for a 2-0 lead. In the second, Hayden Yost’s sacrifice fly and a 2-run homer by Brendan Lawson accounted for the scoring. Florida added two in the fifth on a 2-run homer by Surowiec, then broke loose for four more in the top of the seventh on a 3-run home run by Strayer and a solo homer by Landon Stripling. Prior to Friday night, the Gators were No. 11 in the latest NCAA RPI. Florida is 14-6 against ranked opponents. It is almost a certainty that the Gators will host an NCAA regional. With a sweep over LSU and a couple of wins next week in Hoover the Gators could find themselves finishing top eight in RPI and probably a top eight seed for the NCAA tournament. GATOR SOFTBALL: ONE DOWN, GEORGIA TECH NEXT The Gators (49-10) opened play in the NCAA Gainesville Regional Friday afternoon with a 12-0 run-rule win over Florida A&M (32-21) at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The Gators will face Georgia Tech (31-27), a 2-1 winner over Texas State at 10 a.m. today with the winner advancing to the Sunday championship. Taylor Shumaker lit up FAMU pitching for three hits including her 17th home run of the season and five RBI. Jocelyn Erickson had a pair of doubles among her three hits while Ava Brown had two hits and two RBI. Florida’s 12-hit performance backed up the combined 1-hitter pitched by Keagan Rothrock (27-6), who went three hitless innings, Katelynn Oxley and Leah Stevens. Oxley gave up a harmless 1-out single to center in the fourth and Stevens gave up a walk in a hitless fifth. As the No. 6 national seed, the Gators can host a super regional if they breeze through Georgia Tech today and whoever they play Sunday. Should the Gators win, they would be paired with the winner of the Lubbock Regional where No. 11 Texas Tech and Ole Miss play today in a winner’s bracket game. SUMRALL, GATORS LAND A STUD DT Jon Sumrall continues to turn the Gators into a force to be reckoned with on the recruiting trail. Florida’s latest commitment comes from defensive lineman Cain Van Norden (6-7, 265, District Heights, MD Bishop McNamara), a 3-star recruit who chose the Gators over Georgia, Ole Miss and Maryland. Rivals ranks Van Norden as the No. 53 defensive lineman in the nation. Per Jason Higdon, the final word in Florida recruiting at 1standtenFlorida.com, the Gators are in good shape for wide receiver Elias Pearl (5-11, 185, Port Charlotte, FL), who will make his announcement Tuesday. Pearl is a fast, elusive slot receiver who had 1,680 all-purpose yards and 20 touchdowns last year as a junior. Florida will also find out Thursday if linebacker AJ Randall (6-3, 210, Raleigh, NC Garner) is going to be a Gator. He’s down to Florida, Miami, Georgia, Ohio State, South Carolina and North Carolina State. TRACK AND FIELD: BOTH UF MEN AND WON 2ND AT SEC Heading into today’s finals at the Southeastern Conference Track and Field Championships in Auburn, the Gators are in second place on both the men’s and women’s side. With 13 events to go, the Florida men (38 points) are just five behind Alabama. Over on the women’s side, Alabama has a commanding 62.5-32 lead over the second place Gators. Today, the Gators should pick up points in both the men’s and women’s 4X100 and 4X400 relays. The Florida men should also get points from Temosi Masiken and Jaden Lippett in the triple jump, Jarno Van Daalen in the discus, Riley Smith and Oussama Allaoui in the 1500, Justin Braun in the 400 and Miguel Pantojas in the 800. On the women’s side, points should be scored by Alida Van Daalen in the disucss, Asia Phillips in the triple jump, Claire Stegall in both the 1500 and 800, Layla Haynes in the 800, Quincy Penn in the 400, Gabrielle Matthews in both the 100 and 200, and Hilda Olemomoi and Tia Wilson in the 5000. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Let’s start with the obvious. Lane Kiffin is an outstanding football coach who, given LSU’s resources, is almost certain to win and win big. He can take LSU to the places Brian Kelly only dreamed of going. There is a flip side to Lane, one that makes friends and foe alike cringe. He is prone to say outrageous things that have everyone shaking their head and asking what was the necessity of the commentary? Consider him the mouth that roared. Lane’s latest escapade has successfully pissed off half the state of Mississippi and perhaps 90 percent of the people who live in Oxford. By claiming the racial past made recruiting difficult when he was the Ole Miss coach, Kiffin revived memories of 1962 when James Meredith became the first African-American student at the formerly segregated school. It took 31,000 Federal troops to put down the 1962 riots at Ole Miss and protect Meredith who received countless death threats. During the 64 years since Meredith, Ole Miss and the entire state of Mississippi have made great strides in bandaging deep wounds, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise that Kiffin’s comments touched a sore spot in the minds of many. Ole Miss faithful are asking whatever did we do to deserve Lane Kiffin going scorched earth on us? Did we mistreat him while he was here? No. Did we give him everything he asked for and then some? Hell yes! Already perceived as a villain by Ole Miss fans for the way he bolted for the LSU job after an 11-1 regular season with the Rebels making the College Football Playoff, Kiffin has succeeded in turning an already intense LSU-Ole Miss rivalry into a tinder box. Kiffin might need bodyguards when LSU visits Ole Miss on September 19. That game will be must see TV for the entire country. Now, Lane has issued an apology but the words have a hollow ring to them. He has a history of saying things and then trying to express remorse, which lends to the perception that he’s still the spoiled brat who walked out on Tennessee for Southern Cal after one year on the job in Knoxville. This is the chance any school takes when it hires Lane Kiffin. You have to be willing to consider a tradeoff because with the wins on the football field come Lane being Lane, which is to say there is no telling what will emerge from his mouth. LSU fans and admin haven’t been trying to blanket this latest Kiffin outburst. If anything, after enduring four years of Brian Kelly doing a fake southern accent and never fitting in with the culture of the state of Louisiana, LSU fans think Lane Kiffin is a breath of fresh air. LSU knew what it was getting when it hired Kiffin, just as Florida would have known what it was getting if it had won the battle for his head coaching services. Like it or not, Lane is going to be Lane which means you take the wins with the words. When LSU became Kiffin’s runaway bride destination, Scott Stricklin and Florida pivoted to Jon Sumrall. Like Kiffin, Sumrall wins as three league championships in four years attest. Like Kiffin, he also talks. A lot. Unlike Kiffin, Sumrall sticks with positives and leaves the negativity to others. Sumrall seems too busy building up Florida to worry about the woulda, coulda and shouldas of other places. Some might look at Lane’s most recent outburst and think Florida dodged a bullet by hiring Sumrall. Perhaps a better way to look at it is this: LSU got what it wanted and Florida found the coach who is the right fit. The Gators are going to get the wins without the provocative words from a mouth from which you never know what will emerge.

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 19th 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.

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Gator Bait Media was launched in 2019 when famed sports writer Buddy Martin along with Franz Beard launched Gatorbaitmedia.com. GatorBait Media, Florida Gator News where you want it, when you want it. Hello, I’m Buddy Martin, editor and publisher of the new Gator Bait Magazine. And I am beginning to feel like I just walked on the set of Ground Hog Day Starring Bill Murray as part of the new ownership group for the new GatorBait2019 effective July 10, 2019. Here I come again, boomeranging right back where I started from! Another fork in the road back toward the University of Florida, where I was educated, met my wife, became one of those Boys From Old Florida and wound up in journalism. Maybe it was in my blood. I recently found out that my late grandfather, preacher-writer William Laban Martin, actually owned and operated The Gainesville Elevator newspaper in the early 1900s. Great name, The Gainesville Elevator. As most Gator fans know, it’s an up-and-down world. Right now with Dan Mullen and Mike White & Company, things appear to be going up. Gator Bait TV executive producer/director son Brenden is my co-owner/partner, so this is very much a family deal. We Martin Boys have ridden down this dusty trail before. Brenden likes to say, “We know what NOT to do, because we’ve already failed at it several times.” Stay tuned for more exciting plans with the debut soon of GatorBait Plus and GatorBait Gold, which will soon merge with the #BuddyMartinShow on Facebook Live streaming where all our member/friend loyalists at #GatorNationKingdom hang out. And while I’m at it, I want to thank members of our GatorBait Lighthouse project for stepping up to support this project before it was even completed. I am honored to be taking the reins of this iconic 40-year-old publication founded by David Stirt and, operated for many years by Landmark Publications, with Marty Cohen and my good friend Zach Abolverdi at the helm. We want to hear from you. If you need to reach me or one of our staff please feel free to reach out to the GatorBait Media Team. Buddy Martin Editor-in-Chief/GatorBait CEO Buddy Martin GatorBait Media Staff Owner/Executive Producer GatorBait Media & GatorBait TV Brenden Martin Columnist GatorBait Media Franz Beard