Another Stellar Recruiting Class For Tim Walton The Gators landed coveted transfer shortstop Rylee Holtorf from PAC-12 (Pac-Gone) Washington. Holdorf played every inning in 2024 while posting a .945 fielding percentage with 56 putouts, 64 assists and helped turn 10 double plays. She did play some third base as a freshman so look for coach Walton to insert her where needed next season. 2024 offensive rankings on Washington’s team: #1- Runs Scores (37) #1- At-Bats (152) #2- Batting Average (.336) #3- Home Runs (11) #3- Slugging Percentage (.632) #3- OPS (1.052) Holt off was thought to be leaning towards Oklahoma and was at the WCWS celebrating with OU friends and family, however Shortstop/Pitcher from BYU, Alana Agbayani signed with OU, opening the door for Florida. Holtorf, who will have one year of eligibility remaining. Rylee Holtorf will join Alabama transfer shortstop Kenleigh Cahalan (2nd team All-SEC in 2024)l with two years of eligibility) and UNC Wilmington transfer pitcher Kara Hammock (2nd team All Colonial Athletic Association in 2024, one year of eligibility) to a loaded Gator team next season. UF came in with another stellar recruiting class Fab Five Freshman: (Left-Right) Taylor Shumaker (Outfield), Gabi Comia (Infield), Townsen Thomas (Outfield), Layla Lamar (Infield) and Katelynn Oxley (Pitcher). These players will add needed pitching depth and other outstanding talent. With Oklahoma losing 10 seniors in their run of four championships, the possibility for Florida to be preseason #1 in 2024-2025 is high.

DJ Lagway was heavily involved in recruiting WR Joshua Moore (Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: You want further proof that Billy Napier is sitting on one of those cooling gel seats and there is no blow torch fired up and taking aim with his posterior? What’s going on in recruiting will tell you everything you need to know. Wednesday, wide receiver Justin Moore (6-4, 205, Pembroke Pines, FL West Broward) chose the Gators over Florida State, Miami, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan and Ole Miss among others. In 21 varsity football games, Moore has 1,868 receiving yards and has caught 20 touchdown passes. A 4-star talent like Moore doesn’t make commitments to schools where the coach is in serious jeopardy of losing his job. Moore knows all about the brutal schedule the Gators will be playing in the fall, but he is (a) convinced Billy Napier has the program going in the right direction; (b) he’s a good fit in the offense; (c) Napier isn’t going anywhere at least unless there is some sort of meltdown in the program in 2025; and (d) he’ll be catching passes from DJ Lagway when he is a freshman. Moore told On3 and Gators Online recruiting analyst Keith Neibuhr that Lagway played a major role in his recruitment. Moore said, “They’ve got a general. He’s a quarterback and I’ve seen him practice. I know he’s the real deal.” Moore went on to say that Florida probably wouldn’t have landed his commitment if not for Lagway. That’s another reason to know Billy Napier’s job is safe this season. To fire Napier, as some so-called experts think could happen, would likely mean Lagway transfers. The Gators will be better than expected in 2024, then Lagway takes over in 2025. The people in charge of the athletic department at UF know how valuable this kid is and how committed he is to Napier and UF. They will not risk him bolting for another school by canning the head coach. Moore is the seventh commitment to the Florida 2025 class. The number lags way behind the 19 already committed to Ohio State and Alabama or the 16 committed to Georgia, but Napier has gone about recruiting with rather systematic efficiency. He has signed a solid number of high school recruits in the last two years while added 10 or more from the portal. Florida has 20 players whose eligibility will expire after this season and you can figure another 10 or so will transfer. Expect a recruiting class of 15-20 high school kids and another 10-15 from the portal. Commitments: DL Jalen Wiggins (6-5, 235, Tallahassee, FL Rickards); WR Joshua Moore (6-4, 205, Pembroke Pines, FL West Broward); RB Waltez Clark (6-1, 190, Tampa, FL Plant); DL Jeremiah McCloud (6-3, 285, Havana, FL Gadsden County); TE Micah Jones (6-4, 250, Madison, MS Madison Central); RB Chad Gasper (5-11, 195, Fulshear, TX Katy Jordan); P Hayden Craig (6-2, 190, North Bridgton, ME Bridgton Academy) UF BASEBALL: Final college baseball rankings The Gators made everybody’s top eight because they were one of the last eight teams standing. Even though they finished in a tie for third, two polls had them sixth and one eighth. USA TODAY COACHES TOP 25: 1. Tennessee 60-13; 2. Texas A&M 53-15; 3. Kentucky 46-16; 4. Florida State 49-17; 5. North Carolina 48-16; 6. FLORIDA 36-30; 7. Virginia 46-17; 8. North Carolina State 38-23; 9. Clemson 44-16; 10. Georgia 43-17; 11. Oregon State 45-16; 12. Arkansas 44-16; 13. Oregon 40-20; 14. Oklahoma State 42-19; 15. Oklahoma 40-21; 16. East Carolina 46-17; 17. West Virginia 36-24; 18. Duke 40-20; 19. UConn 35-26; 20. Mississippi State 40-23; 21. Kansas State 35-26; 22. UC-Santa Barbara 44-14; 23. Evansville 39-26; 24. LSU 43-23; 25. UC-Irvine 45-14 BASEBALL AMERICA TOP 25: 1. Tennessee 60-13; 2. Texas A&M 53-15; 3. Kentucky 46-14; 3. North Carolina 48-16; 5. Florida State 49-17; 6. FLORIDA 36-30; 7. North Carolina State 38-23; 8. Virginia 45-17; 9. Oregon State 45-16; 10. Georgia 43-17; 11. Clemson 46-16; 12. Oregon 40-20; 13. West Virginia 36-24; 14. UConn 35-26; 15. Arkansas 44-16; 16. East Carolina 46-17; 17. Mississippi State 40-23; 18. Oklahoma State 42-19; 19. Oklahoma 40-21; 20. UC-Santa Barbara 44-14; 21. Arizona 36-23; 22. Kansas State 35-26; 23. Evansville 39-26; 24. Duke 40-20; 25. UC-Irvine 45-14 D1BASEBALL TOP 25: 1. Tennessee 60-13; 2. Texas A&M 53-15; 3. Kentucky 46-16; 4. Florida State 49-17; 5. North Carolina 48-16; 6. North Carolina State 38-23; 7. Virginia 46-17; 8. FLORIDA 36-30; 9. Clemson 44-16; 10. Oregon State 45-16; 11. Georgia 43-17; 12. Oregon 40-20; 13. West Virginia 36-24; 14. Kansas State 35-26; 15. UConn 35-26; 16. Evansville 39-26; 17. Arkansas 44-16; 18. Oklahoma 40-21; 19. UC-Santa Barbara 44-14; 20. East Carolina 46-17; 21. Oklahoma State 42-19; 22. Mississippi State 40-23; 23. UC-Irvine 45-14; 24. Duke 40-20; 25. Arizona 36-23 UF SOFTBALL: Gators add transfer from Washington Tim Walton added a third transfer Wednesday when Washington infielder Rylee Holtorf committed to the Gators. Holftorf, who has played shortstop and third base, hit .336 for the Huskies in 2024 with 11 homers and 25 RBI. She is a career .293 hitter with 17 homers and 56 RBI. Holtorf joins former UNC-Wilmington pitcher Kara Hammock and former Alabama shortstop Kenleigh Cahalan as the newest Gators, joining the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation of RHP Katelynn Oxley (Bartow, FL); OF Townsen Thomas (Humble, TX/Houston, TX Houston Episcopal); CF Taylor Shumaker (Fullerton, CA Esperanza); SS Gabi Cormia (St. John, IN Hanover Central) and SS/3B Layla Lamar (Cary, NC Panther Creek). Final softball polls ESPN/USA SOFTBALL top 25: 1. Oklahoma 59-7; 2. Texas 55-10; 3. FLORIDA 54-15; 4. Stanford 50-17; 5. UCLA 43-12; 6. Alabama 39-20; 7. Oklahoma State 49-12; 8. Duke 52-9; 9. Tennessee 44-12; 10. Texas A&M 44-15; 11. LSU 44-17; 12. Missouri 46-18; 13. Georgia 43-19; 14. Florida State 46-16; 15. Arizona 37-18-1; 16. Baylor 36-23; 17. Arkansas 37-18; 18. Virginia Tech 40-14-1; 19. Louisiana 45-19; 20. Oregon 30-21; 21. Washington 32-15; 22. Mississippi State 34-20; 23. Northwestern 35-13; 24. Clemson 35-19; 25. Texas State 47-15 USA TODAY/NFCA COACHES top 25: 1. Oklahoma 59-7; 2. Texas 55-10; 3. FLORIDA 54-15; 4. Stanford 50-17; 5. UCLA 43-12; 6. Oklahoma State 49-12; 7. Duke 52-9; 8. Alabama 39-20; 9. Tennessee 44-12; 10. Texas A&M 44-15; 11. Missouri 46-18; 12. LSU 44-17; 13. Florida State 46-16; 14. Georgia 43-19; 15. Arizona 37-18-1; 16. Washington 32-15; 17. Virginia Tech 40-14-1; 18. Arkansas 37-18; 19. Louisiana 45-19; 20. Baylor 36-23; 21. Mississippi State 34-20; 22. Boston University 53-6-1; 24. Oregon 30-21; 25. California 37-19 D1SOFTBALL top 25: 1. Oklahoma 59-7; 2. Texas 55-10; 3. FLORIDA 54-15; 4. Stanford 50-17; 5. UCLA 43-12; 6. Oklahoma State 49-12; 7. Duke 52-9; 8. Alabama 39-20; 9. Tennessee 44-12; 10. LSU 44-17; 11. Texas A&M 44-15; 12. Baylor 36-20; 13. Missouri 46-18; 14. Florida State 46-16; 15. Georgia 43-19; 16. Arizona 37-18-1; 17.  Washington 32-15; 18. Louisiana 45-19; 19. Virginia Tech 40-14-1; 20. Oregon 30-21; 21. Boston University 53-6-1; 22. Arkansas 37-18; 23. Liberty 38-25; 24. Northwestern 35-13; 25. Texas State 47-15 SOFTBALL AMERICA top 25: 1. Oklahoma 59-7; 2. Texas 55-10; 3. FLORIDA 54-15; 4. Stanford 50-17; 5. UCLA 43-12; 6. Alabama 39-20; 7. Oklahoma State 49-12; 8. Duke 52-9; 9. Missouri 48-18; 10. Tennessee 44-12; 11. Texas A&M 44-15; 12. LSU 44-17; 13. Georgia 43-19; 14. Baylor 36-23; 15. Florida State 46-16; 16. Arizona 37-18-1; 17. Louisiana 45-19; 18. Arkansas 37-18; 19. Texas State 47-15; 20. Oregon 30-21; 21. Omaha 43-15; 22. Virginia 34-20; 23. Northwestern 35-13; 24. Washington 32-15; 25. Liberty 38-25 SCHLOSSNAGLE AND THE AFTERMATH Monday night after Texas A&M lost to Tennessee in the championship game at the College World Series in Omaha, Jim Schlossnagle all but swore up and down he was an Aggie for life. Less than 24 hours later, the Aggie for life was a Texas Longhorn. It’s one thing to swear allegiance for a lifetime to the school you just took to the precipice of its first national championship in baseball. It’s another thing altogether different to not only leave the next morning but leave for a rival so bitter and intensely hated that the school fight song starts out with the lyrics “Good bye to Texas University.” Later on the same fight song says “The Eyes of Texas” is a song every Longhorn knows so well and it “sounds like hell.” Aggie fans would probably tell you they would cheer for an all-star team from Iran before they would cheer for Texas. But now Jim Schlossnagle is a Longhorn and it’s likely he’ll be paid more than Vanderbilt pays Tim Corbin ($2.317 million), which will set off a wave of coach inflation around the country. Not to be outdone, the Aggies, who have more money than anyone in the world except God and the Longhorns, will not stand by idly. They will figure the best revenge is to hire a better coach than Schlossnagle and bring him to College Station where there are plans to make Blue Bell Park into the palace of the SEC. You have to figure that Aggie athletic director Trev Alberts will at least make courtesy calls to Corbin, Florida’s Kevin O’Sullivan, Tennessee’s Tony Vitello and Kentucky’s Mark Mingione. The name that keeps showing up on all the lists Aggie experts are putting out there is Mingione. Within 24 hours of Schlossnagle departing 11 Aggies had their names in the transfer portal. Five of the departing Aggies are starters: All-American outfielder Jace Laviolette (.305, 29 HR, 78 RBI); 3B Gavin Grahovac (.298, 23 HR, 68 RBI); SS Ali Camarillo (.288 7 HR, 36 RBI); 2B Kaeden Kent (.327, 4 HR, 28 RBI) and LF Caden Sorrell (.275, 11 HR, 43 RBI). How many of them follow Schlossnagle to Texas and how many go elsewhere remains to be seen. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Bruce Feldman of The Athletic has unveiled his top ten rankings of the toughest places to play in college football. Here is the list with my commentary. 1. LSU: They start drinking on Wednesday, sober between midnight and noon on Saturday, then start drinking again so they can be loud and mean Saturday night. Day games are actually a piece of cake. 2. Alabama: When Bama beat Florida in 2005, it ranked with the five loudest stadiums I’ve ever been to. They were trying to impress Tim Tebow who was there on an official visit. Nick Saban made it tough to play there. 3. Penn State: When they have a white out game, it’s really loud. Otherwise, no louder than South Carolina. 4. Ohio State: Yeah, it gets loud when Michigan comes to town. It’s a tough place to play because the Buckeyes usually have a really good team. 5. Virginia Tech: “Enter Sandman” is a very cool entry song. Then the Hokies play and lose a lot and it’s not nearly as loud. 6. FLORIDA: The FSU game in 1991 – before the stadium expanded – was so loud that my ears hurt even when I had my hands covering them. It’s a rowdy place when it’s a game into the fourth quarter. Unless it’s close, fans start leaving in the fourth quarter and it becomes a graveyard. 7. Tennessee: Very loud and a tough place to play when the Vols are good, not nearly so loud or so tough when they’re not. 8. Oregon: The loudest stadium that seats fewer than 60,000 in the country. It’s Oregon. What else are they going to do on a Saturday in Eugene? 9. Georgia: It’s a beautiful stadium and now that the Poodles are winning they’re loud. I remember when Steve Spurrier decided to “hang half a hundred” on them. It was pretty quiet then. 10. Texas A&M:The best part about Kyle Field is when the Aggie band does its halftime show. That’s pretty spectacular. The football? They have yet to win an SEC and now that Texas and Oklahoma are in the league it could be light years before they pull it off. Well, at least they have halftime

A third straight NCAA championship in men's outdoor track and field highlighted the UF athletic year (UAA Photo) After finishing fourth in the Learfield Directors Cup standings, the 14th straight year Florida has finished top five and 40th straight year in the top 10, it’s time to take a look back on all UF sports. The Gators had 11 top five finishes in the NCAA including a national championship in men’s outdoor track and field, the 14th national title brought home by Mike Holloway. Here is a sport-by-sport look at every UF sports program with a look toward the 2024-25 athletic year. Montrell Johnson Jr. (2) is one big reason for optimism for 2024 (Photo by Chris Spears) FOOTBALL Folks in the national media say that this is Billy Napier’s make or break year. In most cases that would be true, but the Florida administration is committed to Napier, Florida’s sixth coach since Steve Spurrier retired in 2001. Napier is good through 2025. Count on it. Now, the question to end all questions is the 2024 season that comes complete with what everyone deems the most brutal schedule in the country. There is reason to believe Florida’s string of three consecutive losing seasons (two under Napier) comes to an end. The potential is there for a dynamic offense and the defense has been completely revamped. Graham Mertz has weapons like Eugene Wilson and the defense has the over the top help in Asa Turner, DJ Douglas and Trekwize Bridges that has been missing the last three years. Status: Program on the rise VOLLEYBALL Before Alexis Stuckey went down with a torn ACL, the Gators had the look of a national championship team. With a healthy Stuckey and last year’s stud freshman All-American Kennedy Martin returning and the arrival of three outstanding freshmen: middle blocker Jaela Auguste, outside hitter Lauren Harden and outside hitter Alec Rothe, the Gators expect to rebound from a season that went south a year ago. Florida was 8-0 and on the verge of taking down No. 1 Wisconsin when Stuckey went down. The Gators were 11-10 the rest of the way, highly uncharacteristic of a Mary Wise-coached team. This will be Mary’s revenge tour although the SEC just got tougher than ever with the addition of Texas, which has won back-to-back NCAA titles. Status: Back to normal, 30-win (or more) season WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY The Gators won the SEC championship last year with NCAA champion Parker Valby leading the way. Valby is eligible to return but it’s highly doubtful that she will. Also gone from last year’s team are seniors Flomenthal Asekol, Allison Wilson and Elise Thorner. If Mike Holloway and Will Palmer can somehow convince Valby to return, the Gators will be favored to win the SEC once again. If she doesn’t this will be considered a rebuilding year, but since 2012 the Florida women have won seven SEC championships so the Gators will always be in the hunt. Status: Rebuilding year likely, but a strong SEC finish expected MEN’S CROSS COUNTRY The Gators had their moments last year, such as winning the FSU Invitational but they finished seventh at the SEC meet. There is hope for the future, however, because Parvej Khan and Ethan Geiger return, providing a strong foundation. The Gators are moving upward but in need of a dominant runner and depth. Status: Moving upward but slowly SOCCER There was a time when the Gators were like death and taxes. You could pencil them in for a run at the SEC championship and the NCAA, but Becky Burleigh, who won the NCAA title in 1998 and 13 SEC titles let the program slide. Since then the program has been floundering. Former North Carolina All-American and member of the US Women’s National Team Samantha Bohon will be in her third season. She went 6-5-6 last year but finished 13th in the SEC. Bohon has eight newcomers for the 2024 season including midfielder Vera Blom from Sweden, four other freshmen and four transfers including midfielder Emma Duval from Tennessee. Status: Moving upward but still trying to return to elite status Walter Clayton Jr. could lead the SEC in scoring in 2024-25 (Photo by Chris Spears) MEN’S BASKETBALL Todd Golden recently said the Gators will be taller and faster this season than they were a year ago when they made it to the championship game of the SEC Tournament. This was a Florida team one Bert Smith swallow of the whistle away from the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The foundation is solid with the return of volume scorer Walter Clayton Jr., 3-point specialist Will Richard, bigs Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh and point Denzel Aberdeen. Golden added three transfers – 6-2 Alijah Martin from Florida Atlantic, 6-10 Rueben Chinyelu from Washington State and 6-9 Sam Alexis from Chattanooga – to go with freshmen 6-5 Isaiah Brown and 7-9 (yes, 7-9) Olivier Rioux. There could be two more additions to the freshman class before August 1. The Gators are the team nobody wants to play next season. Status: A deep NCAA run is entirely possible WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Kelly Rae Finley is a proven recruiter who is piecing together a program that will be capable of competing with the best in the SEC. A year ago she brought in McDonald’s All-American Laila Reynolds. This year she’s bringing two more McDonald’s All-Americans, 6-4 Me’Arah O’Neal, daughter of basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, and 5-9 5-star Liv McGill, who won gold with the US Women’s Under-19 National Team at the FIBA Women’s Americup. Leading scorer Aliyah Matharu (19 per game) returns along with 6-6 Ra’Shaya Kyle (12.4 points, 9.2 rebounds). The Gators went 16-16 last year when they went to the Women’s NIT. They will be much improved. Status: Should make the NCAA Tournament field Leanne Wong is a big reason why UF will be favored to win the 2025 NCAA title (Photo by Chris Spears) GYMNASTICS Loaded. That’s the Gators for the season that begins in January. The Gators finished fourth last season, but with Leanne Wong and Anya Pilgrim returning along with Kayla DiCielo returning from an Olympic sabbatical, UCLA transfer Selena Harris and freshman Skye Blakely from the Olympic team, Jenny Rowland has the nation’s deepest and most talented roster. Also returning are Sloane Blakely, former US National Team member Riley McCusker (injury redshirt) and last year’s extraordinary freshmen Danie Ferris, Gabby Disidore and Skylar Draser. The Gators have won six consecutive SEC championships. Status: Should win the national championship MEN’S SWIMMING Anthony Nesty has been the head coach six years and he’s won the SEC all six to extend Florida’s record to 12 consecutive SEC championships. He should make it a baker’s dozen 13 this year with Josh Liendo (Canadian Olympic team, NCAA champ in 50 and 100 free, 100 fly), Adam Chaney, Maguire McDuff, Jonny Marshall (UK Olympic team), Aleksas Savickas (Lithuanian Olympic team) and incoming freshman Luke Whitlock (US Olympic team). The incoming freshman class is the best in the nation. Nesty is the head coach for the US Olympic team that should rack up a slew of gold medals in Paris. The program has never been better. The Gators finished third in the NCAA last year. They should finish top three minimum this year. Status: Should win the SEC and make a run at the NCAA title WOMEN’S SWIMMING Things have taken a serious upswing since Nesty took over the program. The Gators have won the last two SEC championships and with Emma Weyant (US Olympic team)  and Bella Sims (NCAA champ 200 and 500 free) returning, UF should make it three in a row. The Gators finished third at the NCAA last year with a team dominated by underclassmen. The kids have another year of experience under their belts so it’s possible the Gators will make a serious run at the NCAA championship. Nesty added talented depth to the roster with an exceptional recruiting class that includes 5-star recruit Julie Broussard from Canada and Gracie Weyant, the talented younger sister of Emma. Status: Should win the SEC and make a run at the NCAA title MEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD The Gators finished third indoors for the second straight year. Mike Holloway has won 14 NCAA championships including five during the indoor season. The Gators will be strong in the sprints with Wanya McCoy, distance with Parvej Kahn, and the field events with jumpers Malcolm Clemmons and Sean Dixon-Bodie, shot putter/discus Kai Chang and Calvin Bostic. Status: Could win it all next year WOMEN’S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD In the last three years, the Gators have finished second, third and first at the NCAA championships. This year, it’s likely they’ll have to do it without Parker Valby, who won the 3000 and 5000, and Grace Stark, who won the indoor hurdles in 2022. The Gators will should score a lot of points in the jumps with Anthaya Carlton and Kendall Brown, daughter of Gator football legend Vernell Brown. Sprinters Kayla Davis and Jayla Hollis along with shot putter Gracelyn Leiseth should be among the best in the country. Status: If Valby is back, national champs Jac Caglianone will be one of the first four players taken in the MLB Draft in a couple of weeks (Photo by Chris Spears) BASEBALL The Gators were all but written off until they took two of three from Georgia in Athens the final week of the regular season. From that point on, they were formidable as they won the Stillwater Regional, the Clemson Super Regional and finished in a tie for third at the College World Series. Jac Caglianone will be one of the first four players taken when Major League Baseball drafts in a couple of weeks. Brandon Neely is almost certainly gone but he could come back. Colby Shelton has two years of eligibility so he has leverage to come back if the team or deal isn’t right and still have leverage for the 2025 draft. Ty Evans could come back which would give the Gators four returning hitters who had double figures home runs (Luke Heyman, Cade Kurland, Brody Donay are the others). Pitching next year should be improved with potential weekend rotation of Pierce Coppola, Liam Peterson and Jake Clemente. If Fisher Jameson comes back the Gators have their closer. Kevin O’Sullivan has brought in Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year Michael Ross (Samford, 13-0), gold glove center fielder Kyle Ross (Stetson), outfielder Blake Cyr (Miami, freshman All-American 2023), second baseman Justin Nadeau (Jacksonville) and shortstop/DH Landon Stripling (Texas Tech) from the portal. Status: The pieces are there for making the CWS again All-American Jocelyn Erickson was the SEC Player of the Year (Photo by Chris Spears) SOFTBALL The Gators won the SEC Tournament and were within a walkoff homer in extra innings of playing Texas for the national championship. As good as they were, they could be even better in 2025, which is saying something when you consider Skylar Wallace and Katie Kistler have run out of eligibility. Tim Walton returns All-Americans Kendra Falby, Korbe Otis, Reagan Walsh, freshman phenom Keagan Rothrock and Jocelyn Erickson, who was also the SEC Player of the Year. Freshman P/1B Ava Brown returns as does 3B Ariel Kowalewski. That alone could challenge for the national title, but Walton is bringing in the No.1 ranked recruiting class in the country and he’s brought in second team All-SEC shortstop Kenleigh Cahalan (Alabama), CAA Pitcher of the Year Kara Hammock (UNC-Wilmington) and infielder Rylee Holtorff (Washington) through the portal. It is rumored that Florida may also land USA Softball Player of the Year Ni’Jaree Canady who is transferring from Stanford. She was the most dominant pitcher in the country in 2024. Status: A national championship is possible LACROSSE The Gators reached the Final Four behind the best senior class in school history. Maggi Hall, Danielle Pavinelli, Emily Heller, Madison Waters, Ashley Gonzalez, Georgia Hoey and Paisley Egan are all seniors, so Amanda O’Leary will be reloading next season. O’Leary has won 13 straight conference championships and has made the Gators a fixture in the NCAA brackets so there is no reason to doubt Florida will be back in the hunt next season when Kaitlyn Davies, Gianna Monaco and Ava Tighe will take over as the team leaders. O’Leary is already loading up in the transfer portal with Jenny Markey (Syracuse), Jordan Basso (Gettysburg) and Cali Bishop (Louisville) already committed. Status: A slight step backward while replacing stud seniors WOMEN’S TENNIS The Gators were eliminated in the second round of NCAA play by Miami at the Ring Tennis Center. They haven’t made it past the round of 16 since 2017, when they won the NCAA title, and haven’t won an SEC championship since 2016. The last time the Gators finished with a top 10 national ranking was 2018. Clearly, the program is spinning its tires now, good but not championship level good. Florida’s 2024-25 recruiting class is ranked 20th. Roland Thornqvist will have to rely on internationals and the portal to keep up with Georgia, Texas A&M and Tennessee. Status: Treading water. MEN’S TENNIS In head coach Adam Steinberg’s first year on the job, the Gators finished 13-12 overall, 6-6 in SEC play. They were ousted in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by UCF. It was a year of inconsistency by a freshman-dominated team that should be much improved in 2025. Jeremy Jin posted a 16-12 record as a freshman while junior Nate Bonetto went 16-14 and sophomore Tanapatt Nirundorn went 15-11. Status: Still in a rebuild mode since the 2021 NCAA championship season. WOMEN’S GOLF The Gators didn’t make it out of the NCAA regionals and finished 13th at the SEC championships, so it was a disappointing year for head coach Emily Glaser. All-American Maisie Filler won’t be back, but All-SEC freshman Ines Archer returns and Glaser is bringing in an outstanding freshman class of Elaine Widjaja, Jessica Guiser and the Wu sisters, Isa and Siuue, from Windermere Prep via Hong Kong. The Gators will be young next year, but should improve at least to middle of the SEC pack. Status: In need of a bounce back season. MEN’S GOLF A year after winning the NCAA title, the Gators made it to match play at the SEC championships and finished 11th at the NCAA. JC Deacon has an experienced roster returning led by All-Americans Ian Gilligan and Jack Turner, Matthew Kress, who played a vital role in the 2023 NCAA championship, and Parker Bell, who missed qualifying for the US Open by a mere two strokes. Deacon has added two outstanding freshmen, Parker Sands, who won the Western Open Junior, and New Zealander Zach Swanwick. The Gators should contend for the SEC title. Status: The Gators could be very dangerous at tournament time MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Mike Holloway. So he rebuilt and the Gators won their third straight NCAA outdoor championship despite a lack of scoring in the jumps and field events. The Gators clinched the championship with a third place finish in the 4X400 relay, the last event of the night to edge Auburn by one point. The Gators of 2025 have a rising superstar in sprinter Wanya McCoy and distance runner Pavej Khan but Holloway has to replace his entire 4X400 relay team, which will be a task. Nobody works the track portal better than Mouse, so the Gators will simply reload. Status: A fourth straight NCAA title is entirely possible If Parker Valby returns the Gators could win the 2025 NCAA outdoor championship (UAA Photo) WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD It took Arkansas scoring 29 points in the 400 and then nearly setting a world record in the 4X400 relay to edge out the Gators by four points to win the NCAA title. The Gators got 20 points from Parker Valby and 10 from Grace Stark in the hurdles. Stark is out of eligibility but if Valby were to return, the Gators would likely be favored to win the NCAA title next year, but her return is doubtful. Alida van Daalen (discus, shot put) is a future superstar. The Gators need to load up on sprinters in the offseason Status: A top five finish is likely, but a championship isn’t out of the question

The Florida Gators secured a major commitment on Wednesday from one of their top offensive targets for the 2025 class. Four-star Receiver Joshua Moore (6-3, 205, Pembroke Pines, FL, West Broward) chose Florida over Florida State on Tuesday, just days after visiting the Gainesville campus.

Outfielder Michael Robertson will always be etched in Florida Gator baseball history for his memorable walk-off hit against Clemson in game two of the Super Regionals. With the bases loaded, Robertson drove a 1-0 sinker into the left-center field gap, scoring two runs and sending the Gators back to the College World Series in dramatic fashion. As his teammates rushed to celebrate with him, star teammate Jac Caglianone could only smile at him on television and say, "Myyy-key."

Hall is slowly becoming one of track and field’s new darlings.

Graham Mertz (15) has more career starts than any QB in the SEC (Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: On more than one occasion back in the spring, Billy Napier commented that the 2024 edition of the Florida Gators will be the most experienced team he’s had since he became the UF head coach. On the offensive side of the ball, he’s got the most experienced QB in the Southeastern Conference in Graham Mertz (43 career starts), the running back with the most career yards of any in the SEC in Montrell Johnson Jr. (2,496 rushing yards), wide receivers who have caught a combined 366 passes in their careers, tight ends with 76 catches and offensive linemen with 75 career starts between them. Over on the defensive side, there are more than 200 combined career starts and a revamped secondary that includes three stud transfer safeties (Asa Turner,  Washington; DJ Douglas, Tulane; Trikweze Bridges, Oregon). Experience does matter, especially when there is talent and the kids who spent a lot of time getting burned last year when they were freshmen are sophomores now. One year older doesn’t make you one year better, but what we saw in the spring was fewer mistakes and more instinctive play. To ensure the defense will be improved Napier revamped his coaching staff by adding Ron Harris (secondary), Gerald Chatman (D-line) and Ron Roberts (inside linebackers, co-defensive coordinator). The hope is that with experience at every position, Roberts will be able to do with Florida what he did at Auburn last year when he improved their defensive by four first downs and seven points per game. If Florida had been four first downs and seven points per game better the Gators would have won at least eight games in 2023. It's the offense that should take a real leap. A year ago Mertz was sacked 33 times yet he still completed 72.9 percent of his passes for 2,903 yards and 20 TDs with only three interceptions. Thought to be a desperation pickup in the months leading up to the start of the season, Mertz showed what experience can do for you. With an O-line that has experience in front of him this year, a stud running back and receivers who can stretch the field vertically, Florida’s offense should be vastly improved and it really wasn’t that bad last year – 409 yards and 28.4 points per game. If Mertz is protected, those numbers will be significantly better. Here are the career starts for every projected starting QB in the SEC for 2024: Alabama: Jalen Milroe, 14; Arkansas: Taylen Green, 18 (all at Boise State); Auburn: Payton Thorne, 40 (27 at Michigan State); FLORIDA: Mertz, 43 (32 at Wisconsin); Georgia: Carson Beck, 14; Kentucky: Brock Vandagriff, 0; LSU: Garrett Nussmeier, 2; Mississippi State: Blake Shapen, 24 (all at Baylor); Missouri: Brady Cook, 27; Oklahoma: Jackson Arnold, 1; Ole Miss: Jackson Dart, 32 (6 at Southern Cal); South Carolina: Lanorris Sellers, 0; Tennessee: Nico Iamaleava, 1; Texas: Quinn Ewers, 22; Texas A&M: Conner Weigman, 8; Vanderbilt: Diego Pavia, 25 (all at New Mexico State). Todd Golden works with freshman Olivier Rioux, who stands 7-9 (UAA Photo) YOU CAN’T TEACH TALL About a month ago at the Ocala Tipoff Club meet and greet, Todd Golden said the Gators were tall and played fast last season, but for 2023-24 they would be taller and play even faster. You can teach fast tempo. What you can’t teach is tall. Even without Olivier Rioux, the Gators would be a very tall team, but with him, they’re even taller. At IMG Academy last year, Rioux was in the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest teenager in the world. He was a mere 7-6 then, a full five inches taller than Micah Handlogten and four inches taller than Dwayne Schintzius, the tallest player to ever wear a Florida basketball uniform. Well, 7-6 was then. Since he was recognized by Guinness, Rioux has grown three inches and there are no assurances that he has finished growing. He’s listed on the University of Florida roster as 7-9 and 298 pounds. The 298 may sound like a lot, but when stretched over a body that long, you can see there is room to add some muscle. The question is can he move? Does he have skills? If his skills and coordination were at elite levels he wouldn’t be a walk-on at Florida. Because the Gators were already a tall bunch even before Rioux joined the team, there is no rush to get him on the floor for protracted lengths of time. Golden is going to let Rioux develop at a good pace. He will get stronger and with the addition of muscle his coordination should come around. Imagine what could happen in a year or so if Rioux starts putting it all together. Meanwhile, what Golden needs is a 5 X 5 X 5 X 5 guy. That is five minutes, five rebounds, five blocked shots and five fouls. Need to psych out an opponent with a strong inside game? Put in Olivier Rioux with orders to block anything that goes up in the paint. Want to alter matters on the offensive end? Just toss it up around the rim a few times. Rioux doesn’t even have to jump to catch and dunk, but imagine what happens if he does. A 6-10 center on the other team is giving up 11 inches in height. The best way to describe Olivier Rioux is a project at this point, but if you are a coach and you are going to have a project on your team, better a tall project than a short one. You can develop skills in both the tall project and the short one. What you can’t teach is tall. UF SOFTBALL: Walton a truly elite recruiter Fresh off a third place finish at the Women’s College World Series with a lineup that relied heavily on freshman and with the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class coming in, Tim Walton has further strengthened the Gators in the portal. A couple of weeks ago, Walton added Kara Hammock (17-6, 1.60 ERA in 2024) to bolster his pitching staff. A week ago he hired Memphis head coach Stepanie VanBrakle Proctor as his pitching coach. Monday he landed Alabama shortstop Kenleigh Cahalan (.296, 5 3B, 2 HR, 30 RBI). A hot and juicy rumor has Florida among the three schools that Stanford All-American NiJaree Canady has under consideration. Canady, who struck out 337 hitters while posting an 0.73 ERA last season, pitched Stanford into the semifinals at the WCWS. She is from Topeka, Kansas, so Oklahoma and Texas are much closer to home, but Tim Walton’s first head coaching job was at Wichita State and he maintains close ties to the area. Could he deliver the ultimate recruiting coup by bringing in Canady? UF TRACK AND FIELD: Malcolm Clemons, Anna Hall punch Olympic tickets Former Gator Malcolm Clemons made the team in the long jump with a leap of 26-10 on his final attempt. Former Gators Anna Hall won the 800 on the final event of the heptathlon to finish with 6,614 points, a first place finish and a trip to Paris for the Olympics. Grant Holloway, who ran a blistering 12.92 for the best time in the world this year, will run in the finals of the 110 hurdles on Thursday. TEXAS FIRES ITS BASEBALL COACH Consider this a sign of coming to grips with reality. Texas fired baseball coach David Pierce after eight seasons on the job and with two years at $1.2 million a year remaining on his contract. Pierce, who got the Longhorns to the College World Series three times, only missed NCAA play twice, once during the 2020 COVID year and 2019 when UT finished break even at 27-27. At Texas he compiled a 297-162 record including a 36-24 mark in 2024. Add in three seasons as the head coach at Sam Houston State and two at Tulane and Pierce has an overall record of 494-271. Pierce won baseball games, enough that he would still have a job at most places, but most places aren’t 107 miles from your arch rival, who happens to be in the Southeastern Conference and who has made the College World Series two out of three years including a second place finish to NCAA champ Tennessee is 2024. Jim Schlossnagle and the Texas A&M Aggies are a huge problem for the Longhorns. An even bigger problem is the SEC, which the Longhorns will join in six days. Four of the eight teams that made the College World Series field were from the SEC including the two that played for the championship and three of the four semifinalists. Eleven SEC teams in all made the NCAA field and the performance at the CWS that included the last SEC team to make the field (Florida, semifinalist at the CWS) came as a competitive jolt to Texas. Only six teams made it from the Big 12 with only two (West Virginia and Kansas State) making it as far as a super regional. While Texas was, is and will always be a football first school, it did just win the Learfield Directors Cup as the best athletic program in the country, but the competition in every sport will take a step or two up starting in the fall. Non-SEC people make fun of the league motto “It just means more” but that’s not an exaggeration and Texas knows it. The last thing athletic director Chris Del Conte wants is for the Longhorns to take a major step backwards because SEC competition is that much tougher in every sport. Baseball, with six NCAA championships, six NCAA runner-up finishes and 38 trips to Omaha in its history, is the single most successful sport in Texas athletic history but now it will have to compete in a kill or be killed conference. You can almost bet the farm that the first four calls Del Conte makes will be to Schlossnagle, Tennessee coach Tony Vitello, Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan and Kentucky coach Nick Mingione, all of whom made the CWS field in Omaha. Of the four, the only one who might be tempted to take the job is Mingione. Money isn’t going to be an object. Only God has more money than the Longhorns. Tim Corbin has been at Vanderbilt 22 seasons with two NCAA titles and five College World Series appearances. Vandy pays him $2,317,000 a season, which makes him the highest paid college baseball coach in the country. That’s small change for Texas. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: There was a time not all that long ago when Lane Kiffin was viewed as a brilliant coaching mind but way to immature to ever win big. Four seasons at Ole Miss have produced a 34-15 record including the first 11-win season in school history last year. He’s won 95 games in his coaching career all before his 50th birthday. By contrast, Steve Spurrier had only won 70 and Nick Saban 61 by the time they turned 50. Some people have been caught by surprise that Kiffin is the lone voice among prominent coaches speaking out about a system that is doomed to fail. Nobody has benefitted more from the transfer portal than Kiffin, yet he says it’s a “horrible system, so what does that tell you?” The system is horrible and when you combine what amounts to free agency with NIL money we have a model that will collapse under its own weight. Kiffin says he doesn’t have all the answers, but on more than one occasion he’s said get the coaches together minus the academics and bureaucrats who run the NCAA and they will find the solutions that will work. He is right, but the system isn’t going to change until we have some sort of scandal or athletic program going belly up in debt trying to keep up with everyone else. Did you ever think that Lane Kiffin would be college football’s voice of reason?

Men's track and field won the NCAA championship as the Gators finished strong in the month of May (UAA Photo) A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: Regardless of what happens tonight in Omaha, the Florida Gators will finish fourth in the Learfield Directors Cup Standings. Texas, which will be joining the Southeastern Conference in a week, has already won the cup with Stanford second. Tennessee will finish ahead of the Gators regardless of what happens in the championship game of the College World Series tonight. Texas A&M will move up to fifth regardless of tonight’s outcome, which will give the rest of the collegiate sports world a pretty good look at what is going to happen in the future. It is a good news and bad news finish for the Gators. It’s good news to finish in the top five for the 14th consecutive year. It is also good news that the Gators got a national championship in men’s outdoor track and field, a second place from the women’s track and field team, third place finishes by softball, baseball and women’s lacrosse. The bad news is the Gators got no points from football or women’s basketball, only 50 points due to a down year in volleyball because of an injury to All-American setter Alexis Stuckey, 75 points combined from the men’s and women’s tennis teams and a combined 100 points from men’s and women’s golf. If the Gators had gotten a winning season from football, an NCAA season from women’s basketball and the better finishes in golf and tennis, UF would have challenged for its first Director’s Cup championship. Florida and Stanford are the only two schools that have finished top ten since the cup kicked off during the 1993-94 academic year. Top 25 Directors Cup with points 1. Texas 1339.5; 2. Stanford 1312.75; 3. Tennessee 1117; 4. FLORIDA 1106; 5. UCLA 1017.5; 6. Notre Dame 1008.5;  7. Ohio State 1006; 8. Alabama 1003.88; 9. Southern California 994; 10. Virginia 993.25; 11. Michigan 985; 12. Texas A&M 969.25; 13. North Carolina 957.25; 14. LSU 948.5; 15. Florida State 915.88; 16. Duke 891; 17. Georgia 887.38; 18. California 886; 19. Arkansas 884.25; 20. Oklahoma State 846; 21. Penn State 827.75; 22. Nebraska 803.5; 23. North Carolina State 780.5; 24. Wisconsin 765.5; * 25. Oklahoma 755.75 * Point totals will change when baseball is added in SEC in the Director’s Cup by national ranking 3. Tennessee; 4. FLORIDA; 8. Alabama; 12. Texas A&M; 14. LSU; 17. Georgia; 19. Arkansas; 29. Auburn; 32. South Carolina; 36. Ole Miss; 37. Kentucky; 55. Missouri; 64. Vanderbilt; 68. Mississippi State Other schools of interest 15. Florida State; 65. Miami; 85. UCF; 109. South Florida; 140. North Florida; 196. Stetson; 210. Florida Atlantic; 245. Jacksonville UF BASEBALL: Gators land SoCon Pitcher of the Year Kevin O’Sullivan landed one of the plums from the 2024 transfer portal Sunday with a commitment from Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year Michael Ross from Samford. A native of Lakeland (George Jenkins High School), Ross went 13-1 in 2024 with a 3.27 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 96-1/3 innings. Ross walked only 21 batters while holding opponents to a .240 batting average. For his career at Samford, Ross, a 6-2, 205-pound righthander, has a 20-1 record with a 3.89 ERA. He struck out 158 batters in 180-1/3 innings while holding opponents to a .241 batting average. Ross is the fifth player O’Sullivan has landed in the portal, joining Stetson gold glove center fielder Kyle Jones, Jacksonville second baseman Justin Nadeau, Texas Tech shortstop/DH Landon Stripling and Miami outfielder Blake Cyr. Jones who is a gap-to-gap defender hit .355 as a freshman with five homers and RBI. He stole 23 bases in 28 attempts and struck out only 27 times in 248 official plate appearances. As a team the Gators stole only 43 bases with Colby Shelton leading the way with six in eight attempts. Nadeau played in only 29 games due to injuries but hit .395 with a home run and 29 RBI. He stole 11 bases and had a .482 on base percentage. Stripling, a Georgia native, hit .364 as a freshman at Texas Tech with four homers and 20 RBI in 31 games. He struck out only 11 times in 98 at bats. Cyr was a freshman All-American at Miami in 2023 when he hit .305 with 17 homers and drove in 63 runs. Injured most of his sophomore year, Cyr hit .284 with seven homers and 21 RBI. So far, five Gators have entered the portal. Of the departing players, Grayson Smith appeared in 15 games with an 0-1 record and an 8.66 ERA. Hunter Jones pitched in two games with a 54.00 ERA. Landon Russell hit .115 with two RBI in 26 plate appearances and he posted a 9.00 ERA in four games. Sammy Mumau and John Martinez didn’t play in a game and were redshirted. Incoming: 2B Justin Nadeau (SO, Jacksonville); SS/DH Landon Stripling (FR, Texas Tech); OF Blake Cyr (SO, Miami); CF Kyle Jones (Stetson); RHP Michael Ross (Samford) Outgoing: P/OF Landon Russell (SO); RHP Grayson Smith (FR); INF Sammy Mumau (FR); RHP Hunter Jones (FR); INF John Martinez (FR) Jac Caglianone won the John Olerud Award (UAA Photo) Caglianone wins Olerud Award as best 2-way player Jac Caglianone won the John Olerud Award, given annually to the best 2-way player in the country. Caglianone hit .419 with 35 home runs and 72 RBI. On the mound, he compiled a 5-2 record with a 4.76 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 72-2/3 innings. Caglianone finished third in the country in batting average, second in home runs, third in hits (104), fourth in on base percentage (.544), fourth in slugging percentage (.875), eighth in runs scored (84) and 10th in walks (58). Without a doubt, he was the best player in the country, not just 2-way. It is a true blight upon the Golden Spikes and Dick Howser awards that Caglianone wasn’t even listed among the three finalists for either award. Parker Valby won five NCAA championships in the 2023-24 academic year (UAA Photo) UF TRACK AND FIELD: Valby finalist for Collegiate Women’s Sports Award This should be a slam dunk, but we thought that last year when Trinity Thomas somehow didn’t win the award, although she did win for gymnastics. Valby, who will be competing tonight for a spot on the Olympic team in the 5000 meters, won five NCAA individual titles in 2023-24: cross country; 3000 and 5000 at the NCAA indoors; 5000 and 10,000 at the NCAA outdoors. Valby is the winner of the Honda Award in both cross country and track and field. Olympic qualifying results: Triple jumper Jasmine Moore qualified for the Olympic team with a first place leap of 46-9.5. Halfway through the heptathlon competition, former Gator Anna Hall is in first place with 3,884 points, 10 ahead of second place Chari Hawkins. Today, Grant Holloway will be running the 110 meter hurdles; Marquis Dendy will be competing in the long jump; and Parker Valby will be running the 5000. UF SWIMMING: Finke wraps up Olympic Trials with 1500 freestyle win Bobby Finke will have the chance to win gold medals once again in the 800 and 1500 freestyle races at the Paris Olympics. On the final night of the Olympic Trials, Finke won the 1500. Earlier in the week he qualified once again for the 800. Finke is one of six Gators who will represent the US in Paris. Gators on the US Olympic team Caeleb Dressel (4×100 free relay, 50 free, 100 fly) Bobby Finke (800 free, 1500 free) Kieran Smith (4×200 free relay, 400 free) Luke Whitlock (800 free) Katie Ledecky (400 free, 200 free, 1500 free, 800 free) Emma Weyant (400 IM) Gators representing other countries Maha Amer – Egypt Julie Brousseau – Canada Josh Liendo – Canada Nicole Maier – Germany Jonny Marshall – Great Britain Alfonso Mestre – Venezuela Alberto Mestre – Venezuela Aleksas Savickas – Lithuania HEATING UP: Wyatt Langford Saturday night, former Gator Wyatt Langford hit an 8th-inning grand slam that helped carry the Texas Rangers to a 6-0 win over the Kansas City Royals. Sunday, Langford hit a run-scoring double in the fourth inning for the only run the Rangers would need in a 4-0 win over the Royals. Since June 13, Langford is 12-33 with two homers and 13 RBI. In his last three games, he is 6-15 with two doubles, a home run and 8 RBI. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Pay attention to the motion brought by Houston Christian University to intervene in the settlement between the US House of Representatives and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The agreement between the House and the NCAA calls for a revenue sharing model and $2.75 billion in back pay to athletes who were deprived of NIL opportunities back before there was such a thing as NIL in the first place. Houston Christian is asking the courts to question the fairness of this agreement. The revenue sharing agreement applies mostly to the power conferences since they are the ones with the big TV agreements, but some money goes to group of five schools and some to Historic Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). Division IAA, Division II and Division III schools don’t have television contracts so they will not be able to participate in the sharing of revenue under this proposal. Making matters worse for the NCAA is the fact that the organization did not share the details of the settlement until well after agreements had been made. You would think that with all the academics and lawyers employed by the NCAA, they could have at least clued the lower division schools on what is going on. Instead, you can bet the farm this action by Houston Christian will lead to a lawsuit, the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, will fight it in court and once in court the NCAA will get annihilated, as it always does. Certain things we can count on in life. Death, taxes and the never-ending stupidity of the NCAA. Thanks to the NCAA screwing things up so badly that we have the equivalent of unrestricted free agency, the power schools are relying on the group of five and lower division schools to serve the same purpose of the minor leagues for Major League Baseball. If you are wondering why the NFL isn’t fighting the spring football league that is the result of a merger of the USFL and XFL it is because the NFL needs a developmental league. The NBA has the G-League. The pros supplement their minor leagues. You can bet the farm that when Houston Christian’s inquiry reaches the courts, in all likelihood joined by hundreds of other schools from the lower divisions, that this settlement will be tossed completely with instructions not to come back until the lower divisions are compensated. Now, also on the NCAA agenda are proposals for unlimited coaching staffs and a June early signing period. The NCAA has been neutered so with transfers, NIL, etc. that it is going to find it extremely difficult to derail the proposal for unlimited coaching staffs although it might succeed in limiting the number of coaches allowed on the road to recruit. There is significant opposition on numerous fronts about a June signing period. Here's a great idea that comes straight from Lane Kiffin: Put the head coaches together for a week and let them come up with solutions for NIL, the portal and other matters pertaining to football. It makes more sense for coaches to make their own rules rather than athletic directors and academics to be in charge.

(A New Feature*) Some Of It Stolen … Uh, Researched.

Parker Valby crosses the finish line at NCAA meet in Oregon (UAA Photo) Years ago, long before I was born, someone in the sports writing profession wrote a set of rules, one of which was we’re not supposed to cheer either for a team or a particular player. My mentor, the late, great Jack Hairston, once laughed at me and told me that if I were Catholic I would be sentenced to 10,000 Hail Mary’s or else I would do a thousand years in purgatory as my penance before St. Peter would let me into heaven, all because the Florida Gators were the only team I actually cared about and I had my list of favorite Gators. When I confessed what Jack had told me to another of my mentors, the late, great John Crittendon, he laughed and then told me that if I didn’t have a rooting interest in a team or favorite players then I had no heart, just a thumping gizzard. A recent visit to the emergency room to deal with a dislocated and fractured shoulder proved once and for all I do have a heart, which means I do have a team – the Gators, of course – and a list of favorite Gators. Along the way I’ve had flirtations with other teams. The Yankees because of Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra; the Orioles because of Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson and Jim Palmer; the Colts until they traded Johnny Unitas to San Diego then moved the team to Indianapolis; and the Celtics of the Bill Russell era and again during the Bird, McHale and Parrish era. Flirtations. When they won I was happy. When they lost I got over it in about 30 minutes. Then there were, are and will always be the Florida Gators. I outgrew the feeling that I live and die with the Gators sometime around the time Jack Hairston took me under his wing, offering me this reminder that sticks with me every time I have to write about a game or an athlete. At the SEC baseball championship game between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Gators at old Perry Field back in the spring of 1969, Jack told me, “Your job is to get the story. Sometimes the score is the story, but not all that often. By the time people read what you write, nearly everybody already knows the score. The story is the people who made the score possible. Your job is to get the story.” As I have discovered in the 55 years since I got that advice, the story is never the same, particularly in collegiate sports where turnover is constant, especially now that there is the equivalent of unlimited free agency. The games change. The scores change. There are always new athletes competing which always leads to the inevitable comparisons of those from different eras. I hear it constantly that players like Babe Ruth or Joe DiMaggio or Sonny Jurgenson wouldn’t be as good in this modern era, but the years have taught me that with few exceptions, the great ones would be great in any era. The great ones did what they had to do to be great in their eras but no matter the era, their competitive drive would lead them to do whatever it took to achieve greatness. Sports fans revel in the glory, but they rarely get a glimpse of the pain and sacrifice that goes into the success we see in person or on the tube. At the Masters in 1973, I spent an hour watching Jack Nicklaus on the driving range, hitting ball after ball, taking moments to self-critique each shot. Many years later at Bay Hill, I watched this kid named Tiger Woods on the range. It was like Nicklaus all over because he hit with purpose and self-critiqued each shot. It was practice with purpose. Then I read about how he would hit balls until his hands bled when he was a youngster and I understood once again that great ones do whatever it takes to be great. For the past month as I have watched and chronicled this remarkable end of the 2023-24 athletic year at the University of Florida, I’ve been able to see real greatness. Mike Holloway, probably the greatest coach in any collegiate sport, won his 14th national championship with the Florida men’s track and field team. If you add all the national championships won by the entire coaching staff at each Southeastern Conference school, there isn’t one staff that can equal Mike’s 14 national championships. It took a near world record 4X400 relay on the last event of the night for the Arkansas women to win the NCAA title, edging out the Florida women who came in second, otherwise Mike would have 15. In watching the track team, I got to watch the incredible Parker Valby, who will go down as the greatest female distance runner in the history of college sports. In the 2023-24 athletic year she won NCAA titles in cross country, the 3,000 and 5,000 meter runs at the indoor nationals, then won the 5,000 and 10,000 outdoors. Five NCAA titles in one year. Nobody has ever done that. She has a year of eligibility remaining. The selfish part of me, my inner Gator, hopes she will come back for one more year, but I seriously doubt she will. What more does she have to prove at the collegiate level? Absolutely nothing. If you watched her run to win the two events at the NCAA outdoors in Eugene, Oregon, she ran so effortlessly that it was like someone out on an afternoon fun run. That is, until she decided to leave the field behind. When she kicked in that gear that no one else has, we saw what real greatness is all about. Skylar Wallace after one of her home runs against Oklahoma (UAA Photo) At the Women’s College World Series, we saw the end of Skylar Wallace’s remarkable career. Prior to Florida’s semifinal loss to eventual NCAA champ Oklahoma, Skylar put the Gators on her back and carried them. Along the way, Florida won the SEC Tournament title, regional and super regional championships and then she had the Gators within a walkoff homer by OU of playing for the national championship. She hit .404 with 16 homers, 18 doubles, four triples and 47 RBI. Along the way she stole 37 bases in 40 attempts and set the NCAA record for runs scored in a career. Career numbers: .406 batting average, 239 runs scored, 211 hits, 37 doubles, 17 triples, 41 home runs, 174 RBI and 118 stolen bases. She was easily the best shortstop in college softball her three years at Florida. The selfish part of me wants her to come back for one more year, but she has exhausted her eligibility, has a master’s degree from UF and a life ahead of her. I hope somehow, someway, Tim Walton is able to carve out a spot for her on his coaching staff. Jac Caglianone digs in for third base vs. Texas A&M (UAA Photo) And then there is Jac Caglianone. Can anyone remember a Florida baseball player who wasn’t afraid to let us share the fun he was having on the field? We got to share it because Cags always had a beaming smile that told us he was this 6-6, 250-pound kid with generational ability having fun doing what he’s done since he was a kid, just playing baseball. He hit sub-orbital moonshots for home runs. He hit line drives that were like laser beams off the bat. He hit balls that left the bat at 120 miles an hour and when he pitched, there was always the chance he was going to uncork a fast ball that clocked in at 100. The Gators were one of the very last teams that was invited to the NCAA field of 64. The Gators weren’t supposed to make it past the Stillwater Regional, but they did. They weren’t supposed to get out of Clemson alive, but they disposed of 6th-seeded Tigers in two epic games. The Gators were supposed to be two and through in Omaha at the College World Series. They made it to the semifinal round, largely because Caglianone put his team on his very broad shoulders and carried them to a most unexpected third place finish. In 11 NCAA games, the Gators won eight as Cags hit .444 with six homers and 14 RBI despite getting intentionally walked time and time again. For the season he hit .419 with 104 hits, eight doubles, 35 home runs, 72 RBI and an on-base percentage of .544. He also went 5-2 on the mound with 83 strikeouts in 73-2/3 innings. Without Caglianone, the Gators never make the NCAA field, much less finish third in the country. What Mike Holloway, Parker Valby, Skylar Wallace and Jac Caglianone have is true greatness. They are truly elite, the best of the best. They are those athletes that would find a way and do whatever it would take to be great in any era. Mike Holloway will be back next year and he’s likely to win at least one more national championship, more than one if Valby somehow elects to return for one last shot at collegiate records. So, no reason to say good-bye to him, but we should bombard UF president Ben Sasse and athletic director Scott Stricklin with emails demanding a statue of Holloway erected at the Percy Beard Track. Valby is a longshot to be back, so I’ll simply tell you what I’m going to miss about her. She ran with a smile on her face, almost as if she was going to stop to smell the flowers along the way. Of course, the smile hid the unprecedented determination and the willingness to fight through the pain wall that every distance runner has to either break through or break down. I’ll miss the way she beamed after running, enjoying that the points she scored helped lift her entire team. What I will remember about Skylar Wallace is that she never once ducked a question. When it went well, she praised her coaches and teammates. When things didn’t go well, she shouldered the blame for the entire team. Ask her a question and the answer was always straight from the heart. When the Gators were eliminated from the Women’s College World Series, Skylar broke down in tears, explaining how blessed she has been to be a Gator and how coming to UF was the best decision she ever made. I’ll miss that. Caglianone we will see playing in the Major Leagues someday, probably very soon. There may not be another player in baseball with his raw power but unlike so many of the power hitters, Caglianone makes contact. Constantly. He rarely strikes out. When teammates succeed, he’s one of the first if not the first to congratulate. He’s at his happiest when the Gators win. Perhaps I feel kinship with Valby, Wallace and Caglianone. If you hear them talk, then you know just how important it has been for them to be Gators. No matter what they do in life, no matter where they go, the Florida Gators will be the only team that really matters. I know they will be successful no matter what they do or where they go, but I’m going to miss them. My love for the Gators will never die nor will my appreciation for what Valby, Wallace and Caglianone accomplished, but I will miss seeing them suit up for the Gators. As many Gators as I’ve had the opportunity to watch and write about, I actually only have a handful that I would call favorites. There are occasions when I’ll add a new one after he/she ends their UF career. This year I add three to my favorite list, which is a rarity. Again, I break the rule about favorite teams and favorite players. Sue me if you don’t like it.

“… Being able to wear this jersey for the past three years has been something that I’m going to take … you know, I mean I’m never going to take it for granted. All these guys who have worn it before us, all we try to do is make them proud and really appreciate everything what Florida is all about.” – Jac Caglianone It would have been the ultimate storybook ending to a season that offered more close encounters than the first Indiana Jones movie, but the big kid from Tampa who played with such a joy and such passion had to take off that Florida baseball uniform one last time. When Texas A&M shut out the Gators, 6-0, Wednesday night, shutting the door on a most improbable run to a third place finish at the College World Series in Omaha, it was more than just the end of another baseball season. It was the end of a rather remarkable college baseball career. The next time we see Jac Caglianone it will be in the uniform of a minor league baseball team. Like Wyatt Langford before him a year ago, Caglianone will be taken among the first five selections when Major League Baseball drafts in a little less than a month. Most project him going fourth or fifth, but the teams that go with someone else will be making a grave mistake. Not only is Jac Caglianone the best baseball player in University of Florida history, but he’s one of the best prospects ever. He is a true generational talent whose days as a pitcher are behind him. At the next level, his ability to mash a baseball will put him on a fast track to the big leagues. We haven’t seen power like this. Ever. The home run he hit over the Condron Family Ballpark scoreboard against Jacksonville back in March went more than 500 feet, the longest home run measured since baseball at all levels began using an electronic tracking system that measures exit velocity, height and distance. He can do things like that with incredible frequency. Wednesday morning when the Gators pummeled No. 2 Kentucky into submission, 15-4, Caglianone hit his 35th homer of the season into the right field stands at Charles Schwab Park. The ball traveled a respectable 375 feet. A prodigious blast for some hitters, Caglianone didn’t get all of it, but he had enough muscle to send it high and deep beyond the right field bullpen. Wednesday night against fresh Texas A&M pitchers with high velocity, extraordinary control and all kinds of movement, Caglianone finished out his collegiate career with a pair of singles, two of the four hits the Gators managed on a night when the magic finally ran out for Florida. The Gators chased the dragon for three straight weeks, but Wednesday night the alchemists in charge of Florida’s most unlikely NCAA run finally couldn’t turn the silver into gold or anything else. That the Gators finished in a third place tie at the College World Series with Florida State was anything but expected. The Gators were one the last four teams in the tournament and were the only unseeded team to make it to Omaha. In Omaha, they should have beaten the No. 3 Aggies in game one, but they staved off elimination two straight games by taking out No. 10 North Carolina State, 5-4, Monday, and No. 2 Kentucky, 15-4, Wednesday morning. To go from a 28-27 regular season finish to a most deceiving 36-30 final record, the Gators went 8-3 in NCAA play, winning three straight elimination games to win the Stillwater Regional, then outslugging Clemson in its home ball yard to win the super regional. Things like that just don’t happen randomly so when the Gators pulled it off, it made them seem like a team of destiny although destiny came to a cruel end in Omaha. Propelling the Gators at every step of the march to Omaha was Caglianone. His final season numbers are astounding – a .419 batting average, 35 homers, 72 RBI, .544 on base percentage, .875 slugging percentage, 58 walks of which 31 were intentional, and just 26 strikeouts in 248 at bats. Those are other worldly numbers. Mere mortals only dream of that kind of productivity. Shame on the people who select the winners of the Golden Spikes and Dick Howser trophies. The best player in the entire country is Jac Caglianone, but he didn’t win either one of those awards. He should have. Beating the Aggies Wednesday night was a longshot, but so was Florida even making it to Omaha in the first place. It wouldn’t have happened without Caglianone hitting .444 in NCAA play with six homers and 14 RBI. As amazing as those stats are, imagine what they could have been if opponents had actually pitched to him. He walked 17 times with 11 intentional passes. After putting Kentucky out of its misery Wednesday morning with a 15-run onslaught, the Gators ran out of the magic woofie dust it took to propel their magic carpet ride. Since the Aggies needed only two wins to make it to Wednesday night’s semifinal, their pitching staff was well rested. The Gators were running on fumes even though they needed only three (Pierce Coppola, Jake Clemente and Alex Philpott) to shut down Kentucky in the morning. The Gators went with freshman Liam Peterson, who has an electric fast ball that he still hasn’t learned to harness and superstar potential that will have to wait another year. He walked four batters in the first inning, pushing in the only run the Aggies would actually need. Fisher Jameson came on to put out the first inning fire, but only after a sacrifice fly made it a 2-0 game. A 2-0 deficit isn’t insurmountable, but Aggie pitchers were busy throwing swing and miss sliders that the Gators couldn’t catch up to, particularly when there were men on base. Caglianone did his best to generate some offense but his two singles against the Aggies radical shift were half of Florida’s hits. Fourteen Gators struck out, 11 on swinging third strikes. That was the difference in the game. It was either boom or bust for the Florida hitters. They had boom in the morning, bust in the night as they went down in shutout fashion for the first time all season. In the second inning, Colby Shelton led off with a double into the right field corner. A single would have cut the deficit in half but Justin Lamkin caught Luke Heyman looking at a third strike and set down Ashton Wilson and Dale Thomas on swinging third strikes. The Gators loaded the bases in the third when Michael Robertson walked, followed by singles from Jac Caglianone and Cade Kurland. Tyler Shelnut whiffed and Shelton went down on a pop foul down the third base line. Kurland and Shelnut walked leading off the sixth when it was a 3-0 deficit. One good swing and the game would have been tied up, but Shelton grounded out to first and with Kurland and Shelnut in scoring position, Heyman and Wilson went down swinging. Down 5-0 in the bottom of the eighth, Caglianone led off with a single up the middle. Midway through Kurland’s at bat, Aggie coach Jim Schlossnagle brought in closer of the year Evan Aschenbeck, who wild pitched Caglianone to second and then walked Kurland after a 12-pitch battle. One last chance for a rally but not this night. It was the same old, same old. Shelnut hit a fly ball to right that advanced Caglianone to third but Aschenbeck got Shelton on a short pop to left and caught Heyman looking at a slider that caught enough of the black for out three. So the season ends against a worthy opponent that will give No. 1 Tennessee all it can handle when the best two of three championship series begins Saturday night. The Aggies (52-13) beat Florida twice to end the season for the Gators and the career for Caglianone. Post game, Caglianone was asked how he would like to be remembered. There was no boasting about his accomplishments, just heartfelt appreciation for the three years he suited up for the Gators. “Really, just as somebody who gave it their all,” he said. “Day-in and day-out I just wanted to fight for these guys next to me. Yeah, to be honest with you, I can’t thank the coaches here enough for all they have done to help me get to where I am today. The people I met along the way and played with, it’s something that I won’t ever take for granted. I appreciate Sully for taking a chance on me in high school and getting me to this point.” Day-in and day-out we never had to worry about Jac Caglianone. He didn’t take days off. He didn’t sulk when he was having a bad day. When he had a good day he was happy to share the attention with his teammates. Whether it came to him naturally or something he had to learn over time, Jac Caglianone always tried to be the best teammate. He was obviously blessed with the most talent of anyone on the ball club – anyone in the SEC or the country to be exact – but he always thought of himself as a member of the team and with him, it was always about the team.

Pierce Coppola walks off the field after one of his nine strikeouts (UAA Photo) The Gator Boys are hot! That was the catch phrase coined by Joakim Noah back in 2006 when the Florida Gators marched to the NCAA basketball championship. It was an improbable run for a team that wasn’t supposed to be the last team standing. The Gator Boys were indeed a very hot team. We could say the same thing about Florida’s baseball team, 15-4 winners over Kentucky in an elimination game at the College World Series in Omaha. The Gators are indeed a very hot team. The win over No. 2 Kentucky advances the Gators to the semi-final round where they get a rematch with No. 3 Texas A&M later this evening. Not bad for a team that so many experts said didn’t belong. Florida is 36-29 right now and if they could somehow dream the impossible dream and come back to Gainesville with the big trophy in hand, they could wind up as the team with the worst record ever to win the College World Series. At every step since the Gators were a controversial addition to the 64-team NCAA field, Florida has proven the experts wrong. They beat Oklahoma State, which never loses at home, in Stillwater for the regional championship, then took two in a row against Clemson, once again on the road and once again in a place where Clemson never loses. Only a hot team can do that. Let’s get real here. The Gators should have beaten the Aggies Monday night. Yes, the wind held up what would have been the difference-making home run by Cade Kurland, turning it into a spectacular glove over the wall leaping catch by Jace LaViolette to save the game for the Aggies. No doubt about it, that was one of the great catches in CWS history, but the Gators know darn good and well the game should have never come down to that play. Florida had so many opportunities to score but this was a night with a high swing and miss rate and that proved the 13-inch stiletto in the Gators’ heart. Florida lost 3-2. Credit the Aggies with great pitching and defense. Credit the Gators with far too many lost opportunities to punch across runs. Since that loss, the Gators have eliminated No. 10 North Carolina State and No. 2 Kentucky. The Gators have done it with home runs – definitely expected since this team has hit 133 of them so far this season – and good pitching. Yeah, you read that right. Good pitching. The missing ingredient all season long started showing up in Stillwater and now it is a driving force behind this improbable run. Here is how good the pitching was Wednesday afternoon in Omaha. Pierce Coppola, who came into the game with a plus-nine ERA, went five dominant innings. Sure, he did give up all four Kentucky runs, two on a home run in the fifth, his final inning, but the game was never in doubt. In the fourth when Kentucky was trying to battle back from a 7-1 first inning deficit, Coppola struck out the final two hitters to snuff out a threat that produced one run. In the fifth, after giving up a 2-out, 2-run homer, Coppola struck out Ryan Nicholson, Kentucky’s slugger with 23 homers, on a full count fast ball that had some heat. That was the 100th pitch of Coppola’s outing, the most he’s thrown in an injury-filled Gator career. He only gave up four hits and struck out nine, a career high. When he departed, Jake Clemente came on for two innings. He gave up a hit and struck out four before giving way to Alex Philpott, who hadn’t pitched since April 9 when he gave up seven hits and five runs in 2-2/3 innings against Florida State. If there was rust or nerves, they didn’t show. Philpott gave the Gators two hitless innings while striking out four. What Coppola, Clemente and Philpott did was give Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan options heading into tonight’s game with the Aggies. He didn’t have to use setup man Fisher Jameson or closer Brandon Neely. They go into tonight’s game wtih the Aggies rested and ready. He [Coppola] had the best start he's had all year,” O’Sullivan said. “And obviously the two guys behind him kept their pitch counts down so if need be we would obviously have them in the cart tonight as well." For all practical purposes the game was over in the first when the Gators countered Kentucky’s single run in the top of the first with a 7-spot that was highlighted by a grand slam by Brody Donay. The grand slam was like dropping the hammer on the Wildcats, but the tone for the entire inning was set by Jac Caglianone. Leading off for the first time in his career, Caglianone rocketed a hard liner into right center field to jump start the Florida offense. Cade Kurland was hit by a pitch and one out later, Colby Shelton doubled into the right field corner to drive home Caglianone and tie the game. Luke Heyman singled in Kurland and Shelton for a 3-1 lead, setting the stage for Donay. By the time he got to the plate, Heyman was on third, Ashton Wilson who had been hit by a pitch was on second and Dale Thomas was on first after a sharp single to left. The first pitch Donay saw was blasted intr the bullpen in right field, a shot that put UF up 7-1. “Going up to that at-bat in a big situation right there you've just kind of gotta go in and do something for your team, whether that's put the ball in play or draw a walk or anything there,” Donay said. “I tried to get a swing off early, and obviously a great thing happened.” The Gators made it 9-2 in the third when Kurland doubled in Wilson and Donay. Kentucky scored two in the fifth which had the Wildcat faithful sensing a come-from-behind rally was in store, but Donay poured water on their celebration when he led off the bottom half with his second homer of the day to left field, a blast measured at 415 feet. One out later, Caglianone was intentionally walked. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third and came home on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Tyler Shelton. Heyman doubled in a run and Wilson blooped a 2-run single to right to complete the carnage. The only thing remaining that could light a bigger fire under the Florida faithful, who were already in a celebratory mood, was for Caglianone to do something special. He did. On a 3-2 count he hit a 375-foot homer to right field, a towering blast that was a show of strength. Cags didn’t get all of the pitch. He simply had the muscle to put the ball out of the yard for his 35th homer of the seasons. As he headed into the dugout after the homer, Caglianone looked up into the stands where former UF home run king Matt LaPorta tipped his hat in homage. Caglianone’s 75th career home run also lifted him into a tie for 8th place on the NCAA all-time career home run list. What makes this accomplishment so incredible is that Cags has done it in 164 games. All but one of the career home run leaders played in more than 200 games. So, the Gator Boys are hot. Hot enough to take down the Aggies tonight? If they succeed they have to come back and do it again tomorrow, but in this season marked by improbability, it’s time to admit anything is possible. As surprising as it would be for Florida to make it to the championship series against the winner of Tennessee and Florida State, what this post season should have taught us all is when the Gator Boys are hot, never count them out. “It's why you come to Florida,” Caglianone said. “You have a great group of guys. You know there's talent top to bottom on the roster, and honestly, like the biggest thing is just playing for each other was kind of our motto and what we've been running with this postseason, despite all the ups and downs of the regular season. None of that matters now. And now it just kind of falls, next game, just leads into that.”