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.”

In the last month Brandon Neely is all but unhittable with a 1.43 ERA as UF's closer (UAA Photo) If the Florida Gators advance to the semifinal round against Texas A&M tonight, they might want to acknowledge a helping hand they got from Mother Nature. The evening of rest provided by thunderstorms that rolled through Omaha not only postponed Tuesday night’s elimination game with No. 2 Kentucky but gave Brandon Neely extra hours of rest. If the Gators (35-29) are to knock off the Wildcats (46-15) at 11 a.m. today, Neely figures to have a prominent role. In his two games in Omaha, Florida’s closer has thrown five innings – two against Texas A&M, three against North Carolina State – allowing just two singles and one walk while striking out nine. He has thrown 68 pitches in the two outings. Combined with the 131 he threw on consecutive days at the Clemson Super Regional, the extra rest can only help. Neely has faced Kentucky twice this season. When Kentucky came to Gainesville in May, the Wildcats took the series 2-1 with a pair of extra innings wins. In both games, Neely was charged with the loss. In 4-2/3 innings of combined work against the Wildcats, Neely gave up seven hits, seven earned runs, walked four and hit one batter. That was the low point of a season that was headed nowhere for a pitcher who was a preseason third team All-American closer. In the five weeks since he was scraping the bottom of the season’s barrel, Neely has pitched 25-2/3 innings, allowing 14 hits and four earned runs while walking only six batters and striking out 38 while picking up one win and three saves. His post season ERA is 1.43. Prior to turning the season around, Neely had an ERA of 6.97 with 11 home runs allowed in 50-1/3 innings pitched. He has been all but untouchable with a fast ball that frequently hits 96-97 miles per hour on the radar gun. Against the heart of the North Carolina State order in the ninth inning and with the Gators clinging to a 5-4 lead Monday afternoon, Neely blew fast balls past the first two hitters for strikeouts then induced Alec Makarewicz, a .380 hitter with 23 homers including a 2-run shot earlier in the game, to fly weakly to left field to preserve the win. So, if the Gators are tied or have a lead to protect in the final innings against Kentucky today, Neely will not only want the baseball, but he will demand it, which is what great closers do. As Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said in his post game remarks after the North Carolina State win Monday, “It takes a different person to close out games and they’re hard to find at this level, even at the big league level, but for whatever reason he really takes to that role … And you look at his pitch count – threw 23 pitches on Saturday but it feels like he threw 50 because he was so efficient. Tonight, I think it was 43 pitches or so in three innings. But, he’s so efficient you don’t realize how low his pitch count has been but he’s been just outstanding for us and those type pitchers are really hard to find. You have to have stuff and you have to have the mentality.” Today’s starter is expected to be lefty Pierce Coppola. Like Neely, he has faced Kentucky this season, albeit with a bit more success. Coppola was pitching in only his fourth game since returning from a 2-year injury absence. He threw 64 pitches in 2-2/3 innings, allowing four hits and one unearned run. He walked one, hit one and struck out three. In his most recent outing against Nebraska, Coppola went a season-high 4-1/3 innings, giving up four hits and four earned runs while walking three and striking out eight. Ideally, O’Sullivan has to be hoping to get 4-5 solid innings out of Coppola so he can turn things over to Fisher Jameson to set up Neely. Jameson saw action against Kentucky in May, when he allowed three hits and two runs over two innings. He walked one and struck out two. Since then Jameson has been largely effective. Against the Aggies Monday night, he went three innings, allowing one hit and three walks while striking out three. He is 5-0 for the season with three saves and an excellent 74-18 strikeout to walk ratio. All the focus today has to be on getting past Kentucky. Since it’s loser go home, the Gators have to do whatever it takes to get a win, which means all hands on deck when it comes to the pitching. If they get the win, they will have a few hours to figure out how they’re going to handle the Aggies, who will be going on two full days of rest. Tuesday’s game No. 8 Florida State (49-16) 9, No. 4 North Carolina (48-16) 5; North Carolina eliminated Today’s games 11 a.m.: FLORIDA (35-29) vs. No. 2 Kentucky (46-15), elimination game 2 p.m.: No. 8 Florida State (49-16) vs. No. 1 Tennessee (57-11) 6 p.m.: Winner Florida-Kentucky vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (51-13) Gator notes: Dating back to last season’s run to the championship series at the CWS, the Gators are 8-1 in elimination games … Jac Caglianone has been on base at least once in 50 consecutive games. He has at least one hit in 60 of Florida’s 64 games and comes into today’s game with a .413 batting average, 34 home runs and 71 RBI. Caglianone has 100 hits for the season. He’s the first Gator with 100 hits in a season since Jeff Corsaletti did it back in 2005. For his career, Caglianone is hitting .352 with 74 home runs and 188 RBI. He has struck out only 105 times in 628 at bats, only 26 times this season … Tyler Shelnut hit his 16th home run of the season against North Carolina State. He has hit safely in nine consecutive games … Since going 0-3 in the first game of the Georgia series at the end of the regular season, Michael Robertson is hitting .375 (18-48) with one homer, four doubles and 12 RBI. Robertson has raised his batting average from .222 to .267. UF TRACK AND FIELD: Parker Valby semifinalist for Bowerman Award With five NCAA championships during the 2023-24 academic year under her belt, Parker Valby would seem to be a shoo-in for the Bowerman Award, track and field’s version of the Heisman Trophy. During the past year, Valby won the NCAA championship in cross country, then won the 3000 and 5000 both indoors and outdoors, helping the Florida women to runner-up finishes in both championship events. Earlier in the week, Valby was named the USTFCCCA Female Athlete of the Year. She was the cross country athlete of the year and the athlete of the year for both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Also, for the 14th time in his illustrious career as the head coach of the Florida track and field program, Mike Holloway was named USTFCCCA Coach of the Year. Holloway has won 14 national championships, which is more national championships than the entire coaching staffs combined at each of the other 13 Southeastern Conference schools. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: At the Nike Peach Jam in the summer of 2006, University of Florida assistant Larry Shyatt was explaining to his old buddy Rick Barnes, then the head coach at Texas (now at Tennessee) how Al Horford’s basketball IQ is other worldly. “We’ll be in the huddle and Billy (Donovan) will be saying we need to move the ball to Corey (Brewer) on the wing and he can look for the three or dump it down to Al,” Shyatt explained. “And Al is like, ‘No, no, no Coach! This is how they’re guarding me, so have Corey hit me down low and when they sag on me, I’ll have Lee (Humphrey) in the corner or Corey (on the wing) for three. Jo (Joakim Noah) can slide down back side and Taurean (Green) should be open up top. They can’t defend all of us.” To this day, Shyatt will tell you that Al Horford is the smartest college basketball player he’s ever been around. You won’t get any argument out of the Boston Celtics, who won the NBA championship Monday night with Horford giving the Celtics nine points, nine rebounds, two assists, two steals and unmatched defense on whoever the Dallas Mavericks played in the post. Horford’s value to the Celtics this season can in no way be measured by stats – 8.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 blocked shots per game. What Al brought to the Celtics was his incredible IQ that was like having a coach on the floor and a presence like no other in the locker room. He is 38 years old and worth every penny of the $10 million a season the Celtics pay him. He has no plans to retire and the Celtics know his value. He will get a raise and a chance to earn a second championship ring next year. Not bad for a guy who wasn’t a 5-star recruit coming out of high school in Michigan. At the Peach Jam in the summer of 2004, one prominent Southeastern Conference head coach told Donovan, “Horford’s a project. You’ll be lucky to get good backup minutes out of him by the time he’s a junior.” We knew he wasn’t a project his freshman season when 11th-ranked Alabama came to the O-Dome. Going against Alabama’s veteran front line, Horford dominated the inside, grabbing 18 rebounds as the Gators blew the doors off the Crimson Tide, 85-54. That game was a foreshadowing of things to come in his Florida career. After a freshman season in which he and fellow freshman Corey Brewer took back seats to the big three of Anthony Roberson, David Lee and Matt Walsh, Horford became a dominanting presence the next two seasons. Horford was an indispensable part of Florida’s back-to-back NCAA championships (2006-07). For the 109 games of his Florida career, Horford 10.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game for the 109 games he suited up for UF. In the two championship seasons his numbers were so consistent – 11.3 points, 7.6. rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.7 blocks per game in 2006, 13.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game in 2007.

Florida softball landed UNC Wilmington transfer pitcher, Kara Hammock, for the 2025 season. Hammock will be a senior next season and was a second team All-Coastal Athletic Conference selection in 2024. Her ERA was 1.60 and she went 17-6. Kara was first team all conference in 2023 with a 1.98 ERA and a 10-10 record as a freshman was Rookie of the Year. This will be a nice addition to a young Florida pitching staff and a stellar incoming freshman class: Infielder Gabi Comia (Cedar Lake, Ind., who hit over .600 the last two seasons. Infielder Layla Lamar (Cary, N.C.), the daughter of Duke coach Marissa Young, who had a four-home run, 10-RBI game during her senior season. Pitcher Katelynn Oxley (Bartow, Fla.), with more than 1,000 career strikeouts, including 16 in the Class 7A state championship game as a junior.

Jac Caglianone launches a home run against North Carolina State (UAA Photo) “But my bags ain’t unpacked ‘cause I’ve got to go back and play; But I know we’ll both survive, stay alive, through the thick and the thin. Survive, stay alive, ‘til it all ends” – “Survive” by Jimmy Buffett Memo to the Golden Spikes Award Committee: The best college baseball player in America hit a 3-run home run Monday afternoon to lead the Florida Gators to a 5-4 elimination game victory over North Carolina State at the College World Series in Omaha. With the score tied at 1-1 in the second inning, Caglianone hit a rocket that left his bat at 115.9 miles per hour, traveling 404 feet against a stiff wind blowing into the right field stands at Charles Schwab Park to give the Gators a lead they never relinquished. Three innings later with the Gators clinging to a 4-3 lead over the Wolfpack, Tyler Shelton homered into the left field bullpen to provide the final margin. That was Florida’s final hit of the game and it was necessary because after Caglianone’s 34th homer of the season, NC State coach Elliot Avent ordered him intentionally walked in both the fourth and ninth innings. So how is it the Golden Spikes people got it wrong? How can you overlook the most feared hitter in the collegiate game, the only player to ever have back-to-back seasons with more than 30 home runs? How can you overlook a player who is hitting .413 mostly against Southeastern Conference pitching? How can you overlook the fact that Caglianone is also a quality pitcher with a 5-2 record and such a gold glover in the field that Texas A&M coach Jim Schlossnagle says, “He’s the best defensive first baseman I’ve ever seen in college baseball. It’s not close.” Yet, for their infinite wisdom, Caglianone wasn’t one of the three finalists for the most prestigious award in college baseball. Perhaps that has put some extra juice into Caglianone’s approach at the plate in Omaha where in two games he has a single, a double and the 3-run homer in six at bats while walking three times, two intentionally. And, because of the Monday heroics, the Gators survive elimination, which means Caglianone will play at least one more game in a Florida uniform. The Gators will face Kentucky Tuesday night (7 p.m., ESPN) in an elimination game with the winner advancing to the CWS semifinals against Texas A&M. The Aggies punched their semifinals ticket by knocking off Kentucky, 5-1, Monday night. Caglianone was Florida’s starting pitcher Monday and it wasn’t one of his better outings but he showed tremendous grit and resilience just to make it through one inning. Despite hitting a batter, walking two and giving up a run-scoring single, Caglianone was able to get a strikeout and a fly ball out to center field to end the inning with minimal damage. Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan elected to pull Caglianone after 32 pitches and one inning in favor of lefty Cade Fisher. "He didn't have his best stuff,” O’Sullivan said. “I could just tell there was a different look in his eye. I didn't want to push him, and we had Cade fresh, and that's what we decided to do." When Fisher took to the mound in the bottom of the second, that 1-0 deficit was a 4-1 Florida lead. Call it Caglianone’s revenge. Walks to Dale Thomas and Brody Donay and a single to left field by Mikey Robertson loaded the bases for Cade Kurland, whose fly ball to left field scored Thomas from third to tie the game. Caglianone, who had struck out on a pitch outside the strike zone in the first inning, took a called strike the second time around before lefty Dominic Fritton made a mistake that Caglianone hammered into the right field seats for a 4-1 Florida lead. “We thought we’d see if Caglianone would chase again,” Avent said. “Unfortunately, Fritton got the ball down, and that ball he hit to right center, that’s as hard – I mean, you’re looking at a future big leaguer. I’ve been here and seen (Kyle) Schwarber and Bryce Harper and all these guys growing up and playing baseball, whether you’re recruiting or facing them in college. He’s [Caglianone] a big league hitter, I can tell you that.” The home run was the 74th of Caglianone’s career, tying Matt LaPorta for the all-time Florida record and for 10th place on the NCAA all-time home run list. Caglianone’s 74 homers came in 162 games. LaPorta played 215 games. Staked to a 3-run lead, Fisher got a 1-2-3 second inning, but he hit the leadoff batter in the third and a first pitch home run to left field by Alec Makarewicz that cut the Florida margin to 4-3. After a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth, the Gators added the insurance of Shelnut’s home run in the top of the fifth but the Wolfpack got the run back in their half of the inning. When Fisher walked leadoff hitter Luke Nixon to start the sixth, Jake Clemente got the call in the bullpen. He induced a foul out on an attempted bunt, Donay threw out Nixon trying to steal and got a ground out to end the inning. Clemente was on a short hook. When he walked the leadoff hitter in the seventh, Brandon Neely came on to close things out. It was another brilliant performance as Neely gave up one hit and one walk while striking out six for his fifth save. Neely allowed a runner as far as third in the eighth, but a pair of strikeouts ended that threat. Considering three previous CWS games ended in walk-off ninth innings, there had to be plenty of nerves when the Wolfpack came to bat with the game on the line, but Neely was nails with two strikeouts and a fly ball to Shelnut in left to end the game. “It had to be in everybody's mind that there's been, what, three walk-offs out of the four games or whatever it's been,” O’Sullivan said. “So I'm sure that was probably somewhere in everybody's mind watching the game, but when he [Neely] went out there and attacked, got the lead-off hitter in the 2-hole and then quickly got 0-2 on their 3-hole hitter, who hit the home run early in the game, I think says a lot about his mentality. “And you look at his pitch count, threw 23 pitches on Saturday but feels like he threw 50 because he was so efficient. Tonight I think it was 43 pitches or so in three innings. But he's so efficient that you don't realize how low his pitch count has been, but he's been just outstanding for us, and those types of pitchers are really hard to find. You have to have stuff and have you to have the mentality.” So, that brings the Gators to another do-or-die situation. They’ll send Pierce Coppola to the mound tonight (7 p.m.) to face Kentucky. During the regular season, the Gators lost two of three to Kentucky in Gainesville, but both losses were in extra innings. This is a team the Gators are certainly capable of beating. Win and the Gators will play the Aggies again, needing to beat them twice to make it to the championship series. Shelnut said this is what Florida baseball is all about. “That’s the standard around here and it’s our responsibility to uphold that standard, to play winning baseball and get here to Omaha and be the last team standing,” Shelnut said. “Any time we’re in a spot where our backs are against the wall we honestly play our best baseball, hands down without a doubt.” Monday’s scores FLORIDA (35-29) 5, No. 10 North Carolina State (38-23) 4; NC State eliminated No. 3 Texas A&M (51-13) 5, No. 2 Kentucky (46-15) 1 Tuesday’s games 2 p.m.: No. 4 North Carolina (48-15) vs. No. 8 Florida State (48-16); elimination game 7 p.m. FLORIDA (35-29) vs. No. 2 Kentucky (46-15); elimination game UF GYMNASTICS: Gators add former UCLA All-American Selena Harris Florida gymnastics made it official Monday with the signing of former UCLA All-American Selena Harris, the 2024 Pac-12 Gymnast of the Year. Harris is a 12-time All-American who was the nation’s No. 1 recruit in 2023. Harris has five perfect 10s in her career – four on vault, one on bars – and has a collegiate best 39.90 all-around against Clemson. One week later she had a 39.825 all-around in the Pac-12 championship finals. Harris will join an absolutely stacked Florida roster that will include the return of Leanne Wong, Anya Pilgrim, Sloane Blakely and Riley McCusker, who missed the 2024 season nursing an injury. Wong is on the US National team along with Skye Blakely, who will be an incoming freshman in the fall, and Kayla DiCielo, a freshman All-American at UF, who took the 2024 collegiate season off to prep for the Olympics. UF SOFTBALL: Gators hire new pitching coach Per D1Softball, Tim Walton has hired Memphis head coach Stepanie VanBrakle Prothro as his new pitching coach, replacing Chelsea Dobbins, who is leaving coaching to concentrate on raising her two small children. To the softball aficionado, the name VanBrakle Prothro is quite familiar. An All-American pitcher at Alabama, who posted a sparking 1.53 ERA while winning 97 games and striking out 1,115 in 844 innings, Prothro was the pitching coach at Alabama for a dozen years. She is credited with the development of Bama All-American pitchers Jackie Traina and Montana Fouts. Prothro will be working with freshman All-American Keagan Rothrock, All-SEC freshman Ava Brown, Olivia Miller and UNC-Wilmington transfer and All-CAA Kara Hammack. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Les Miles, the former LSU football coach, has filed a lawsuit against LSU, the NCAA and the National Football Foundation over 37 wins that were vacated from his record between 2012 and 2015. Minus the 37 wins, Miles has a career winning percentage less than .600 which makes him ineligible for inclusion in the College Football Hall of Fame. With the wins added to his record, Miles would be 145-73 for stints at Oklahoma State, LSU and Kansas, which would make him eligible. LSU won the national championship in 2007. At issue is a former prominent LSU booster who embezzled money from a Baton Rouge area hospital and paid a recruit who played for LSU between 2012-16 in excess of $180,000 over a 5-year period. The booster has been banned from the LSU athletic program for 10 years as a result. In 2021, LSU alleged that Miles had inappropriate interaction with female students during his time as head coach. The report cited incidents eight years earlier. Miles lost his job at LSU during the 2016 season, so there is a good bit of animosity here. Miles says he wants his good name restored and the wins that will make him Hall of Fame eligible. Given that he was in no way connected to the booster that embezzled the money and paid the player, it would seem on the surface that he has a decent case, especially considering the NCAA’s record in court. As for restoring his “good name,” that might be a longshot.

Think of Florida’s 2 p.m. elimination game with North Carolina State in the College World Series today as must see television. Not only is it the Gators’ chance to keep their season alive and the wild dream of winning a national championship, but it could be the very last time Jac Caglianone suits up for UF. If UF (34-29) wins, then Caglianone’s time in a Florida uniform will extend at least one more game. If the Gators lose, the season is over and Caglianone will be waiting a few weeks for the Major League Baseball Draft where he seems a lock to be drafted anywhere from No. 1 to No. 4. Caglianone will get the start on the mound today against a North Carolina State (38-22) team that hits the ball for average (.294) and power (100 home runs). It will be imperative for Caglianone (5-2, 4.71 ERA) to throw strikes because North Carolina State is a patient team that doesn’t strike out much (391 times) draws a lot of walks (329) and has a .399 on base percentage. The Wolfpack’s power is concentrated among third baseman Alec Makareawicz (.380, 23 HR, 82 RBI), catcher Jacob Cozart (.308, 19 HR, 54 RBI) and first baseman Garrett Pennington (.350, 18 HR, 65 RBI). The Gators will likely be facing either Dominic Fritton (3-6, 7.35 ERA) or righty Logan Whitaker (3-1, 6.06 ERA). Wolfpack coach Elliot Avent said Sunday that he is leaning toward Fritton since Florida’s top two power hitters – Caglianone and Colby Shelton – are lefty hitters. Plus, Texas A&M lefties Justin Lamkin and Evan Aschenbeck allowed just four hits between them Saturday night while striking out 10 Gators. Both Florida and North Carolina State suffered heartbreaking losses Sunday. Kentucky got a walk-off home run to beat the Wolfpack, 5-4, while Texas A&M right fielder Jace LaViolette robbed Cade Kurland of what would have been the go-ahead home run in the ninth of a 3-2 loss to the Aggies. It’s elimination day for both teams, so when it comes to pitching Monday, it will be an all hands on deck situation. It is in Florida’s favor that Caglianone was the Sunday starter in a season in which he was often the difference-maker in the Gators either winning a series or avoiding a sweep. Caglianone, who is hitting .414 with 33 homers and 68 RBI, is hitting .377 with eight home runs in games in which he is the starting pitcher. Sunday’s scores No. 8 Florida State (48-16) 7, No. 12 Virginia (46-17) 3; Virginia eliminated No. 1 Tennessee (57-12) 6, No. 4 North Carolina (48-15) 1 Monday’s games 2 p.m.: FLORIDA (34-29) vs. No. 10 North Carolina State (38-22), elimination game 7 p.m.: No. 2 Kentucky (46-14) vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (50-13) Tuesday’s games 2 p.m. No. 4 North Carolina (48-15) vs. No. 8 Florida State (48-16) 7 p.m. Winner Florida-NC State vs. loser Kentucky-Texas A&M Gearing up for the MLB draft Graduates: Dale Thomas, Tanner Garrison, Tyler Shelnut, Armando Albert, Jalen Guy Draft-eligible Gators: Jac Caglianone, Ty Evans, Colby Shelton, Luke Heyman, Michael Robertson, Pierce Coppola, Ryan Slater, Blake Purnell, Ty Evans, Fisher Jameson Gators among the MLB.com top 200 prospects 3. Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP, UF: Most mock drafts have him going either No. 4 or No. 5, but it shouldn’t be a surprise if he No. 1 or No. 2. He’s going to be worth upwards of $9 million. He ain’t coming back. 30. Kellon Lindsey, SS (Wauchula, FL Hardee County): He’s considered the fastest player, at least among high school kids, in the draft. He has accepted an invitation to the MLB Combine. Some mock drafts have him going as high as No. 25. Expect him to sign. 97. Jackson Barberi, RHP (Snellville, GA Brookwood): Consistent 94 mph fast ball and good command of the strike zone. Could go first 10 rounds but seems very committed to UF. 135. Colby Shelton, SS, UF: He’s moved up a lot of boards even though his strikeout ratio is concerning. He’s just a sophomore eligibility-wise so he has real leverage since he can be drafted two more times. If he doesn’t like the team or the money he can come back. 155. Brendan Lawson, SS (Toronto, Canada/Lexington SC P27 Academy): Lefty hitter with a big bat. If he isn’t picked first six or seven rounds, figure he’ll forego the draft. Could be the answer at third base next season. 159. Joshua Whritenour, RHP (Tampa, FL A3 Academy): Regularly hits 95 on the gun with a wicked slider. Starting to throw a splitter. Could go first four or five rounds. 193. Brandon Neely, RHP, UF: He’s made himself a ton of money in the last month. He can come back to UF so he has some leverage. Closers who can go multiple innings are hard to find so figure first four rounds. Gators among the ESPN top draft prospects 5. Jac Caglianone, 1B/ LHP, UF 33. Kellon Lindsey, SS (Wauchula, FL Hardee County) 59. Colby Shelton, SS, UF 146. Joshua Whritenour, RHP (Tampa, FL A3 Academy) 154. Brendan Lawson, SS (Toronto, Canada/Lexington, SC P27 Academy) Gators among Perfect Game top 400 draft prospects 1. Jac Caglianone, 1B/ LHP, UF 40. Kellon Lindsey, SS (Wauchula, FL Hardee County) 49. Colby Shelton, SS, UF 121. Joshua Whritenour, RHP (New Port Richey, FL/Tampa, FL A3 Academy) 153. Brendan Lawson, SS (Toronto, Canada/Lexington, SC P27 Academy) 167. Schuyler Sandford, RHP (St. Augustine, FL Bartram Trail): He has been invited to the MLB Combine but probably projects outside the top 10 rounds, so likely he’ll be at UF. 176. Jackson Barberi RHP (Snellville, GA Brookwood) 238. Ty Evans, OF, UF: Hits with real power, good in the field, but average arm for RF. If he goes, he’ll be moved to LF. Broke his wrist against Kentucky in the regular season. Has a year of eligibility so he has some leverage, but he needs to go if he’s taken before the 12th round. 250: Pierce Coppola, LHP, UF: He’s still coming back from two injuries that cost him the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Plenty of eligibility so he has lots of leverage. Probably 100 percent that he will be back. 298. Brandon Neely, RHP, UF 319. Aidan King, RHP/3B (Bryceville, FL/Orange Park, FL Bishop Snyder): Skinny kid who needs to fill out his body. Throws low 90s. Lefty hitter who plays a good defensive third base. 333. McCall Biemiller, LHP (Tampa, FL Jesuit): He’s from a school that has been a UF pipeline. Projects outside the top 10 rounds and is strongly committed to UF. Fast ball consistently hits 94. Future Stars Series top draft prospects 4. Jac Caglianone, 1B/LHP 28. Kellon Lindsey, SS (Wauchula, FL Hardee County) 81. Colby Shelton, SS, UF 105. Joshua Whritenour, RHP (Tampa, FL A3 Academy) 112. Jackson Barberi, RHP (Snellville, GA Brookwood) 178. Brandon Neely, RHP, UF 248. Brendan Lawson, SS, (Toronto, Canada/Lexington, SC P27 Academy) 258. Luke Heyman, C, UF: Has great power, but a high strikeout ratio. He’s improved tremendously behind the plate and has an exceptional arm. Two years of eligibility so he’s got leverage. Figure he’s back. 278. Pierce Coppola, LHP, FL 363. Schuyler Sandford, RHP (St. Augustine, FL Bartram Trail) 379. McCall Biemiller, LHP UF SOFTBALL: Gators add All-CAA pitcher Kara Hammack Tim Walton has added solid pitching depth by signing right handed pitcher Kara Hammack from UNC-Wilmington. A two-time All-Colonial Athletic Association selection, Hammack was 17-6 in 2024 with a 1.60 ERA. Not a strikeout pitcher, she pitches to contact. Opposing batters hit .219 off her in 2024. For her career, she is 37-19 with a 1.80 ERA in 372-2/3 innings in the circle. Hammack has one year of eligibility remaining. UF BASKETBALL: It could be a good week for Todd Golden It could be an outstanding week for Florida basketball as Todd Golden is expected to sign Jeremiah Johnson (6-3, 170, Oklahoma City, OK/Phoenix, AZ PHHoenix Prep), who was released from his Oklahoma State letter of intent when OSU changed coaches. In his final season of high school basketball, Johnson averaged 18.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. A 4-star recruit, Johnson is comfortable on the wing or as the primary ball handler. Golden spent a lot of time last week with CJ Ingram (6-5, 195, Hawthorne, FL), son of former Gator tight end and local sports legend Cornelius Ingram. Like his dad, who was a high school All-American as a quarterback and basketball player at Hawthorne, CJ is a top prospect in both sports. As a QB he has led Hawthorne to consecutive state championships. He’s being heavily recruited by Billy Napier as a wide receiver. In basketball, CJ averaged 24 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 3.7 steals per game. CJ is expected to choose basketball and a commitment to Florida seems imminent. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: There is a distinct possibility the Big 12 will be changing names. There is an offer on the table for the Big 12 to sell a stake in the conference to Allstate or to a private equity firm willing to put $1 billion on the table. The Allstate 12 or Allstate Big 12? Like it or not, it could happen. Under its current media deals, the Big 12 will be distributing something like $32 million a year to its 16 members. To a school like UCF, which was surviving on less than $10 million in media money when it was in the American Athletic Conference, the $22 million bump probably seems like all the money in the world, but it pales in comparison to what the SEC and Big Ten will be paying out in the future. Now that Texas and Oklahoma are in the SEC, the media money should be in the neighborhood of $75 million for a couple of years, at which time there will be a re-assessment – and expected large increase – due to ratings. The Big Ten has its mega deal with Fox, CBS and NBC to distribute among 18 teams. That leaves the ACC, which is dealing with disgruntled Florida State and Clemson, who claim they can’t be expected to compete for championships against the SEC and Big Ten with the current media deal that saw more than $40 million distributed recently. All ACC schools have a grant of rights contract that runs through 2036, which is what FSU and Clemson are trying to beat. Perhaps the ACC’s only chance to salvage FSU and Clemson remaining in the league will be to follow the Big 12 lead. FSU is already looking into private equity as a way to raise cash for its program that could lag as much as $30 million behind Florida and SEC schools in the next two years. Now that the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, has settled an anti-trust lawsuit with the United States House of Representatives, every school in Division I is going to be hit with expenses that are going to strain the budgets of even members of the SEC and Big Ten. Corporate sponsorships and private equity may take college sports down a dangerous path moving forward, but many schools will look at this as having no other alternative. Could this lead to college football jerseys resembling the European soccer jerseys with all sorts of corporate logos plastered all over them? Imagine this on the red and black jerseys of our fine friends up in Athens: Chico’s Bail Bonds. It could happen.

Florida coach Kevin O'Sullivan meets with infielders and starting pitcher Liam Peterson in the second inning (UAA photo) Maybe as few as three inches, six inches at the absolute most, stood between the Florida Gators winning their first game at the College World Series and a 3-2 loss to the Texas A&M Aggies. With one out in the top of the ninth and Michael Robertson on first via a one-out infield single, Cade Kurland got hold of Evan Aschenbeck’s 1-1 offering, a deep fly ball to right field that had all the markings of a go-ahead home run. The only problem was Aggie right fielder Jace LaViolette who needed every inch of his 6-6 frame and long arms to reach over the fence and pull it in for what would prove to be the difference-making second out. Three inches, maybe six inches farther and it’s a home run Jac Caglianone followed Kurland. On a 1-2 count Aschenbeck tried to get a swing and miss on an inside pitch wrist high. Caglianone, who had doubled and singled earlier,  fouled it off down the right field line. Three inches maybe, six inches at the most closer to the plate and it’s a pitch Caglianone doesn’t miss. Given a reprieve, Aschenbeck’s next three pitches were at least two feet off the plate. A walk for Caglianone, putting the game in the hands of Ashton Wilson, hero of the Stillwater Regional and clutch hitter at the Clemson Super Regional. There were no heroics to be had on this night. On a 1-2 count Aschenbeck threw a high hard one six inches or so off the plate. Wilson swung and missed. Swings and misses. That’s the story of the game for the Gators who bit the bullet 16 times against three Aggie pitchers. Starter Justin Lamkin went the first three innings, striking out six Gators while allowing only a Robertson single up the middle with two outs in the third. Lamkin didn’t walk a single Gator. Chris Cortez followed Lamkin. He also went three innings and was quite effective until the top of the seventh when the Gators struck for both their runs. Doubles to Tyler Shelnut and Dale Thomas put the Gators on the scoreboard and ended the night for Cortez, who gave up four hits and one walk while striking out six. That brought on Aschenbeck, who won the award as the nation’s best closer. Aschenbeck got the first out when Brody Donay executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Thomas to third. Out two came on an RBI groundout to shortstop by Robertson. The final out of the inning was an easy grounder to second by Kurland. The Gators wasted a perfect opportunity for a big inning against Cortez in the sixth. On the first pitch of the inning, Cortez hit Kurland in the helmet then Caglianone followed with a double down the right field line that left his bat at 117 miles per hour. Since there were none out, Kurland was held at third. The Gators needed a fly ball to the outfield or a grounder to the right side to score Kurland from third but the big inning they were playing for never materialized since Cortez struck out Wilson and Colby Shelton, then ended the inning when he got Luke Heyman on a soft fly ball to right. The Gators loaded the bases off Aschenbeck in the top of the eighth but couldn’t capitalize once again. Caglianone led off with a hard single to right center, but Wilson and Shelton went down swinging. Heyman lined a double down the left field line and Shelnut coaxed a walk to load the bases. Aschenbeck escaped damage when he got Thomas to hit a grounder to second which Kaeden Kent underhanded to first baseman Ted Burton. It took every inch of Burton’s 6-3 frame to glove the throw. He barely kept his toe on the base. Florida challenged the call, but it was confirmed by the replay people. If the throw had been three inches higher or if Thomas had gotten down the line three inches faster – six at the most – the game would have been tied at 3-3. It was an uphill battle all the way for the Gators, who started freshman Liam Peterson. Peterson had a live fast ball and a nasty curve, but he struggled with his location. After a scoreless first, Peterson gave up two runs in the second and a run in the third before he was lifted for Fisher Jameson. In the second, a single, a walk and another single loaded the bases for Travis Chestnut. Chestnut hit a very high bouncer to third that Thomas gloved in fair territory. Thomas, it seemed, expected a foul ball call but when he didn’t hear it he rushed to tag third base with the game’s first run scoring. Replays showed Thomas actually beat Ali Camarillo to the bag, but the Gators were down to one challenge at the time and didn’t choose to use it. Peterson uncorked a high pitch to Jackson Appel that Heyman should have caught, but the ball skipped off the pocket of his catcher’s mitt, allowing Camarillo to score for a 2-0 lead. Peterson walked the leadoff batter in the third, then one out later gave up a run-scoring double to Caden Sorrell. That was the end of the night for Peterson. Fisher Jameson came on, walking the first two hitters he faced before pitching his way out of a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout and a ground out. Jameson went three innings, allowing one hit and three walks while striking out three before he gave way to Cade Fisher with a runner on and one out in the sixth. Fisher got a double play grounder by LaViolette to end the inning. Brandon Neely pitched the final two innings for UF, giving up one hit while striking out three. Baseball is a game of inches and on this night, the Gators kept coming up inches short. They didn’t help themselves with the 16 strikeouts. Those four walks by Peterson were difference-makers. The Gators actually out-hit the Aggies 8-6 but they left 10 on base, nine in scoring position. The loss puts Florida (34-29) in the elimination bracket. The Gators will face North Carolina State (38-22), a 5-4 loser to Kentucky Saturday afternoon, in a 2 p.m. elimination game Monday afternoon. The Aggies (50-13) will face Kentucky (46-14) at 7 p.m. Monday. Saturday’s scores No. 2 Kentucky (46-14) 5, No. 10 North Carolina State (38-22) 4 No. 3 Texas A&M (50-13) 3, FLORIDA (34-29) 2 Sunday’s games 2 p.m. No. 8 Florida State (47-16) vs. No. 12 Virginia (46-16); loser eliminated 7 p.m. No. 1 Tennessee (56-12) vs. No. 4 North Carolina (48-14) Monday’s games 2 p.m. FLORIDA (34-29) vs. North Carolina State (38-22), loser eliminated 7 p.m. No. 2 Kentucky (46-14) vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (50-13)

If we simply go by the won-loss record, then the Florida Gators are nothing more than party crashers, in Omaha to play the final two games of the season at the College World Series. Florida is 34-28, easily the worst record among the eight teams in the field, but there is something about this team that makes the other seven teams nervous. Very nervous. The Gators have gone 8-3 since the final weekend series of the regular season. In NCAA regional and super regional play, they’re 6-1. The Gators played three consecutive elimination games to win the Stillwater Regional, then last weekend beat Clemson two straight on the road to become the first team to claim its spot in the College World Series. So here they are, a team that nobody is really sure about, with a legitimate shot to win the College World Series. In many respects, the Gators are reminiscent of the 2008 Fresno State team that won the College World Series. The Bulldogs were 33-27 in the regular season, 2-3 in their final five regular season games heading into the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Ruston, Louisiana, where they shocked everyone by going 4-0. Until the Gators came along, Fresno State’s 37-27 record entering NCAA play was the worst of any team to survive the regional and super regional gauntlet to make it to the College World Series. With an RPI of 89, Fresno State was the No. 4 seed at the Long Beach Regional, but the Bulldogs went 3-1 to advance to Tempe to face national No. 3 seed Arizona State, which blew away the field to win its own regional. The Sun Devils wasted Fresno State, 12-4, in the first game of the super regional, but Fresno State outslugged Arizona State, 8-6 and 12-9 to claim its spot in Omaha with a 41-29 record. The eight survivors of super regional play who made it to Omaha: No. 1 Miami (52-9); No. 2 North Carolina (51-12); No. 4 Florida State (54-12); No. 6 Rice (42-13); No. 7 LSU (43-16-1) and No. 8 Georgia (35-21-1). Stanford (39-22-2) and Fresno State (41-29) were the other two. In Omaha, Fresno State blasted No. 6 Rice, 17-5, in the first game, followed that up with a 5-3 win over No. 2 seed North Carolina and after losing to UNC 4-3, beat the Tar Heels 6-1 to win their bracket. In the championship series against Georgia, Fresno State lost the first game, 7-6, then won the next two, 19-6 and 6-1, to claim the second national championship in school history (softball, 1998). In Omaha, Fresno State hit 14 home runs and scored 62. Outfielder Steve Detwiler, playing with a torn tendon in his thumb that required surgery three days after the championship game, hit two homers and drove in all six runs in the final game against Georgia. For a team that had average hitting and so-so pitching, the Bulldogs won six elimination games. They were the team no one gave a chance to win the College World Series, but they were the last team standing. So the question today as the unseeded Gators take on No. 3 Texas A&M (49-13) in the 7 p.m. game (ESPN) is can Florida channel its inner Fresno State to become that team that defies all the odds to win the national championship? As preposterous as that may seem, at least one expert believes Florida could emerge as the national champ. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN writes: “Florida was an inconsistent team this year that started regionals as a 3-seed, but I have the Gators right there with rivals Florida State and Tennessee as the well-balanced teams that are hot at the right time. With Florida alone in Bracket 2 while FSU and Tennessee are in Bracket 1, I have the Gators going to the MCWS finals.” The first and obvious key to the Gators making it through their bracket to the best-of-three championship series is to win game one against Texas A&M. Florida shouldn’t be intimidated by the Aggies. Back on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the Gators took two of three from the Aggies. The Aggies’ only win that weekend was a 10-6 decision in which they knocked UF starter Liam Peterson out of the box in the third when they hit back-to-back homers by Gavin Grahovac and Jace LaViolette. What sealed the deal that day was the combined relief pitching of Evan Aschenbeck and Josh Stewart, who silenced Florida’s bats after the Gators knocked Aggie starter Tanner Jones out of the box. The Gators know they should have won that game, but it was a loss like so many others they would experience in the regular season. Florida beat the Aggies in the opener, 8-6, behind a pair of home runs by Jac Caglianone and shutdown pitching in relief by Brandon Neely, who allowed one hit over three innings to preserve the UF win. In game three, Caglianone gave the Gators 5-1/3 strong innings before Ryan Slater, Neely and Luke McNeillie combined to hold the Aggies scoreless over the final 3-2/3. Over the three games, the Gators hit eight home runs as they handed the Aggies their first two losses of the season. When the two teams face off tonight, the Aggies will be pitching Ryan Prager, who the Gators knocked out of the box in game one back in Gainesville. Caglianone hit two homers off Prager, who only got as far as one out in the third before UF knocked him out of the box. It will be Peterson going for the Gators. It’s an interesting matchup because Prager has rebounded from that game with UF and brings an 8-2 record with a 2.51 ERA into the game tonight. Peterson has been Florida’s most consistent pitcher since the Georgia series but his 3-4 record and 5.97 ERA pale in comparison. Can the Gators be the 2024 equivalent of Fresno State, which just happened to get hot at the right time, proving it’s not how you start the season but how you end it. The Gators were 28-27 when they began NCAA play so they’re a hot team right now. The question for UF is the same thing that it has been all season: pitching. Do the Gators have enough? The answer is yes if they can win their first two games. If Florida loses game one, the Gators will have to win four straight to win their bracket. If the Gators are 2-0 out of the gate then they will need to win one out of two to advance to the championship finals. Everyone is aware of Caglianone: .411, 33 HR, 68 RBI and 5-2 on the mound. It is imperative that he comes up big in Omaha. He is the best player in the college game and certainly the most feared hitter. He can carry the team on his broad shoulders. There are three wild cards: (1) Ashton Wilson; (2) Brandon Neely; and (3) Pierce Coppola. Since the Georgia series, Wilson has gone 16-45 with two homers and 11 RBI. He didn’t play against the Aggies so his emergence as the protector who hits behind Caglianone has been an enormous boost. Wilson can’t strike out. If he is hitting the ball hard and putting it in play, the Aggies will have to pitch to Caglianone. Neely has evolved into the closer that everyone thought he would be in the last few games. It has been a rocky season for Neely, but his performance against Nebraska in the Stillwater Regional and then going four innings on consecutive days against Clemson make him the top option for Kevin O’Sullivan once the Gators get to the sixth inning. If the Gators win their first two games, Coppola becomes the game three starter. He is 0-4 with a 9.16 ERA but that is a bit misleading since he has been pitching his way back into shape after missing the previous two season. If Coppola can give the Gators four-plus quality innings could do the unthinkable and emerge from their bracket. Reality says Florida has the toughest road to the championship series, but this is a team like that one from Fresno State that keeps defying the odds. We shouldn’t be the least bit surprised at anything they do from here on out. Friday’s scores No. 4 North Carolina (48-14) 3, No. 12 Virginia (46-16) 2 No. 1 Tennessee (56-12) 12, No. 8 Florida State (47-16) 2 Today’s games 2 p.m. No. 2 Kentucky (43-14) vs. No. 10 North Carolina State (38-21) 7 p.m. No. 3 Texas A&M (49-13) vs. FLORIDA (34-28)

A familiar phrase in Texas whose origins are the diner/honkey tonks that play Texas Swing 2-step music on the weekends is “dance with the one that brung ya!” which is exactly what Kevin O’Sullivan is going to do Saturday night (7 p.m., ESPN) when the Gators (34-28) face Texas A&M (49-13) in the College World Series in Omaha. Amid expectations that Sully would start Jac Caglianone against the 3rd-ranked Aggies, the Florida coach has decided to stick with what has taken the Gators from a team that plenty of folks questioned why the NCAA baseball selection committee to one nobody really wants to play. That means freshman Liam Peterson (3-4, 5.97 ERA), who has been the Friday night starter for the last month, will be on the mound for the Gators. Peterson’s two starts in NCAA play have been polar opposites. He was outstanding in 5-1/3 dominant innings against Big Ten champion Nebraska in the Stillwater Regional. A week later against Clemson in the super regional, Peterson was ineffective and lifted in the second inning. Prior to Clemson, Peterson struck out 20 in 19-1/3 innings while giving up just five earned runs. Over the course of the season, Caglianone (5-2, 4.71 ERA) has been Florida’s most consistent pitcher. Going with a freshman instead of Caglianone is gutsy since Cags has (a) already pitched and beaten the Aggies and (b) pitched at the College World Series last year. Freshmen have been known to get the yips when they start their team’s first game at the College World Series, but there is some method to Sully’s madness. If you go back to game one of the weekend series the Gators played with Texas A&M in Gainesville back in March, Caglianone (.411, 33 HR, 68 RBI) pretty much owned Texas A&M ace Ryan Prager (8-1, 2.51 ERA), who will be the Aggie starter Saturday night. Caglianone sent a 2-2 pitch flying over the wall in center field in the bottom of the first. In the first inning of that game, Caglianone homered to dead center with one out in the bottom of the first and then hammered the first pitch Prager threw him over the fence in center field to lead off the third. By starting Peterson, Caglianone will be at first base and can concentrate on owning Prager once again. Prager didn’t get out of the third inning that game. Following Caglianone’s homer in the third, Tyler Shelnut (.264, 15 HR, 50 RBI) hit a 3-run homer that sent Prager to the showers. For his 2-1/3 innings, Prager was roughed up for seven hits and six earned runs. Brandon Neely (3-4, 5.45 ERA, 4 saves), who will have to factor prominently if the Gators are to make a run at a national championship, had one of his better games of the regular season in Florida’s 8-6 opening game win. Neely came on for starter Cade Fisher in the sixth inning and gave up only one hit while striking out three to preserve the win and earn the save. Neely’s struggles in the regular season are well documented, but he began righting his ship against Georgia, the last weekend before the SEC Tournament. Since then he’s given the Gators 20-2/3 innings, allowing 12 hits, four runs, five walks and 29 strikeouts. Neely got the save to preserve the win for Neely against Nebraska and got a win against Oklahoma State, striking out 11 in 5-1/3 innings. In the Clemson Super Regional, Neely got a save in game one when he pitched four innings of 1-hit ball with seven strikeouts. Called into action in the clinching game two, Neely pitched four innings and threw 72 pitches without so much as a day’s rest. Neely and Fisher Jameson have formed an outstanding 1-2 punch out of the bullpen in these last few weeks. Jameson (5-0, 4.35 ERA, 3 saves). In his last six outings, Jameson has gone 10-1/3 innings, allowing six hits, five runs, two walks and 11 strikeouts. Whoever is pitching for the Gators will have one less problem to deal with. Right fielder Braden Montgomery (.317, 26 HR, 80 RBI) broke his ankle against Oregon in the College Station Super Regional last week. The Aggies are expected to move center fielder Jace LaViolette (.321, 26 HR, 73 RBI) to right field with Travis Chestnut (.288, 3 HR, 12 RBI) taking over in center. The College World Series is double elimination so every team will play at least two games. Win or lose game one and the Gators will start Caglianone in game two. If UF survives the first two, the third game starter is likely to be Pierce Coppola, who struck out eight in 4-1/3 innings in Florida’s game three win over Nebraska in the Stillwater Regional. Injury update: Out is Ty Evans, who was hoping to come back from a broken wrist in time to play in Omaha. Pitcher Ryan Slater, who strained an obligue muscle in Stillwater, should be available. Friday’s games 2 p.m.: No. 12 Virginia (46-15) vs. No. 4 North Carolina (47-14) 7 p.m.: No. 8 Florida State (47-15) vs. No. 1 Tennessee (55-12) Saturday’s games 2 p.m.: No. 10 North Carolina State (38-21) vs. No. 2 Kentucky (45-14) 7 p.m.: FLORIDA (34-28) vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (49-13)

Co-defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong needs a good year for stopping opposing quarterbacks (Photo by Chris Spears) The late great Al McGuire called his defensive philosophy of taking out the other team’s best player, “cut the head off the snake.” What worked in basketball also works in football, especially now that the game has become so quarterback centered. A year ago, the Gators’ inability to stop opposing quarterbacks had everything to do with an unacceptable 5-7 record. The Gators got to quarterbacks only 22 times for sacks and they picked off only three passes all season. Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU averaged 14.3 yards per pass attempt against the Gators. He also ran for 234 yards. Carson Beck of Georgia threw for 11.3 yards per attempt and Spencer Rattler of South Carolina was good for 10.4. In the offseason, Billy Napier gutted his defensive staff. The only returnees from a year ago are outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson and co-defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong. He brought in Gerald Chatman from Tulane to coach the D-line, Will Harris from the NFL Los Angeles Chargers to coach the secondary and creeper defense guru Ron Roberts as the co-DC and inside linebackers coach. Their job will begin with neutralizing quarterbacks, in other words, cutting the head off the snake. Here is a look at the opposing quarterbacks of every D1 team on the UF schedule in 2024. Cam Ward, Miami (6-2, 223, SR/TR): He started his career at Immaculate Word, a Southland Conference D1AA team where he ripped and shredded. In two years at Washington State, he started 25 games, completing 65.5 percent of his passes for 6,968 yards, a very pedestrian 7.1 yards per attempt. He threw for 48 touchdowns with 16 interceptions. He was sacked 84 times in two years at Wazzoo. Three starters return on the UM offensive line along with two returning starters at WR. Miami returns three starters on the O-line and two starting wide receivers. Miami at Florida, August 31 Conner Weigman, Texas A&M (6-3, 215, RJR): He’s been hyped as the second coming ever since arriving in College Station, but he has only been healthy for nine games in two years. His touchdown to interception rate is excellent – 16-2 – and he has been a productive runner with 160 yards (4.1 per carry), but he is injury-prone. He has had two big games in his career (336 passing yards and four TDPs against Ole Miss in 2022; 336 passing yards in a loss to Miami in 2023). He is 5-3 as a starter, 2-3 on the road. The Aggies return three O-line starters and two starting wide receivers. Texas A&M at Florida, September 14 Blake Shapen, Mississippi State (6-0, 206, SR): When Will Rogers, the school’s all-time leading passer, hit the transfer portal, new coach Jeff Lebby turned to a quarterback with whom he had some familiarity in Shapen, who started 24 games the last three years at Baylor. Shapen has played in 29 games the last three years, completing 63.7 percent of his passes for 5,574 yards and 36 TDs with 13 picks. He was 13 TDPs, three picks in a 3-9 season a year. Shapen is 12-12 as a starter. Mississippi State doesn’t return a single starter on the offensive unit. Florida at Mississippi State, September 21 KJ Jefferson, UCF: At Arkansas last season, Jefferson was hyped as teetering on the verge of a first round draft pick type of season. When the stats didn’t match those of 2022 his draft stock dropped like a rock so he’s trying to have a career do-over at UCF where Gus Malzahn works best with dual threat quarterbacks. In 36 career starts, Jefferson is 20-16. He has thrown for 7,911 yards (8.2 per attempt) and 67 TDPs with 18 picks in his career. As a runner, Jefferson has 1,876 yards, 3.6 per carry and 21 touchdowns. He threw for 255 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 92 yards and another TD a year ago when Arkansas upset Florida in The Swamp. The Knights return three O-line starters and all three starters at wide receiver.  UCF at Florida, October 5 Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee (6-6, 206, SO): He is the $8 million man. That is what his NIL deal was before he ever took a college snap. He has only one start in his career, the Vols’ 35-0 win over Iowa in the Gator Bowl in which he was 12-19 passing for 151 yards (7.9 per attempt) and a touchdown. He ran for three touchdowns in the bowl game, gaining 27 yards on 15 attempts. There isn’t a lot of college film on Iamaleava, but he has a big arm and has shown some real elusiveness outside the pocket. The Vols will have two new starters on the O-line and only one returning starter at wide receiver. Florida at Tennessee, October 12 Brock Vandagriff, Kentucky (6-3, 205, RSO/TR): ZERO career starts. Hyped up so much coming out of high school that he was going to step in and take over for Stetson Bennett and cause Carson Beck to transfer. None of that happened of course. He was 3-5 passing in his first two seasons at UGa, 12-18 for 165 yards and two touchdowns last year backing up Beck. In high school he was considered the nation’s top dual threat QB. At UK, he will be operating behind an O-line that returns three starters. The other two starters are projected to be former Gators, Gerald Mincey who spent the last two years at Tennessee, and Jalen Farmer, who appeared in six games at UF last year. The Wildcats have one of the nation’s best WR groups. Kentucky at Florida, October 19 Carson Beck, Georgia (6-4, 220, RSR): He would have been an early round draft pick if he had chosen to leave, but he came back for his senior year in search of a national championship. He’s on everybody’s Heisman watch list after throwing for 3,941 yards (9.5 per attempt) and 24 touchdowns (6 picks) while going 13-1 as a starter a year ago. A pure pocket passer, Beck was sacked only 13 times last year. Expectations are that he will be looking to thrown more downfield this season. Georgia is pretty much the consensus No. 1 preseason national championship pick. Georgia returns four offensive line starters and all three starters at wide receiver.  Florida-Georgia in Jacksonville, November 2. Quinn Ewers, Texas (6-3, 206, RJR): A year ago he cut off the mullet, quit bleaching his hair and became the mature leader the Longhorns needed to make it to the College Football Playoff. He has an NFL ready arm and a whole cast of deep threat receivers to throw to. A year ago he averaged 8.8 yards per attempt while throwing for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns. The offense is expected to open up quite a bit this season. Ewers is 16-6 as a starting quarterback, 10-2 last season. He has missed five games over the past two seasons due to injuries. Career numbers are 5,656 passing yards (8.2 per attempt) for 37 touchdowns and 12 picks. The wide receivers are all new but four starters return on the O-line. Florida at Texas, November 9 Garrett Nussmeier, LSU (6-2, 198, RJR): He spent the last two seasons as Jayden Daniels’ caddy, finally getting a start when Daniels opted out of the Citrus Bowl. Nussmeier threw for 395 yards (8.8 per attempt) and three touchdowns to lead LSU to a win in that one. His career numbers are 129-219 for 1,720 yards (7.9 per attempt) and 11 touchdowns with seven picks. He has a big arm but stands in the pocket, unlike Daniels who was as dangerous with his feet as he was with his arm. The big question is can LSU protect Nussmeier? Daniels was so mobile that he made the LSU O-line look respectable. Four offensive line starters return but only one returning wide receiver. LSU at Florida, November 16. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss (6-2, 220, SR): Dart has made phenomenal progress in two years working with Lane Kiffin to the point he’s on most Heisman watch lists. He is a real dual threat who has thrown for 7,961 yards (8.5 per attempt) and 52 touchdowns (21 picks) in his career with 1,046 rushing yards for another 11 touchdowns. A year ago he improved the TDPs to 23 and cut the INTs from 11 to five. He will have the benefit of the SEC’s best running backs room and a defense that can finally get him the football. Ole Miss also has the best wide receiver collection in the league. Three returning starters on the O-line plus two who started at Washington. Ole Miss at Florida, November 23 DJ Uiagalelei, Florida State (6-4, 250, SR): He has never lived up to the hype whether at Clemson or at Oregon State where he threw for 2,638 yards (8.4 per attempt) and 21 TDPs with seven INTs a year ago. Can Mike Norvell do for Uiagalelei what neither Dabo nor Jonathan Smith could do? He has the big arm, but has never seemed decisive enough. Three starters return on an offensive line that allowed 25 sacks a year ago. All the receivers are brand new, too. Florida at Florida State, November 30

Bill Carr, the last Boy Scout and former athletic director at the University of Florida, went to his grave believing there was something noble and virtuous about athletes accepting scholarships to entertain us in exchange for a debt-free college education. In a Thursday conversation he had with Bill Feinberg and me more than a year ago at an eatery near Haile Plantation, Bill admitted there could have and should have been tweaks to the system long ago. He believed the NCAA could have and should have made long term health care available to athletes, particularly those who play a violent sport like football. He believed the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, was dumb to oppose schools paying for the education of athletes after their eligibility expired. After all, he admitted, most sports these days and times are a full-time job and a full-time job plus the rigors of training weren’t exactly conducive to graduating within a 5-year time frame. The NCAA finally gave in on these and other critical demands of collegiate athletes, but only because it kept losing in one court case after another that should have been settled amicably. The mess that is collegiate athletics now can trace its roots back to Cedric Dempsey and the brain dead Mark Emmert, who were unfit to run a convenience store but somehow managed to be presidents of the NCAA. They chose to fight (and lose) when they should have been listening to athletes and then figuring out ways for a fair compromise. As much as he was sold on the idea of the amateur athlete model that the NCAA was supposed to represent, Bill Carr knew all the problems the NCAA faces today were of the organization’s own doing. In so many respects, what the NCAA has done is akin to a former Southeastern Conference defensive end who tried to convince a judge and jury that he didn’t assault this girl with a beer mug. No, she ran face first into the mug. Several times, in fact. That was his story and he stuck with it. You could apply this analogy to the NCAA. By fighting every case in court it was the equivalent of running face first into a beer mug multiple times. It didn’t have to be that way, of course, but that is essentially why we have the mess we have now. The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, grew weary of getting its face bloodied by the beer mug so it did a Roberto Duran, threw its hands in the air and said, “No mas!” All this led us to out of control NIL and this ridiculous settlement with the House of Representatives that allegedly will allow athletes from other sports and team and schools in the past to get paid. There are other anti-trust lawsuits against the NCAA that have to be settled, most of which deal with NIL so we’re a long way from anything being concrete when it comes to NIL. NIL. Bill Carr said that day the same thing everybody says about NIL these days – Now It’s Legal. What used to be a sentence to the NCAA jailhouse is like shoplift until your heart’s content in San Francisco because you won’t go to jail in these days and times. This prompted Mike Bianchi, the Orlando Sentinel’s gifted columnist, to write that the late Charley Pell was not a cheater but instead “a pay for play pioneer.” For those of you born after 1984 who are either unfamiliar with Charley Pell or you choose to believe some of the tales that have been passed down about the former Florida football coach, he was fired for 59 NCAA violations. The NCAA slapped UF with three years of probation and limited the Gators to 12 scholarships per year. When Charley Pell was fired, Florida was practically an NFL team. Don’t believe it? Look up all the future NFL players that were on the roster that year. Three first round draft pick running backs. Five offensive linemen including Hall of Famer Lomas Brown. Five future NFL wide receivers. Three defensive linemen. Five linebackers. Five corners and safeties. A punter and a walk-on SEC Player of the Year, QB Kerwin Bell. A year earlier when the Gators played Auburn there were 57 players who took the field that day who spent at least one year on an NFL roster including two-time national defensive player of the year and future College Football Hall of Famer Wilber Marshall. Charley was the original big spender. Yessirree. Among the NCAA violations were – I’m not making this up – a pack of Juicy Fruit and a Sprite bought for quarterback Dale Dorminey at the Gainesville airport by UF assistant coach Dwight “Hoss” Adams. Oh, and Dorminey never returned a T-shirt and a pair of gym shorts given to him to wear to sleep the night he arrived in Gainesville from Pensacola because Eastern Airlines lost his luggage. It is worth mentioning these heinous crimes because if you add everything together that put Florida on probation and forced the firing of Charley Pell, it wouldn’t add up to one decent NIL deal for a backup offensive lineman in the Southeastern Conference thanks to NIL. Now it’s legal. What put an entire football program in the NCAA jailhouse for three years isn’t anything more than a mosquito bite on an elephant’s butt in the world of NIL in 2024. Not only did Florida get probation for three years, UF also had its 1984 Southeastern Conference championship stripped by a vote of the conference presidents spearheaded by Georgia and Tennessee at the behest of their athletic directors. The Gators would have won the SEC title in 1985 as well except the presidents made UF ineligible. Again. Funny, but Georgia and Tennessee also had a hand in Florida being ineligible to win the SEC in Steve Spurrier’s first year in 1990. That was because Galen Hall allegedly paid a child support payment for Jarvis Williams that Williams’ mama paid back the next day. Jarvis was long gone when UF got hit with that probation. In a vote of the SEC presidents, Florida was declared ineligible for the conference championship. The NCAA wouldn't let the Gators go to a bowl game. Isn’t it strange that when Alabama went on probation in 2001 for a play for pay scheme that took place in 1999, Bama’s 1999 SEC title wasn’t stripped by a vote of the league presidents? Big money was involved and Bama lost 21 scholarships over that one, but it was allowed to keep its SEC football championship. So much for fairness. What happened 40 years ago is relevant today just as what happened in 1990 and, even though it’s Alabama, 1999 as well. So many people had their lives turned upside down by the NCAA for things that are now considered legal. I’m reminded of a joke told to me by a Catholic friend when I was writing for the Savannah News-Press back in 1972. We were eating ribs at Johnny Hilliard’s on Victory Drive on a Friday afternoon when my friend quipped, “Meat on a Friday. There are Catholics doing time on the meat rack in hell because they dared to eat a hot dog one Friday!” Here's what I am getting at. North Carolina State’s 1983 NCAA champion basketball team is suing the NCAA for back NIL money. The NCAA will probably capitulate rather than go to court where it is certain to lose. The NCAA always loses in court. Some say that when the dust settles, every scholarship athlete for the past 30 or so years is going to get paid something. If the NCAA can do that, can't it at least try to undo some of the damage it has left in its wake? I think Florida should sue the NCAA for the probation that cost Charley Pell his job and kept the Gators from playing for the 1984 national championship. The Gators were the best team in the country in 1984 but because UF couldn’t go to a bowl and had NCAA problems, BYU won the national championship even though it played a 6-5 Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl BEFORE Christmas. Florida would have wiped the floor with BYU that year. Florida should also demand the Southeastern Conference award the Gators with the SEC championships won on the field by the 1984-85 teams and the Spurrier team of 1990. If Alabama could keep its championship, then why shouldn’t Florida be awarded its titles that were earned on the field? I think the NCAA should make a formal apology to Ward Pell, widow of Charley who passed away in 2001 after a long fight with cancer. Charley was blackballed from ever coaching again and that just wasn’t right, particularly when several Gators who played for him start talking about what they were offered by schools like Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Auburn and LSU. If the NCAA is going to hand out money to players who missed out on NIL deals because it wasn’t legal back then, then why can’t it do its part by at least attempting to restore the good name of Charley Pell? And why can’t Florida be awarded its championships by the Southeastern Conference? There is no reason why this can’t be done. Finally, one other thing that HAS to be done. NOW. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of the first SEC championship won on the field by the Gators. As far as I know, there are no plans to have a special weekend for that team and that is a tragedy. How difficult would it be for the University of Florida to bring back that team and acknowledge what they accomplished on the field? Maybe short of a lawsuit, the NCAA won’t apologize for demonizing Charley Pell and the entire UF football program. Maybe, short of a lawsuit, Greg Sankey and the Southeastern Conference won’t do anything about restoring the championships UF won on the field. But at least bring the team back for a weekend. Let Florida fans appreciate that the seniors on this team never lost to Florida State. Let Florida fans appreciate guys like Lomas Brown and Ricky Nattiel and Neal Anderson. How difficult is that to honor guys who played for the Florida Gators, put their bodies on the line and won what would have been SEC championships? Not much if you ask me.

A happy bunch of Gators are winning the Clemson Super Regional (UAA Photo) A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: The betting odds are out and it should come as no secret that the Florida Gators are the long shot to win the College World Series. In order, the favorites are Tennessee, Texas A&M, Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida State, Virginia, North Carolina State and then Florida. It might make perfectly good sense to the oddsmakers to make Florida the longshot. After all, the Gators have 28 losses, seven more than North Carolina State, which made the field Monday night by beating Georgia, 8-5, in Athens. That win made it an even field – four teams from the Southeastern Conference, four from the Atlantic Coast Conference. Additionally, it might make perfectly good sense to the oddsmakers because Florida pitchers have the worst ERA in the tournament field at 6.16. Tennessee, by contrast, is at 3.83, and Texas A&M, Florida’s first game opponent, is at 3.94. When the Aggies played UF in Gainesville, the Gators won two out of three, scored 18 runs and hit eight home runs, including two in one game by Jac Caglianone. In that series, Caglianone was 6-14 at the plate and went 5-1/3 innings in game three, allowing one run and striking out seven in Florida’s 4-2 win over the Aggies, who were ranked No. 4 in the nation at the time. If the Gators are going to do what the oddsmakers would say is the unthinkable, which is to make a deep run in the CWS, Caglianone will have to be a big part in it. Since the most critical game of all in Omaha is the first and because he did such a good job taming the Aggies potent bats in game three in Gainesville, Caglianone would seem to be the logical game one starter for the Gators. Caglianone update: Caglianone is hitting .411 with 33 homers and 68 RBI this season. In 236 official at bats, he has struck out only 25 times. For his career, Caglianone has played in 161 games. The Major League Baseball season is 162 games, so here are Cags’ stats over the course of what would be an MLB season --.351 batting average, 27 doubles, two triples, 73 home runs and 185 RBI. Team stats: The Gators have committed only 41 errors all season. They are the top fielding team (.980) at the CWS … The Gators have hit 131 home runs this season, which is fifth nationally. Texas A&M has hit 132 and Tennessee leads the nation with 173 … Florida pitchers average 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks 10th nationally. COLLEGE WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE Friday’s games 2 p.m. No. 12 Virginia (46-15) vs. No. 4 North Carolina (47-14) 7 p.m. No. 8 Florida State (47-15) vs. No. 1 Tennessee (55-12) Saturday’s games 2 p.m. No. 10 North Carolina State (38-21) vs. No. 2 Kentucky (45-14) 7 p.m. FLORIDA (34-28) vs. No. 3 Texas A&M (49-13) JUST SINCE THE SPRING SEMESTER BEGAN IN JANUARY While the last couple of weeks have been thrill rides for the Florida athletic department with softball taking Oklahoma to the limits at the Women’s College World Series, the men’s and women’s track and field teams coming home with an NCAA title and a runner-up and the baseball team advancing to the College World Series in Omaha by winning the Stillwater Regional and Clemson Super Regional, the spring semester has been an almost constant stream of good news for the Florida athletic department. Here is a look sport-by-sport at what has happened just since the spring semester began back in January: FOOTBALL: DJ Lagway and LJ McCray, 5-star recruits early enrolled. CB Jameer Grimsley flipped from Alabama and transferred to UF. NT Joey Slackman, the Ivy League defensive player of the year transferred in from Penn. MLB Grayson Howard transferred in from South Carolina. Former 5-star CB Cormani McClain transferred in from Colorado. Washington starting safety Asa Turner transferred in from Washington and safety DJ Douglas transferred in from Tulane. Stud offensive tackles Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (from San Diego State) and Devon Marshall (from Arkansas) transferred in to give the Gators a rebuild offensive line. WR Chimere Dike transferred to UF from Wisconsin and WR Elijhah Badger transferred in from Arizona State, to combine with future superstar Eugene Wilson III to give Graham Mertz serious receiving talent. MEN’S BASKETBALL: Gators made it to the SEC Tournament championship game and the NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 seed. Todd Golden went immediately to the transfer portal to bring in Alijah Martin, a 4-year starter and leading scorer on FAU’s Final Four team, 7-0, 250-pound rim protector  Rueben Chinyelu from Washington State and 6-9 Sam Alexis, an offensive rebounding machine from Chattanooga. Golden still has two scholarships remaining that could be going to talented Europeans. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Kelly Rae Finley got the Gators to the Women’s NIT, but better times are ahead for UF as evidenced by two McDonald’s All-Americans signing with the Gators: Me’Arah O’Neal, daughter of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, and Liv McGill, who will was invited to try out for the US Junior Women’s National Team. Finley also landed Alexia Gassett from Louisville in the transfer portal. MEN’S SWIMMING: The Gators won both the men’s SEC Championship for the 12th consecutive year. At the NCAA championships, the Gators finished third. Anthony Nesty has won the SEC championship all six years he has been Florida’s head coach. He has also won back-to-back SEC championships with the UF women. WOMEN’S SWIMMING: The Gators matched the men by winning the SEC championship, then going on to Indianapolis for a third place finish in the NCAA championships. Since the end of the season, Anthony Nesty has added two transfers and two freshmn to the 2024-25 roster. Julia Heimstead transferred in from Arizona where she competed in the butterfly, freestyle and relays. Nicole Maier is a grad transfer from Miami (OH) who will compete for Germany in the 4X200 relay at the Paris Olympics. Also coming to UF will be freshman Anita Bottazo from Italy. She was a finalist at the world championships in the 50 breaststroke and was bronze medalist in the 100 breaststroke at the European U23. The other freshman is backstroker Katelyn Schroder from Canada. GYMNASTICS: Even without a couple of key gymnasts (Kayla DiCielo and Skye Blakely) who were taking a year off to prep for the Olympics, the Gators finished fourth in the NCAA. The Gators won the SEC regular season championship for the sixth straight year. Florida will be the prohibitive favorite to win the NCAA title in 2025. On the US Senior National Team are DiCielo, Blakely and Leanne Wong. MEN’S GOLF: The Gators finished 12th at the NCAA championships. WOMEN’S GOLF: The Gators got an NCAA invitation but couldn’t make it out of the regionals, finishing 10th. Maisie Filler was named second team All-American. WOMEN’S TENNIS: The Gators made it to the NCAA second round. MEN’S TENNIS: The Gators made the NCAA field of 64 but were bounced out of the first round. Anthony Rossi, formerly the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth, was named associate head coach. LACROSSE: The Gators won the American Athletic Conference title, Florida’s fifth straight in that conference and 12th consecutive conference title overall. The Gators made it to the Final Four and finished fourth in the final polls. Maggi Hall was named first team All-American while Emily Heller and Liz Harrison made third team. SOFTBALL: The Gators won the SEC Tournament and advanced to the Women’s College World Series where they finished third. In the WCWS semifinals, the Gators ended eventual national champion Oklahoma’s 20-game winning streak at the WCWS. Jocelyn Erickson was the NCAA Player of the Year. Five Gators made All-America: Skylar Wallace, Erickson, Korbe Otis, Kendra Falby and Reagan Walsh. Keagan Rothrock, who led the nation in victories (32) as a freshman, made freshman All-America. MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD: The Gator men finished third at the NCAA indoor championships and won the NCAA outdoor title. To win the men’s national title, the Gators had to finish at least third in the final event of the night, the 4X400 relay, while finishing ahead of both Alabama and Southern Cal. The Gators finished third and beat Auburn by a single point to win the 14th NCAA title in Mike Holloway’s coaching career. His 14 national titles are more than the combined coaching staffs of all sports at each of the other 13 SEC schools. WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD: The UF women finished second at both the indoor and outdoor NCAA championships. Parker Valby, who won the NCAA cross country championship in the fall, won two NCAA titles at both the women’s indoor and outdoor championships. BASEBALL: It isn’t how you start or even how you play in the middle as long as you finish strong, which the Gators are doing. The Gators are 6-1 in NCAA play and they’re one of the top eight teams in the country. Should they win their first two at the College World Series, they’re guaranteed a top four finish. CRUNCHING DIRECTOR’S CUP NUMBERS Texas has already clinched the 2024 Director’s Cup with Stanford and North Carolina right behind. The Gators had 575 points before any spring sports were included, 13th in the standings. Ahead of the Gators were No. 10 Alabama (659.13) and No. 11 Tennessee (652.5). Florida and Tennessee will finish either fourth or fifth and it could come down to whoever finishes highest at the College World Series. Here is a rough look at Florida points in the spring sports with approximate points: Men’s outdoor track and field 100; women’s outdoor track and field 90; softball 85; Lacrosse 85; men’s golf 73; baseball at least 73; women’s tennis 64; men’s tennis 25 By these rough calculations, the Gators should finish with somewhere around 1,170 points. If the Gators finish ahead of Tennessee at the College World Series, it will likely guarantee a fourth-place finish. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Two things, one good, one that makes me scratch my head and wonder what the hell these people are thinking. The good: Dan Hurley, the UConn men’s basketball coach turned down the Los Angeles Lakers to return to UConn for a chance to win a third consecutive NCAA championship. UConn, Florida (2006-07) and Duke (1991-92) are the only teams to win consecutive national championships since the John Wooden era. Hurley makes about $6 million a year at UConn. The Lakers offered six years, $70 million. Was Hurley insulted? The crosstown Los Angeles Clippers pay their coach, Tyron Lue, $13.5 million per year. The Clippies have never won an NBA title while the Lakers have won 17. What the hell are they thinking?: Caitlyn Clark was left off the Team USA roster for the upcoming Paris Olympics. Caitlyn handled the snub like the pro she is but this is puzzling. If these folks truly want to expand the popularity of women’s basketball then they need their most marketable face on that team. Considering Caitlyn Clark WNBA jersey sales are through the roof, every game she plays is either a sellout or nearly so, and her games get TV ratings like the WNBA has never had, this is one of the stupider moves in history. Stephen A. Smith, ESPN’s most popular talk host, says it’s a matter of jealousy for all the attention Caitlyn is getting. "There are girls – young ladies – in the WNBA who are jealous of Caitlin Clark. She is a white girl that has come into the league," Smith said on ESPN’s First Take show. I can understand that the women in the league who have been toiling for years in near anonymity since no one has actually paid attention to the WNBA would be envious, but surely they’re smart enough to know that if people come out to see Caitlyn they will also see the many marvelously talented women on the other teams. And, when Caitlyn plays games are on television and people watch. Eyes on the tube will make money for everyone in the league. But, like USA Basketball, some folks are just plain stupid when it comes to dealing with Caitlyn Clark.