Tim Walton congratulates Jocelyn Erickson after 1st inning HR (Gator Bait Photo by Chris Spears) Although it preceded Florida’s current 11-game winning streak by three weeks and there were some speed bumps up ahead, Tim Walton caught a real glimpse of the kind of team he had after the Gators melted down in the fifth inning against South Florida, losing that game 7-4. “After we lost to South Florida, I wore our team out, not because South Florida beat us – they played fantastic – we were terrible,” Walton said Sunday afternoon after the Gators (49-12) run-ruled South Alabama (34-20-1), 9-1, to win the Gainesville Regional Championship, advancing to next week’s NCAA Super Regional against Baylor. “There was a lot of things that were off in that game and the day before that game and all the other things that go into that. “I walked into the locker room. I was the last person to leave. I think it was a 6-or-7’o’clock game. It was dark. I walked into the locker room at the end of the night which is the only time I’ve walked into the locker room this season. The locker room was as clean as it was when we built this place. There wasn’t one thing on the ground, there wasn’t one thing out of place in a locker. There wasn’t any food, there wasn’t any drink, there weren’t any uniforms. Everything was buttoned up, tidy as it can be. To me that’s a sign of good leadership and being able to continue the standard. I know when we play terrible, when we’re bad, there’s something off. I’ll go searching for it right away and they knew it. They beat me to the punch … if there were something broken, it would have shown up in that locker room. Stuff would have been a mess. People would have just walked out, who cares? Someone else will pick that up. That’s not what it’s like to win championships and sustain success. It’s doing it the right way all the time, win or loss, win or lose. That was a real good sign for me that we have done a good job of building it and sustaining it, which is not easy to do.” A clean locker room after a loss might not seem like a big deal, but Walton constantly preaches doing the right thing for no other reason because it’s the right thing to do. He stays on his team about taking care of the little things, that little things left unattended become the big things that end up costing ball games. The Gators have been taking care of the little things quite well recently. They’re on an 11-game winning streak. Sunday, prior to the win over South Alabama, Walton had a conversation about doing the little things with Jocelyn Erickson, his SEC Player of the Year catcher who left Oklahoma after winning the Women’s College World Series in 2023 to transfer to Florida. In her three most recent games – Florida’s SEC Tournament championship win over Missouri, Friday night’s regional win over Florida Gulf Coast and the Saturday win over South Alabama, Erickson was a combined 1-7 at the plate with zero RBI. “Coach Walton came up to me today and it was like don’t focus so much on the pitcher, focus on what you do good,” Erickson said. “So, that’s what I was going up there to do. I knew we needed to get ahead early in the game, so there was a runner on base so I was just doing my job.” With two outs and Korbe Otis on first base in the first inning Sunday, Erickson went opposite field on a 3-2 count for her 13th home run of the season. In the third, with Otis on second after a single and a stolen base, and Skylar Wallace on first after a walk, Erickson drove home Otis for her third RBI of the game. Mini-slump broken. Three RBI raised her total to 78 for the season, tops in the SEC, tied for second in the nation and two away from the school record of 80 set by Megan Bush. “It’s a phenomenal accomplishment, just how good an RBI-getter she is,” Walton said. In Florida’s 7-run third inning, Erickson and Reagan Walsh had run scoring singles to put Florida ahead 4-0. Ava Brown hit a 2-run single, Otis hit a 2-run double and Wallace doubled in two to make it a 9-0 game. The hits and the walks and the smart baserunning were obvious Sunday. The little things that Walton talks about were maybe not so obvious. Whenever a Gator hits the ball and runs to first, on deck hitter retrieves the bat. Make an out and there is a conversation with the next hitter to discuss the pitches she saw. In the field there is constant communication. It’s rare you’ll see a Gator throw to the wrong base or make a mental error that costs runs. The little things add up. Offensively, Sunday, the Gators wore out four South Alabama pitchers. South Alabama pitchers not only gave up 11 hits, but they walked six and hit a batter. South Alabama pitchers threw 121 pitches. Florida pitchers Keagan Rothrock, who went the first two innings, and Brown, who went the final three, got the job done with a tidy 76 pitches. Rothrock gave up one hit, one walk and struck out four. Brown gave up three hits and hit a batter without walking anyone as she picked up her 16th win in 21 decisions. Rothrock and Brown are freshmen who led their high school teams to multiple state championships. Erickson was a vital cog in Oklahoma’s NCAA championship last year. Brown says you come to play softball at Florida to be part of a championship culture. “You choose to come to a program like this because you want to win,” Brown said. “That’s what this program does. They have a standard and our team has been one of the first teams in a really long time that I feel like has truly focused on that standard and make it everything we play for. And so being able to do that and grow as a team even with so many new girls, I think that’s definitely what you look for when you come to a program like this is being able to have these experiences.” Upon arriving from Oklahoma, Erickson felt the love and acceptance from her new teammates and coaches immediately. What made her feel more at home was the fact that it’s not only about softball in the Florida culture. “I think the coaches do a really good job of making us feel seen and heard and that we’re worth it, that we’re people first and players second,” Erickson said. Championships are a by-product of Walton’s first rule of doing business, which is do the right thing first time, every time, all the time. He recruits kids from championship programs because those athletes already have a clue about what it’s like to do the work it takes to be a champion. He wants athletes who can verbalize their goals so that he can do what it takes to help them achieve the desired success. When former UF great Amanda Lorenz came to Florida she told Walton she wanted to be a 4-time All-American. Walton told her she had a choice: either she could lower her expectations or she could raise her work ethic. Lorenz chose to raise her work ethic and became Florida’s first 4-time All-American. “If you want to be successful as a student-athlete, you have to do unrequired things,” Walton said. “You can’t just do 20 hours of work a week, it just doesn’t work. As a coach I don’t need hours to be … “all right we’re going 20 hours.” It’s not about 20 hours. It’s trying to get each one of our athletes everything they need every single day, and with that being said, our athletes have to do things outside of practice time to get what they need to accomplish their goals.” The next goal for the 4th-seeded Gators will be to win the Super Regional next weekend against Baylor of the Big 12 Conference. Baylor is unseeded, advancing after beating 13th-seed and Lafayette Regional host Louisiana, 4-3, in a winner advances, loser’s season ends game. The super regional is simply the next step in achieving the goal Erickson stated before the season began. “Before the beginning of the season I was telling everyone in the locker room, we’re going to the World Series,” Erickson said. “That’s the plan. That’s the job we’re trying to accomplish.” First obstacle overcome. Next obstacle Baylor next weekend. Gator notes: The Gators have won 11 straight games and 12 of their last 13. Prior to the Georgia series back on April 26, the Gators had lost five of eight games and had an RPI of 19 … Skylar Wallace extended her hitting streak to 11 games during which time she is 19-26 at the plate with six doubles, five homers and 23 RBI. Wallace has scored 302 runs in her softball career, which ties the NCAA record with Michigan’s Sierra Romero … This will be the 15th time the Gators have advanced to a super regional, all of them with Tim Walton at the helm … If the Gators can beat Baylor next weekend, they will be off to Oklahoma City for the Women’s College World Series for the 12th time.

Cade Kurland (4) greeted at home after game-clinching homer vs. Georgia (UAA Photo) Okay, so maybe Florida’s pitching left a teensy bit to be desired Saturday afternoon in Athens. Well, actually, it was atrocious, but at least this time it didn’t exactly bite the Gators in the butt. Georgia scored 11 runs Saturday. Florida scored 12 – in the fourth inning alone – and 19 for the entire game to win the series with the 9th-ranked Bulldogs (39-14, 17-13 SEC). In winning their first SEC series since March 31 when they took two-of-three from Mississippi State in Gainesville, Florida (28-26, 13-17 SEC) might have kept alive its string of 17 consecutive seasons in the NCAA Tournament. The win Saturday assures the Gators of a winning record when the NCAA announces the 64-team field at the conclusion of all the conference tournaments. The Gators head to Hoover as the No. 9 seed for the SEC Tournament where they will face Vanderbilt (35-20, 13-17 SEC) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. If the Gators get past Vanderbilt, they will face No. 1 seed Tennessee (46-10, 22-8 SEC) Wednesday when the tournament goes double elimination. With a guaranteed winning regular season and the nation’s No. 1 strength of schedule, most experts believe Florida will make the NCAA field although the Gators will certainly be on the road. The way things started out Saturday it seemed the only guarantee would be that Florida stayed home. Jac Caglianone struggled with his control, walking four while giving up three hits and three runs in the first 2-1/3 innings. He was bailed out in the third by Fisher Jameson, who left the bases loaded without giving up a run. The Gators couldn’t touch Georgia starter Zach Harris in the first three innings. Harris set down all nine hitters he faced and seemed to be on cruise control until Florida turned the lineup over. Ashton Wilson led off the fourth with a single through the right side of the infield and Caglianone took out his frustrations on the mound by launching his 29th home run over the scoreboard in right field. A Colby Shelton triple off the wall in center field and a Luke Heyman ground out tied the score at 3-3. Florida took the lead for good when Cade Kurland hit the first of his two homers for the day, an opposite field job to right field that sent Harris to the showers. On came Josh Roberge, who gave up three runs although he did record an out. Roberge gave up a double to left by Tyler Shelnut, then hit Brody Donay with a pitch before getting Dale Thomas to fly out. Then the bottom fell out. Michael Robertson singled to score Shelnut and Wilson followed with his second hit of the inning, a double to left that gave the Gators a 6-4 lead. Caglianone was walked intentionally but when Shelton coaxed a full count walk to load the bases, Roberge was yanked in favor of Chandler Marsh. Marsh promptly gave up a 3-run double into the left field alley and then hit Kurland with the next pitch. Shelnut hit his second double of the inning, driving home two to close out the scoring. From a 3-0 hole, the Gators were up 12-3 where the score stayed until the seventh when the Gators scored two off of Georgia’s Matthew Hoskins. A single by Shelnut, a walk to Donay, a sacrifice bunt by Thomas and a single up the middle by Robertson stretched Florida’s lead to 14-3. Jameson had been on cruise control until the bottom of the seventh when he gave up a walk, a single and a run-scoring double. Ryan Slater came on and should have gotten out of the inning without further damage but a one-out error scored another run. Slater got a pop fly to shallow right field for what should have been the final out, but a run-scoring single  followed to cut the margin to 14-6. Florida countered with two in the top of the eighth to move ahead 16-6. Shelton was hit by a pitch, Heyman singled and Kurland walked to load the bases. Georgia brought on Brandt Pancer but his first pitch drilled Shelnut in the back, driving home Shelton. A Donay ground out scored Heyman. Slater gave up two homers, a double and a run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth before he was replaced by Jake Clemente. A single, a passed ball and a 2-run double forced a Florida pitching change. Cade Fisher got the Gators out of the inning with a ground out, but the score was 16-11 and Georgia fans thought a miracle was in the works. However, in the Florida ninth, two walks and a 2-out homer to right by Kurland made it 19-11. In the Georgia half of the inning Fisher gave up a 1-out single but got an around-the-horn double play grounder to end the game. Gator notes: Caglianone’s home run was the 69th of his career. He is fourth in SEC history, five behind third place Matt LaPorta … Jameson got the win, improving to 4-0 on the season … In his last five games, Heyman his hit five home runs while driving in 13 … The Gators have hit 115 home runs this season … Florida’s team ERA is 6.26. Saturday’s scores FLORIDA (28-26, 13-17 SEC) 19, No. 9 Georgia (39-14, 17-13 SEC) 11 No. 1 Tennessee (46-10, 22-8) 4, No. 24 South Carolina (33-21, 13-17 SEC) 1 Vanderbilt (35-20, 13-17 SEC) 12, No. 2 Kentucky (39-12, 22-8 SEC) 4 No. 5 Texas A&M (44-11, 19-11 SEC) 14, No. 3 Arkansas (43-12, 20-10 SEC) 4 Missouri (22-32, 9-21 SEC) 4, No. 16 Mississippi State (36-19, 17-13 SEC) 3 Alabama (33-21, 13-17 SEC) 12, Auburn (27-26, 8-22 SEC) 5 LSU (36-20, 13-17 SEC) 9, Ole Miss (27-28, 11-19 SEC) 3 RPI top 25: 1. Texas A&M 44-11; 2. Arkansas 43-12; 3. Kentucky 39-12; 4. North Carolina 41-12; 5. Tennessee 46-10; 6. Georgia 39-14; 7. Clemson 40-13; 8. Florida State 39-14; 9. Indiana State 39-11; 10. UC-Santa Barbara 38-12; 11. Wake Forest 36-19; 12. Virginia 40-14; 13. Oregon State 41-13; 14. North Carolina State 32-19; 15. Oklahoma 34-18; 16. East Carolina 40-13; 17. Oklahoma State 36-16; 17. Alabama 33-21; 19. South Carolina 33-21; 20. Duke 35-18; 21. Dallas Baptist 40-13; 22. San Diego 37-13; 23. Mississippi State 36-19; 24. FLORIDA 28-26; 25. UC-Irvine 40-11

Korbe Otis greets Skylar Wallace after a 4th inning inside-the-park home run (UAA Photo) From the moment Skylar Wallace saw her sharp line drive skip over the glove of South Alabama’s diving center fielder, there would be no tapping the brakes. “I honestly thought she (Mackenzie Brasher) was going to catch it,” Wallace said after her fourth inning laser beam straight up the middle that would score Korbe Otis ahead of her. “Then once I got close to first base, I turned the burners on. I was like all right, I know Coach (Tim) Walton too well. I’m scoring on this one, so here we go.” Walton knew what was about to happen so he moved in position to start waving Wallace home the moment she rounded second. “As soon as she dove and the ball got over, we’ve got an inside-the-park home run here and sure enough we do,” Walton said with a grin. The base paths have been Wallace’s personal track meet the past three seasons as she has routinely turned singles into doubles and doubles into triples. The sprint around the bases Saturday not only ignited the Florida offense, but woke up the Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium crowd that was forced to endure a nearly 3-hour weather delay. An inning later, Wallace lined a 2-run single up the middle to jump start a 6-run rally that gave the Gators (48-12) a 9-1 run-rule win over South Alabama in a winner’s bracket game in the NCAA Gainesville Regional. Florida, the No. 4 seed nationally, will play South Alabama (34-19-1) at 4 p.m. today for the regional championship. South Alabama staved off elimination Saturday night by taking down Florida Gulf Coast, 5-1. Wallace was 2-2 at the plate Saturday. In Florida’s three SEC Tournament games and two in the regional, she is 11-14 with two doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI. In a month of May in which the Gators are 9-0, Wallace is 18-28 (.642) with five doubles, five homers and 22 RBI. Saturday’s win over South Alabama was a bit of a grind. The Gators fell behind 1-0 in the first inning when Keagan Rothrock gave up two of the three hits she surrendered while raising her record to 28-6 on the season. A spectacular diving grab of a line drive in the second that Mia Williams turned into an inning-ending double play might have saved the Gators from falling farther behind. The Gators were hitting the ball hard off South Alabama starter Olivia Lacke, but nothing dropped until Ava Brown led off the third with a line drive home run into the right center field alley to tie the score at 1-1. One out later, the game went into a weather delay during which Wallace complained about the air conditioning in the locker room – “It was freezing in the locker room because the AC got fixed yesterday … it was pumping out 65, it was freezing in there!” – while teammates played hackey, fooled around on Tik-Tok or got treatment. Korbe Otis slides into second base with a 4th-inning double (UAA Photo) When the game resumed, Lacke got a strikeout and an easy third-to-first grounder to end the inning. Then came the fourth, started by Otis with a double down the left field line and Wallace’s 14th homer that gave the Gators some breathing room. The fifth inning seemed as if the Gators simply decided enough of the nonsense, time to end the game. A walk, a fielder’s choice, a double by Kendra Falby and another walk loaded the bases for Wallace who lined a 3-1 pitch up the middle to make it 5-1. That was the end of the line for Lacke, who was replaced in the circle by Tori Miller. Miller walked Jocelyn Erickson to load the bases and gave up a 1-out double to Katie Kistler, who drove the ball over the head of the right fielder to clear the bases for an 8-1 Florida lead. Miller walked Brown, then gave up a single to right field by Ariel Kowalewski to score Kistler to end the game on a run-rule. “Overall we just grinded it out,” Walton said. “I was really happy with the way we transitioned from one pitcher to the other because they are completely different and teams have struggled and we did a good job. I give out players a ton of credit for being able to find a way to grind anything out.” Rothrock wasn’t as sharp as she was Friday, but other than the first inning, she didn’t allow a runner past first base. She threw 68 pitches, 48 for strikes, with two strikeouts. For the second straight game she didn’t walk a batter although she did hit one. While admitting Rothrock wasn’t as dominating as she was Friday, Walton said his freshman pitcher did what she needed to do to. “Keagan wasn’t as good as she was yesterday, but that’s okay,” Walton said. “We’ve talked about she doesn’t have to be perfect all the time and she wasn’t. We made some good defensive plays in the field. Mia Williams had a fantastic double play there early in the game.” Gator notes: The Gators have won 10 straight games and 11 out of 12 dating back to April 26, during which time the Gators have outscored opponents 99-53 … Wallace is now hitting .411 with 14 homers and 69 RBI. She has raised her batting average 43 points since May 1. Wallace has a .558 on-base percentage … With a walk and a double Saturday, Otis raised her batting average to .459 and her on-base percentage to .589. Otis leads the SEC in both hitting and on-base percentage … Brown with her 13th home run and Kistler with her 3-run double became the fifth and sixth Gators with 40 or more RBI … The Gators have gone three consecutive games without an error, prompting Walton to say, “This is an offensive team that’s getting better defensively.”

Cade Kurland slugs 2-run homer in the 8th inning vs. Georgia (UAA Photo) Florida’s hopes to make the NCAA field of 64 teams were teetering on the verge of extinction in the eighth inning Friday afternoon in Athens. With Jac Caglianone, who had led off the inning with a single to right field, standing on second and an 0-2 count to Cade Kurland, it was a dire straits situation for the Gators. Kurland, who was 0-3 for the day, worked the count to 3-2 while fouling off a potential third strike off Georgia (39-13, 17-12 SEC) reliever Brian Zeldin. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Zeldin gave Kurland a pitch he could handle and the UF second baseman launched the ball over the left field wall to tie the score at 4-4. Two innings later after Brandon Neely set down six Bulldogs in a row, Ashton Wilson and Caglianone led off the top of the 10th with back-to-back singles. After a sacrifice bunt by Colby Shelton moved the runners up a base, Luke Heyman hit his third home run of the series to left field to give the Gators a most unexpected 7-4 lead that hushed the crowd of 3,483 at Foley Field. Neely gave up a harmless single in the bottom half to not only preserve the 7-4 win but keep the Gators in the hunt to make the NCAA field for the 17th consecutive year. At 27-26 (12-17 SEC) the Gators are definitely a bubble team, but if they can escape Athens with a win today (2 p.m., SEC Network+) and pull off a first round win at the SEC Tournament in Hoover next week, there is a very good chance Florida will keep the streak alive. The home runs by Kurland and Heyman were definitely clutch, but so was the performance by Neely, who came on in the sixth with one out, the bases loaded and the Gators trailing, 3-1. After a 3-0 count to Logan Jordan, Neely came back with three straight strikes, the third one looking for the second out. He started Kolby Branch out 2-0, but responded with another strikeout for a great escape. Florida cut the lead to 3-2 in the seventh on a single by Tyler Shelnut, a fielder’s choice by Dale Thomas and a double by Michael Robertson, but Georgia responded with Corey Collins’ second home run of the game to lead off the bottom half for a 4-2 lead. That was the last damage Georgia did to Neely, who set down the next nine hitters before Charlie Condon led off the bottom of the 10th with a single. It was quite a reversal of fortune for Neely, who was the losing pitcher in games one and three of Florida’s weekend series against Kentucky. In 4-1/3 innings against Kentucky, Neely gave up seven hits and seven runs while struggling with his control. Against Georgia Saturday, Neely went 4-2/3 innings, gave up two hits and one run. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out six to earn his second win of the year. For Caglianone, who had his 30-game hitting streak ended Thursday night, it was a 3-4 afternoon as he raised his batting average to .419. It was Caglianone’s third inning double that scored Robertson with the game’s first run. The Gators got a quality start out of freshman Liam Peterson, who pitched four shutout innings before the Bulldogs got to him for two runs in the fifth on a 2-run homer by Collins. In the sixth, Peterson gave up a leadoff double and an RBI single before he was replaced by Luke McNeillie. When McNeillie loaded the bases with a walk and a hit batter, Kevin O’Sullivan called in Neely from the bullpen to wiggle out of the jam. Gator notes: If the Gators can get out of Athens winning two of three, their NCAA chances will be seriously enhanced. Currently, UF has the No. 25 RPI … The win was Florida’s 14th come-from-behind victory this season … The home run by Heyman was his fifth in the last four games, raising his total this season to 13, a career high … Kurland’s homer was his 11th of the season … Caglianone (5-1, 4.07 ERA) will get the start today. SEC Friday scores FLORIDA (27-26, 12-17 SEC) 7, No. 9 Georgia (39-13, 17-12 SEC) 4 No. 1 Tennessee (45-10, 21-8 SEC) 8, No. 24 South Carolina (33-20, 13-16 SEC) 3 No. 2 Kentucky (39-11, 22-7 SEC) 17, Vanderbilt (34-20, 12-17 SEC) 7 No. 3 Arkansas (43-11, 20-9 SEC) 6, No. 5 Texas A&M (43-11, 18-11 SEC) 3 No. 16 Mississippi State (36-18, 17-12 SEC) 8, Missouri (22-32, 8-21 SEC) 2 LSU (35-20, 12-17 SEC) 4, Ole Miss (27-27, 11-18 SEC) 2 Auburn (27-25, 8-21 SEC) 12, Alabama (32-21, 12-17 SEC) 11

For the second time in three years, Florida has landed a wide receiver transfer from Arizona State during the spring portal window. Following the 2022 signing of Ricky Pearsall, a first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft, the Gators have now secured a commitment from his former teammate, Elijhah Badger.

Keagan Rothrock pitched 6-1/3 dominant innings in Florida's 6-0 win over FGCU (UAA Photo) The fast ball may not be what it was before the surgeries for compartment syndrome, but bit by bit, Keagan Rothrock is compensating. The Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2022 after leading Roncalli to the Indiana high school championship, she nearly missed her entire senior year after undergoing surgery for the rare affliction that attacked her lower extremeties. That once crackling fast ball of 70-72 miles per hour lost some of its heat, forcing her to learn to adjust on the fly. “The surgeries that she had in high school were pretty extreme; that’s not something I’ve ever gone through with an athlete with compartment syndrome,” Florida coach Tim Walton said Friday afternoon after Rothrock gave up just two hits in 6-1/3 innings, leading the Gators (47-12) to a 6-0 win over Florida Gulf Coast in the first game of the Gainesville Regional. Rothrock (27-6, 2.33 ERA) faced 22 hitters without giving up a walk while striking out three. She was efficient, needing just 74 pitches, 51 of which were strikes. Instead of fast balls that hitters can’t catch up to, Rothrock now mixes up her pitches. She throws a rise on two levels, a drop, a screwball and a fast ball. When she’s hitting her spots in the strike zone as she was Friday, she gets a lot of easy pop ups and ground balls. The way Rothrock handled the FGCU lineup was a lesson in how she is evolving from a softball equivalent of Nolan Ryan into a Greg Maddux, who doesn’t need the hard stuff to dominate. It has been on the job training for the Florida freshman. Velocity, ball movement, even her work ethic has been altered. Everything is different, yet as the new Keagan Rothrock figures things out, she still gets the results. She’s won championships at every level since she was a kid, in large part because she’s always had an unparalleled work ethic. She still works hard, but the routines have been forced to change. “She was an animal in the weight room before her injuries,” Walton said. “She doesn’t lift weights. She doesn’t do the lower body stuff. She doesn’t run, she just bikes. We’ve made tons of adjustments. The kid’s always been an animal, a worker, worker, worker.” The pitches aren’t nearly as explosive as they once were, but when she locates as she did Friday and lets her defense do the work behind her, she gets results. The Gators were error free. The ball only reached the outfield six times and only one of those was a hit, a fourth inning double with two outs. There were five pop ups to the outfield and six in the infield that found their way into the mitt of third baseman Ariel Kowalewski. Rothrock was in such complete control that only one real web gem was required to set down the Eagles. With a runner on second with one out in the third inning, Olivia Black hit a bouncer in the hole on the left side of the infield that Skylar Wallace corralled with a sliding stop on her knees. Without getting back to her feet, Wallace threw across the infield for the out, saving a run while holding the runner at second. Rothrock got out of the inning with a foul pop that Kowalewski pulled in for out three. The stop and throw were spectacular and instinctive. Skylar Wallace throws out a runner from her knees in the third inning (UAA Photo) “That just kind of happens,” Wallace said, adding, “It’s more of me trying like to not let the ball get by, blocking it, takes a weird hop and just reading it. If I get my arm in slot I can get the ball over there but I don’t practice throwing from the knees, just kind of do it.” Almost on cue, Wallace came up in the bottom half of the third with two outs and two on. On a 2-1 count, Wallace lined the ball up the middle and legged it out for a double to drive home Mia Williams, who had walked, and Kendra Falby, who got the Gators’ first hit of the game on a hard bouncer off the pitcher’s glove. That was all the offensive support Rothrock really needed. Winner of six in a row, Rothrock has won all four of Florida’s postseason games. She was 3-0 at the SEC Tournament last weekend. Rothrock credits some of the success to superstition – she wears her left sock on her right foot, right sock on her left, a practice since her high school days – while letting her defense work behind her. "One of the biggest things is having a great defense behind me and knowing the stuff I have is good enough; good enough to beat anybody," Rothrock said. "Just having trust in that they're going to swing and miss, that I'm going to get outs from my defense and then just letting the offense do the rest." The 2-0 lead stood until the sixth when Wallace started a 4-run rally with a line drive up the middle. A walk to Jocelyn Erickson and a double steal set up Reagan Walsh for a sacrifice fly to left field that drove in Wallace. After Katie Kistler was intentionally walked, Avery Goelz went opposite field with a line drive over the third baseman’s head to score Erickson. Kowalewski closed out the scoring with a 2-run single. The win advances the Gators to a winner’s bracket game at 1 p.m. Saturday against South Alabama (33-18-1), a 1-0 winner over Florida Atlantic. Florida Atlantic and Florida Gulf Coast will face off at 3:30 in an elimination game. Gator notes: In her last eight games, Wallace is 18-37 (.486) with five doubles, four home runs and 18 RBI … In the third inning, Mia Williams slid into second base but was called out on a force. Williams got to her feet, signaled safe to Walton in the third base coaching box. Walton trusted his player and asked for a replay. When the booth took a look, it was obvious Williams was safe so the call was reversed. Wallace followed with her 2-run double … This was the 18th NCAA regional the Gators have hosted. The Gators have won game one 17 times with 12 shutouts. In the last 10 regional openers, the Gators have allowed a grand total of two runs and 12 hits.

Kendra Falby belts out a hit against Oklahoma State (Gator Bait photo by Chris Spears) Tim Walton will never be accused of being the chairman of the bored. How can you ever be bored when you have a softball team that 48 hours after giving up 12 runs in an inning for a run-rule loss to arch-rival Florida State goes out and run-rules Georgia in Athens? How can you get bored when one week after getting run-ruled by FSU you blow a 6-run lead in the bottom of the seventh only to win the game in the top of the ninth? Walton isn’t bored in the least. If anything, he’s having more fun than he’s had in a few years. The Gators (46-12), who last weekend won the Southeastern Conference Tournament, begin their quest for a 12th trip to the Women’s College World Series in Walton’s 19 years on the job at noon today at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium against Atlantic Sun Conference champ Florida Gulf Coast (37-19). “We’ve done some pretty weird things,” Walton said after the Gators worked out Thursday morning. Yes, it is rather weird for an elite program with the tradition of Florida to have a China Syndrome meltdown against Florida State, at KSP no less. It’s also weird for that same team to 48 hours later to run-rule Georgia, which was ranked ninth in the country at the time. Weirder still, one week after the FSU meltdown, to experience another meltdown in the bottom of the seventh against FSU in Tallahassee. After blowing a 7-run lead in the bottom of the sixth, then a 6-run lead in the bottom of the seventh, the Gators came back to score two runs in the top of the ninth to walk away with a mind-boggling 15-13 win. “Nobody gets run-ruled by your rival on a Wednesday, then turns around on Friday and plays your next biggest rival – maybe your biggest rival – and then run rules them,” Walton said. “Nobody does that. I’ve never seen anybody do that. Usually, when you get run-ruled by somebody there’s another one coming because that just doesn’t happen by fluke. Run-rule a team on the road after getting run-ruled by giving up 12 runs in an inning with a lead. Nobody does that, but this team is definitely resilient and has the ability to turn the page really quickly.” The Georgia series in which the Gators won two of three and the wild win at FSU seem to have fueled the Florida jet. The Gators have won eight in a row and nine of their last 10. They’ve gone from the outside looking in to hosting the Gainesville Regional and if the Gators plunder and pillage the field of Florida Gulf Coast, Florida Atlantic (41-14) and South Alabama (32-18-1), they’ll host a super regional next week with the winner of the Lafayette Regional (Louisiana, Princeton, Baylor or Ole Miss). Following the win at FSU, the Gators swept Texas A&M to move from 16th to 12th in RPI and into the top ten in the rankings. After going scorched earth for three straight wins at the SEC Tournament in Auburn, the Gators moved into sixth in RPI, fifth in the national rankings and then the No. 4 seed for the NCAA. Not bad for a team with 11 new faces that didn’t return a single pitcher who had faced even one batter in 2023. Walton could have dipped into the transfer portal to find a pair of seasoned starting pitchers but instead chose to go with a pair of freshmen, 1st-team All-SEC Keagan Rothrock and 2nd-team All-SEC Ava Brown, who doubles at first base when not in the circle. Two other freshmen – Mia Williams and Ariel Kowalewski – are in the starting lineup along with All-SEC transfers Jocelyn Erickson and Korbe Otis. Erickson was the SEC Player of the Year and Otis is one of the finalists for national player of the year. They’ve blended in seamlessly with last year’s SEC Player of the Year Skylar Wallace, Kendra Falby, Reagan Walsh and Katie Kistler. Wallace, Falby and Walsh made first team All-SEC. Wallace, who endured a 7-47 April, made the SEC Tournament her personal playground, going 7-9 with homers in all three games and nine RBI. Wallace is 16-34 since the second FSU game with four homers, four doubles and 16 RBI. Hitting .399 with 13 homers and 59 RBI for the season, Wallace leads the nation in runs scored (81) and ranks fifth in on-base percentage (.550). Her rebound from a dismal May to a return to prominence is reminiscent of the Gators big bounce from the run-rule loss to FSU to the current 8-game winning streak. Looking back on the loss to FSU, Wallace sees that almost as a blessing in disguise. “I think it was a long time coming,” Wallace said. “Honestly, we were getting away with a lot of things that we should have not gotten away with. So, it was in sense a wake-up call for us that we needed to have the crap beaten out of us a little bit and be woken up and just shown that we can do better. We got to do the little things correctly, so that the big things come in nicely. So, the locker room was like alright, ‘we deserve that one.’ I think we all looked around were like, ‘Damn, okay, how can we agree regroup and learn from this and be better tomorrow and moving forward,’ and I think you've seen that since that game, the improvements we've made, the communication that we've had, and just the trust that we've had with each other, and I think that speaks for itself. But the FSU game. They did that, we deserved that one, but I'm excited that we got past, that we're rolling now and seeing where we can go.” Wallace hits third in a lineup that leads the Southeastern Conference in all but a couple of offensive categories. The Gators hit .342 as a team and average eight runs every time out. The ability to score runs in bunches has allowed Rothrock and Brown the cushion to get away with an occasional mistake because when the Gators get to hit, they can make it up in a hurry. Walton has won six SEC championships and two national titles. Since arriving at Florida he’s 972-235, so he knows a good team when he sees one, and this, he says, is a very good softball team. “They’re tough, they’re strong, they’re competitive,” Walton said. “I think we are a little bit emotional. You don’t give up 12 runs in an inning, seven runs in an inning without being a little bit emotional, but I think the one thing it showed me is their resilience, their toughness. They want to win. They want to win and you can hear it, you can feel it. You can feel it against Missouri. They want to win. That was something we haven’t had here in a couple of years where we wanted to win, but we knew we just knew we were going to lose. It’s different. “This team is like, okay so we’re down by seven, so what? We can find a way. We scored seven runs in an inning with two outs, two strikes. I think we’re going to be okay. I think that’s the one thing this team has shown me is that really the sky’s the limit. I’ve been telling them this for two months. This is a really good team and when this team gets going it’s going to be tough to beat and we’re showing that here over the last 10 games. We’ve played a lot better and it’s been super fun to watch. I think the roles have started to slide into place, too, and it’s made it a little bit more confidence upstairs.” UF LACROSSE: Gators whack Maryland, 15-9, move into NCAA final four Maggi Hall scored six goals and had an assist Thursday afternoon as the Gators (20-2) shocked 4th-seeded Maryland, 15-9, to move into the final four of the NCAA Tournament where they will face No. 1 seeded Northwestern in next Friday’s semifinals. Florida scored 32 seconds into the game on a goal by Danielle Pavinelli. The blitz continued the rest of the first quarter as UF built a 9-0 lead before Maryland got on the scoreboard. It was 10-2 at the half and 14-6 heading into the fourth quarter. Hall broke the Florida school record for points in a season (107). Danielle Pavinelli had two goals and two assists while Emily Heller had two goals and an assist and Madison Waters had two goals. Goalkeeper Elyse Finnelle had 10 saves. UF BASEBALL: Gators fall to Georgia, 9-4 Florida’s hopes of keeping their NCAA streak alive at 17 seasons were dealt a severe blow in Athens Thursday evening as Georgia (39-12, 17-11) cruised to a 9-4 win in Athens. Florida fell to 26-26 overall, 11-17 in SEC play. To make the NCAA Tournament, the Gators need to come away with wins in the final two games of the series, then pick up one or two wins in next week’s SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. Georgia touched Florida starter Piece Coppola (0-3) for three first inning runs on a hit batter, a single, a pair of fly balls and a 2-run homer by Paul Toetz. Dillon Carter hit the first of his two home runs in the second inning as Georgia increased the lead to 4-0. Florida countered with a home run by Luke Heyman in the third and closed the gap to 4-2 in the fourth when Brody Donay homered. But in the fifth Georgia bunched three hits together to increase the lead to 7-2. In the seventh, Carter hit his second home run for a 9-2 lead. Florida scored two in the ninth on a 2-run homer by Heyman, his second of the game and 13th of the season. Georgia starter Kolten Smith (9-2) got the win with 12 strikeouts in eight innings. Jac Caglianone’s 30-game hitting streak was broken but he did reach base on an intentional walk, extending his on-base streak to 38 consecutive games. The Gators face Georgia at 1 p.m. today (SEC Network+). ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: It is entirely possible the Gators will add their second transfer of the week today when former Arizona State wide receiver Elijhah Badger chooses between Florida and Arizona. Washington was thought to be in the mix, but On3 is reporting that it will be a Florida-Arizona decision. On this one, go with Florida. Badger was a teammate of Ricky Pearsall, who was at Arizona State prior to transferring to Florida. Pearsall and UF quarterback Graham Mertz remain closest of friends so it’s likely Badger has gotten an earful of how Mertz and UF wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales transformed him into a first round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers. Badger will be a good fit for the Gators as will corner Cormani McClain, who Tuesday announced he’s transferring to UF from Colorado. McClain is a former 5-star recruit out of Lakeland, where his position coach was former UF All-American Ahmad Black. Florida needs one more experienced wide receiver and Badger certainly fills that need while McClain helps shore up corner where the numbers are a bit thin. What we have seen from Florida head coach Billy Napier is a very sound approach to the portal. The Gators haven’t gone overboard but have been very selective in the way they’ve addressed needs. The portal isn’t going away, but used judiciously to bring in experienced, talented players while allowing youngsters to develop is a very sound approach. Let the others turn restocking into a crapshoot. Napier will bring in fewer players but will bring in ones who can provide immediate help at positions that need added depth or an experienced hand.

Former Florida basketball star Riley Kugel entered the transfer portal shortly after the conclusion of the 2023-24 season following two seasons with the Orange & Blue. However, after initially committing to Kansas, Kugel has now found his new home in Starkville with Mississippi State.

“Your cheatin’ heart will make you weep, you’ll cry and cry and try to sleep” – from “Your Cheatin’ Heart” by Hank Williams NIL. Supposedly that stands for name, image and likeness, a fancy way to say student-athletes – and since they’re now able to get paid, let’s use that term loosely – can make a pile of money doing the kind of things that gave Southern Methodist University the NCAA equivalent of the electric chair. SMU was what could only be described as a serial cheater, getting slapped with probation five times between 1974 and 1985 before the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, dealt its harshest punishment, the death penalty. That is the last time the NCAA has gone that far although it considered it with Florida in 1984, Kentucky basketball in 1989, Alabama football in 2000 and a couple other times. What put those schools in the NCAA jailhouse is Romper Room compared to what’s going on now. Now we have NIL, legal since the Supremes did a 9-0 highest court in the country tapdance on the NCAA in something called Alston v. the NCAA. After its most humiliating defeat ever – in the case of the NCAA there have been many humiliating defeats in court – the NCAA threw up its hands and basically said, “You’re on your own,” to its member schools. NIL. Now It’s Legal. Student-athletes – an oxymoron if ever there was one in today’s anything goes culture created in protest of the NCAA – can sell themselves to the highest bidder. They can hire agents to work out the details. We have pay for play, or what former Florida and Ohio State coach Urban Meyer would call organized cheating. Appearing on the Lou Holtz Podcast, here are excerpts of what Urban had to say about NIL and the state of college athletics: “If you’re a woman basketball player like the great girl from Iowa and they want to put her on a billboard and pay her, they should be able to do that, but that’s not what happened. What’s happened is the arms race of collecting money from donors and the donors are simply paying players. That’s what I understand and I don’t like it.” “I think NIL, and I sat in those committees for many, many years, I think it’s great. I think if it’s capitalism, for example, if a great player like Marvin Harrison Jr. and some car dealership in town wants to hire him, they want to put his name on a billboard and pay him money, sign autographs, he wants to put something on an Instagram or they sell that. But that’s not what’s happened, coach. What’s happened is it’s cheating." “…but to have a 17-year-old demand money for a visit, to pay these players a lot of money to go visit a charity for 20 minutes and they write you a check for $50,000, that's cheating. That's not what this is all about. I'm very disappointed in where it went." “Nothin’ you can’t handle, nothin’ you ain’t got. Put your money on the table and drive it off the lot” – from “Low Down” by Boz Scaggs When Graham Mertz announced he was coming back for one more season of football at the University of Florida, he said it was about “unfinished business.” That’s true, but so is the fact that he resuscitated his college football career a season ago and he definitely needs to build on what he did last year to ensure he’ll have a chance to be drafted by the NFL in 2025. It is also true that Billy Napier needed Mertz so save stud recruit DJ Lagway from all the problems associated with true freshmen playing quarterback in the Southeastern Conference. Mertz needed another successful year to impress the NFL. Lagway needed an aging vat year so that he will be as well prepared as possible to take over as the starting QB in 2025. Napier can’t afford a third straight losing season so he definitely needed his experienced starter to come back to (a) win games and (b) mentor Lagway. For that, it takes NIL money. Unsubstantiated rumors have Mertz and Lagway both getting anywhere from $1-to-$1.5 million for 2024 with Lagway’s money escalating to $2 million and beyond starting in 2025. Quarterbacks aren’t cheap. Counting former 5-star corner Cormani McClain, who committed to Florida Wednesday after spending his freshman year at Colorado, Napier has brought in 17 players through the portal. He signed a freshman class of 21. Since there is no such thing as free lunch anymore in college sports, particularly football, you have to figure all 38 got money to come to the University of Florida. A couple of years ago Napier offered a figure of $20 million per year what it would take for Florida to compete with the likes of Georgia and Alabama for talent capable of winning big in the Southeastern Conference. Figure inflation is higher when it comes to college football than it is in the real world but conservatively 10 percent yearly, which would mean right now Florida needs something like $25 million. A year. “It’s really hot and a little bit sour, we’re getting your strength to maximum power” – from “The Golden Age” by Asteroids Galaxy Tour A year ago, Todd Golden found just the right mix in transfers Walter Clayton Jr. (from Iona), Tyrese Samuel (from Seton Hall), Zyon Pullin (from Cal-Riverside) and Micah Handlogten (from Marshall). He brought in a pair of impactful freshmen in Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh. Samuel and Pullin have run out of eligibility and Riley Kugel, who commanded a hefty NIL deal, is in the portal. The replacements for the gone Gators are Sam Alexis (from Chattanooga), Rueben Chinyelu (from Washington State) and Alijah Martin (from Florida Atlantic) plus freshman Isaiah Brown. Golden still has two scholarships to give. More so than football, basketball is going to rely heavily on the transfer portal for teams to be competitive enough to be in both conference and national championship hunts. As UConn has proven in the last two years, you have to have the right mix of transfers and home growns to win big. That’s Todd Golden’s formula for the future. Whenever he discusses recruiting it’s always in the context of a mix between freshmen and transfers. Freshmen can be developed and transfers bring experience. They both cost money. Clayton and Will Richard are testing the NBA waters. Clayton was invited to the G-League combine. His measurements including a 37.5-inch vertical were impressive, and he will probably be offered a G-League contract. G-League salaries are less than $50,000 per year. Clayton and Richard both made more money than that in NIL last year. Both will be back. “Papa say, ‘Oh, no hesitation; no tears and no hearts breakin' no remorse. Oh congratulations, this is your Haitian divorce” – from “Haitian Divorce” by Steely Dan A few weeks ago, John Calipari had a come to Jesus chat with University of Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart. Cal wanted a hug and some love. Mitch couldn’t afford to fire him because he didn’t have a zillion or so dollars of buyout money. He basically told Cal he could stay at UK, but no reassuring hug was offered. In one of those quicker than poop through a goose moments, John Calipari got his divorce from Kentucky and resurfaced as the head coach at Arkansas. If the divorce was Haiti, the marriage was pure Las Vegas with John Tyson, of the Tyson Chicken Tysons, doing a fabulous Elvis impersonation. Tyson and his fellow gozillionaire boosters who love getting in bidding wars to have University of Arkansas athletic facilities named after them, got Cal to sign on a 5-year dotted line, lured by $5 million NIL whipout money to hire a roster talented enough to lead the Razorbacks out of a 30-year desert and into the NCAA basketball promised land. The deal came with the assurance that if $5 million wasn’t enough, there was plenty more where that came from. You can do that when you have boosters named Walton (Walmart), Reynolds (aluminum), Stevens (investment banking), Jones (oil and the Dallas Cowboys), and of course, Tyson (chicken). Cal has responded by luring to Arkansas four transfers from the portal and three freshmen who were released from their Kentucky letters of intent. That’s only seven players, eight counting the one who didn’t transfer out of Arkansas when Eric Musselman bolted for Southern Cal. John Calipari has the money he needs to buy five more players. It is a shot across the bow of the Southeastern Conference and all the top schools nationwide that says you better have a ton of money if you expect to compete for the best players whether they’re freshmen or transfers in the portal. “He got an agent and a roadie named Bart, they made a record and it went in the charts, the sky was the limit” – from “The Great Wide Open” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tennessee boosters believe the sky is the limit for Vol football with Nico Iamaleava throwing passes. He is the latest in a long line of “the next Peyton Manning” quarterbacks at UT. He’s supposed to lead the Vols out of a 26-year desert into the promised land. Funny, but Peyton never won a national championship nor did he win the Heisman Trophy. Now, Tee Martin won a national championship the year after Peyton graduated, but he didn’t win the Heisman either. There was a standing joke for years that went like this: Where was OJ Simpson heading when he was driving the white Bronco? To Knoxville because you’ll never find a Heisman Trophy winner there. There has never been a Heisman Trophy winner at Tennessee although there have been three runners-up: Manning (1997), Johnny Majors (1957) and Hank Lauricella (1951). Tennessee booster must think Iamaleava can win the Heisman because they put together an $8 million deal when he was in high school. Nico was Captain Clipboard as a freshman at Tennessee in 2023, but when the Vols went to something called the Cheez-It Bowl he got the start. Completing 12-19 passes for 151 yards and a TD, Nico has Vol fans salivating, believing this one will actually live up to the hype. But what if he doesn’t? “I want to go home to the armadillos, good country music from Amarillo down to Abilene, the friendliest people and the prettiest women you’ve ever seen” – from “London Homesick Blues” written by Gary P. Nunn, made famous by Jerry Jeff Walker Because he couldn’t get NIL money as a high school senior in Texas, Quinn Ewers skipped his senior season at South Lake Carroll and went to Ohio State, joining the Buckeyes with preseason camp in progress in August of 2021. The Buckeyes already had CJ Stroud, who would throw for 4,435 yards and 44 touchdowns. With Stroud returning for 2022, Ewers decided to go home to the armadillos and the Texas Longhorns. There is this old saying in Texas that only God has more money than the Longhorns. Ewers got money in 2022 when the Longhorns went 8-5. He was decent but unspectacular. He cut off his mullet in the offseason and in 2023 led Texas to its first berth in the College Football Playoff where the Longhorns were edged by Washington 27-20. Ewers could have gone to the NFL after last season but he most likely would have been taken in the second or third rounds. So, he would have taken a pay cut to go pro since his NIL deals at Texas are worth somewhere between $1.9 and $4 million. So split the difference. If the Longhorns are paying Quinn Ewers just shy of $3 million, what are they paying the rest of the roster? There are 84 other scholarship athletes, some are stars and some freshmen who didn’t get a loaded deal when they signed. If it averages $150,000 per scholarship football player, that’s $12.6 million. We haven’t even added in the other sports. NIL might cost Texas $25 million a year and that doesn’t include all the money that goes into scholarships, insurance, etc. “We gotta get out of this place, if it’s the last thing we ever do” – from “We Gotta Get Outta This Place” by Eric Burden and The Animals Tom Fornelli, who writes about college football for CBS Sports, paints a rather grim picture when it comes to the Atlantic Coast Conference. He believes that it’s only a matter of when not if Florida State and Clemson leave the ACC and it’s all about the high cost of doing business. While FSU and Clemson’s Southeastern Conference brethren are going to be raking in something along the lines of $100 million a year by 2026, FSU and Clemson will be getting half that from the ACC. Both of them want to be competitive on the national stage and they can’t see that happening if they have the monetary handicap from the media money. The media money is only half the problem. While trying to keep up with the SEC Joneses, they also have to have the NIL cash on hand to lure transfers and sign outstanding freshmen. They are more or less holding their own with the freshmen right now. Clemson doesn’t go after transfers but it’s going to take a boatload of cash to sign top freshmen and then keep them happy. FSU regularly dips in the portal but how long will the Seminoles be able to compete for the best players when every SEC school has $50 million more in media money, which frees up booster money for the portal? Clemson and FSU think the solution is to pack up their bags and leave the ACC, except there is that teensy matter of grant of rights, which is in effect until 2036. FSU estimates that leaving the ACC would cost $500 million, so it has sued, figuring there must be a loophole which will be their emancipation proclamation. Clemson has also sued. The ACC, meanwhile, has counter-sued and vows to tie matters up in court for years. FSU and Clemson are counting on two things to save them. First, they expect a settlement with a suit brought on by the Congress to mean something like $17-20 million a year to settle possible anti-trust violations with the NCAA. That’s money in the pockets of FSU and Clemson. Only problem is, all the schools in the SEC and Big Ten will also get the same amount. The other thing they count on is that either the SEC or Big Ten will scoop them up soon as they are free and clear of the ACC. The only problem with that theory is that neither the SEC nor the ACC are in much of an expansion mood. Greg Sankey is quite content at 16 teams with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma this year. From a scheduling and brand perspective, the SEC has gotten so much stronger with Texas and Oklahoma. The Big Ten is going to have to sort out transportation issues since it is now a coast-to-coast league and that’s just for starters. Would Clemson and FSU add any real value to the league? Not really. It is understandable that FSU and Clemson feel a need for more money, but both had opportunities to join the SEC in the past. They chose the ACC instead, a move they will regret in the future when the cost of doing business involves more money than they have to spend on NIL. “Come gather ‘round people people wherever you roam and admit that the waters around you have grown; and accept it that soon you’ll be drenched to the bone if your time to you is worth saving” – from “The Times They Are-a Changin’” by Bob Dylan Back in the 1970s former Duke point guard Dick Devenzio became an advocate for college athletes. He believed they should be paid, be able to unionize and have long term health care and educational benefits well past their playing days. The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, tried to pass him off as a kook. Had the NCAA listened back then and given in on some of the demands that began filtering in, many of the issues that threaten the very foundation of the organization could have been averted. By fighting as hard and as long as it did to maintain its outdated scholarship/amateur model, the NCAA tossed gasoline on a brush fire. The brush fire has spread and is out of control now. Charlie Baker, who has replaced Mark Emmert as the president of the NCAA, thinks Congress has the answers and many of the academics who preside over the institutions that make up the NCAA are in favor of government intervention. Is that the answer? Or should the free market decide? The schools that can afford it will pay the players. Some schools will try to stay competitive but the rising costs of fielding teams might make some athletic departments go belly up. Others may choose to eliminate scholarships altogether and go with an Ivy League or Division III approach. Players are going to be paid and some schools won’t be able to afford the rising costs of fielding teams. We may see some athletic departments go belly up whether by bankruptcy or the school electing to go with a non-scholarship, Division III-like program. The times are changing and who knows what we’re going to wind up with. Congress is going to get involved and that’s scary. Players going on strike? Possible. Scarier still. Schools with a hundred year history having to declare bankruptcy or put an end of their athletic departments? It could happen. So buckle your seatbelts. The ride promises to be rocky.

Despite losing out on 2023 five-star Cormani McClain during his initial recruitment, the Florida Gators have finally landed the in-state defensive back. After spending one season at Colorado, McClain entered the transfer portal and announced his commitment to Florida on Wednesday. McClain took two visits to Gainesville in May, including an official visit which concluded just prior to his commitment. During his first visit at the beginning of the month, the Lakeland (Fla.) native reportedly spent extensive time with Billy Napier. The former Colorado secondary member was considered a lean to Florida for most of his recruitment coming out of high school. However, momentum changed late in the process and he shocked much of the college football world by committing to Miami. Yet, McClain did not sign with the Hurricanes and instead changed his decision in favor of the Buffaloes following their hiring of Deion Sanders. Despite getting McClain later than expected, the addition is still extremely valuable for the Gators. The 6-foot-2, 165-pounder appeared in nine games for Colorado during his freshman campaign, logging four starts. He made 13 tackles, six of which were unassisted, while adding one TFL and two pass breakups. An important factor to note with the addition of McClain is exactly how he will be incorporated into the roster. Florida is currently in a tight spot numbers-wise, with 85 scholarship players already enrolled. As a result, McClain could initially join the program as a preferred walk-on, however as summer practice rolls on those numbers could shift. McClain is the 14th transfer added by Florida this offseason. He joins former USC offensive lineman Jason Zandamela, former Penn defensive lineman Joey Slackman, former Alabama defensive back Jameer Grimsley, former South Carolina linebacker Grayson Howard, former Washington defensive back Asa Turner, former Tulane defensive back DJ Douglas, former Oregon defensive back Trikweze Bridges, former Wisconsin wide receiver Chimere Dike, former Arkansas offensive lineman Devon Manuel, former San Diego State offensive lineman Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, former Air Force tight end Caleb Rillos, former Northern Illinois edge George Gumbs, and former Colorado State quarterback Clay Millen who have all joined the program this offseason. The defensive back is the No. 21 ranked transfer portal prospect according to 247Sports, despite coming out of high school as the No. 14 overall prospect and No. 1 overall cornerback.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: In 1930, Babe Ruth signed a 2-year contract with the New York Yankees that paid him $80,000 a year. This was during the Great Depression so it was an astounding amount of money. When Ruth was told he was being paid more money than President Herbert Hoover, it was reported that Babe replied, “I had a better year than him.” Back in 1977, Reggie Jackson signed a 5-year free agent deal with the New York Yankees worth a reported $700,000 a year, a rather hefty sum during a time when inflation and interest rates sent home mortgage rates through the roof. These days and times there are college athletes making much more than $700,000 of NIL deals. Even before he had taken a college football snap, Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava got an NIL deal worth $8 million. There are unsubstantiated rumors that the NIL deal for Florida quarterback Graham Mertz is well north of $1 million and that heir to the throne DJ Lagway has a deal that will escalate beyond whatever Mertz makes once Mertz is plying his trade in the No Fun League. Given the numbers we’re hearing about what athletes are getting in the transfer portal, $1 million for a quarterback seems to be on the low end of things. During the day on Monday, a text came in asking a guesstimate of what the following Gators would have made in NIL money: Emmitt Smith, Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel, Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Joakim Noah and Al Horford. That’s a complicated question, best asked of an economist who can apply monetary value to the time frames in question. Take Emmitt Smith, for example. His first year at UF was 1987 when the Gators were coming off one of the most severe probations in NCAA history. During his three years at UF, the Gators were 20-16. There was no transfer portal to drive prices up and certainly no NIL money but if there had been would Emmitt Smith have even come to Florida in the first place? Could Florida have afforded to keep him? Shane Matthews was the 6th-string quarterback Emmitt’s final year at UF in 1989. He has said that transferring was never a possibility, a good thing since his career blossomed with the arrival of Steve Spurrier in 1990. Shane was the SEC Player of the Year in 1990-91. He could have commanded a big NIL deal with the threat of entering the No Fun League Draft after the 1991 season. Wuerffel was the Heisman runner-up in 1995, the ideal time to cash in prior to Florida’s 1996 national championship season in which he won the Heisman. Tebow was already a folk hero in the state even before he arrived at UF. After winning the 2007 Heisman Florida boosters certainly would have paid up to keep him and there would have been no shortage of corporations wishing to have his endorsement.  Percy? Could Florida have outbid Pete Carroll and Southern Cal for him? After leading Florida to the 2006 NCAA basketball championship, Noah and Horford could have made millions in NIL money. They could have bolted for the NBA and made millions, but they came back for a second NCAA title in 2007. So, taking all things into consideration with the thought that all these guys would have been Gators anyway, here is what I believe they would have gotten based on 2024 monetary values: Emmitt Smith: Florida’s record was so average and he didn’t gain 1,000 yards in 1988 in an offense nicknamed "The Amedee-ville Horror." Perhaps $500,000 in 1989. Shane Matthews: After the 1991 season in which the Gators won the SEC title and posted their first 10-win season in school history, Shane would have cashed in. $1,000,000. Danny Wuerffel: Great player, yes, average marketability after the Gators were destroyed by Nebraska in the 1995 national championship game. $700,000. Tim Tebow: The money would have escalated every year, but especially after the 2008 national championship season. Since the Gators were expected to win the 2009 national title, $2,000,000. Percy Harvin: He was the most electric player in college football. Left for the NFL after the 2008 national championship so 2009 would have been his cash-in season. $700,000 because he missed games with injuries in 2007 and wasn't around to cash out big in 2009. Joakim Noah: He was the most charismatic player in all of college basketball. After winning MVP of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, he could have commanded Tebow money. $2,000,000. Al Horford: Every bit as important as Noah, but not nearly as flamboyant. $1,000,000. Could Napier land two from the portal this week? There is a very real possibility that Cormani McClain, the former 5-star corner from Lakeland, is going to be playing football at the University of Florida in the fall. There was a time when McClain was thought to be a mortal lock for the Gators, but he wavered, committed to Miami and then stiffed the Hurricanes to go play for Deion Sanders at Colorado. One season in which he played in nine games with 13 tackles was apparently all the Boulder, Colorado McClain could stand. After just a couple of weeks in the transfer portal, Florida has emerged as the odds-on favorite to land McClain, but with a catch. From all reports, if he decides to be a Gator he will join the team as a walk-on. He has an agent and apparently all parties believe that the cost of a scholarship to UF will be more than made up by NIL money. Blake Alderman of the Florida 247Sports site is reporting that McClain, his mother and his agent will be spending some time this week at UF before a final decision is made. There is also a 247Sports report that Florida could land Arizona State wide receiver transfer Elijhah Badger, whose career numbers at ASU are 142 catches for 1,640 yards and 10 touchdowns. In 2023, Badger caught 65 passes for 713 yards and three touchdowns. In 2020 and 2021, Badger was teammates with Ricky Pearsall, who transferred to Florida and parlayed that move into a first round selection by the San Francisco 49ers. That move turned out well for Pearsall and it would seem logical that Badger and Pearsall have been talking. Given that Pearsall and Graham Mertz are bestest buds, it would also seem logical that Florida has an inside track on landing another experienced wide receiver for an offense that could be downright explosive in 2024. One other thing to consider: His last name is Badger. Mertz transferred to Florida after spending four years as a Wisconsin Badger. Also, wide receiver Chimere Dike transferred to Florida in the spring. He, too, is a former Wisconsin Badger. Coincidence? Meanwhile at Amelia Island The Atlantic Coast Conference, which is in a steel cage death match of the legal variety with Florida State and Clemson, got a visit Monday from Charlie Baker, who was there to tout a possible deal with the Congress designed to head off at the pass an anti-trust lawsuit. Baker is trying to convince the ACC presidents that this deal, which will cost something like $3 billion over 10 years, is necessary for the survival of college sports. At least that’s what the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, is trying to sell to the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Big 12. The deal, which would go into effect in 2025, is a revenue sharing model designed to give the power conference teams $20 million a year each to spread among its athletes and to pay off athletes who competed prior to the advent of NIL. Considering some of the anti-trust suits out there demanding 50 percent of the revenue from college athletics, the NCAA model seems like a band-aid when a tourniquet is required. Athletes are going to be compensated but there are so many complications. Football, for example, is the cash cow but Title IX demands equality. So, can football players get the bulk of the revenue while the non-revenue – particularly women’s sports – take a lesser amount? The best idea out there is to ditch the NCAA completely and start all over again with a brand new organization that makes athletes employees. Athletes could organize and negotiate collective bargaining agreements with conferences, which would most likely want a salary cap. Baker’s visit might have sucked the wind out of the ACC room on Monday, but starting today, there will be plenty of discussion about Florida State and Clemson, which have lawsuits against the ACC in an attempt to gain a release from the grant of rights contract with ESPN. The ESPN contract runs through 2036. FSU and Clemson are looking at the amount of money that the SEC and Big Ten are going to be making from their media rights deals, which dwarfs the ACC money. If economic models are to be believed, both the SEC and Big Ten schools will be making more than $100,000,000 a year from their media rights deals. The ACC schools will be receiving half that. FSU and Clemson want out because they see their SEC brethren gaining huge competitive advantages due to all the money. They are of the opinion that either the Southeastern Conference or the Big Ten would welcome them with open arms. Both seem willing to take the chance that they will have a place to go if they are able to secede, but given the leadership at the top of both the SEC and Big Ten, it’s a very risky proposition for the following reasons: (1) Neither Clemson nor FSU will expand either the SEC or Big Ten television footprint. The SEC is already in South Carolina and Florida and neither Clemson nor FSU move the television needle. (2) The SEC expands to 16 teams by adding Texas and Oklahoma this year. The league will move to a 9-game football scheduling model either in 2025 or 2026 that will ensure every team plays every other team home and home every four years. It is a perfect scheduling model that is already being put in place for basketball starting this season. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is perfectly content with a 16-team league. The only expansion he would be willing to rubber stamp is if Notre Dame decided to join a league. (3) The Big Ten has expanded to 18 teams with the additions of Southern Cal, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. If the Big Ten had wanted to expand further it would have added Stanford and California, which ironically will be joining ACC this year.  Further, 17 of the 18 Big Ten schools are members of the American Association of Universities. Neither Clemson nor FSU are members. Call the Big Ten snooty if you will, but the league takes that very seriously. So who wants Clemson and FSU? The Big 12 would love to have them, but that would mean making less money than they make with the ACC. From all reports, the ACC is more than willing to call the bluff of Clemson and FSU and, if necessary, tie them up in court for years. That is yet another reason why it is unlikely they will be leaving the ACC anytime soon. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Caitlyn Clark has already lifted women’s college basketball to unprecedented heights when it comes to television viewership. The WNBA is counting on Clark to do the same thing. She is already branded as a superstar even though the Indiana Fever, which selected her with the first pick in the WNBA Draft, has yet to play anything more than an exhibition game. For Caitlyn Clark to transform the WNBA into must see television, she is going to have to be a superstar from day one and that is going to be very difficult. Initially, there will be crowds and television coverage, but if Clark’s game doesn’t elevate to the level of the WNBA, which has no shortage of very good players who play defense better than anything or anyone Clark saw in college, how long before Clark is no longer must-see TV? There is one other matter to consider. Whether fair or unfair, Caitlyn Clark is being asked to take the entire WNBA on her shoulders and carry it to new heights. That’s a lot of pressure. The hope here is that she’s more than capable of handling it.