Former Florida Gators star running back Trevor Etienne was arrested in Athens early Sunday morning on four counts, including DUI.

What’s this? Optimism? From Billy Napier in the spring?

Jac Caglianone hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 11th inning Saturday evening to lead the 6th-ranked Gators (13-9, 3-2 SEC) to a 6-4 win over 5th-ranked LSU (19-5, 2-3 SEC) before a crowd of 12,892 at Alex Box Stadium. Caglianone’s 10th homer of the season followed a 1-out single to right field by Ty Evans, his third hit of the game. “They tried to throw a fastball by him (Caglianone) and he jumped all over it,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan explained. The homer was the third of the week for Caglianone. Florida trailed LSU 4-2 heading into the eighth, but a leadoff double by Evans and a single by Caglianone put runners on first and third with nobody out. Two outs later, the Tigers were on the verge of getting out of the inning, but a third-strike wild pitch brought in Evans from third to make it a 1-run game. In the Florida ninth, a two-out single to center field by Evans scored pinch-runner Michael Robertson from second base to tie the game at 4-4. That brought on Brandon Neely to set down the Tigers 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the inning. Ryan Slater came on to pitch the 10th and 11th for the Gators. He set the Tigers down in order in the 10th and gave up a two-out single in the 11th before inducing a ground out to end the game. Freshman Liam Peterson was spotted a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth when the Gators scored on a bases loaded double play and an RBI single by Dale Thomas. Peterson gave up single runs in the bottom of the fourth and in the fifth before he was relieved with one out by Frank Menendez. Menendez (1 inning, 1 strikeout), Luke McNellie (2-1/3 innings, 2 hits, 1 strikeout) and Grayson Smith (1/3 inning) shut down LSU’s potent offense before Neely and Slater shut down the Tigers the rest of the way. After dropping a 6-1 decision to LSU Friday night, O’Sullivan shuffled his lineup, moving Colby Shelton to the leadoff with Evans moving up to second and Caglianone dropping to third. Tyler Shelnut moved to cleanup with usual leadoff Cade Kurland dropping down to sixth. Evans and Caglianone combined to go 5-11 with three RBI and Kurland responded with two hits. “Maybe moving some guys around in the lineup kind of changed some things around a little bit,” O’Sullivan said. Besides the clutch hitting of Evans and Caglianone, the story of the game was the pitching of the freshmen out of the bullpen – Menendez, McNellie and Smith. “I've been saying all along that our young freshmen are getting better,” O’Sullivan said. “Hopefully, this is another step in the right direction." The Gators will send Caglianone (2-0, 1.76 ERA) to the mound today (3 p.m., SEC Network) to try to win the series. UF SOFTBALL: Gators run-rule Kentucky (again) If the Kentucky Wildcats never see Reagan Walsh again it will be too soon. Through two games this weekend, Walsh has hit here 11th and 12th home runs while driving home eight to lead the Gators (28-4, 4-1 SEC) to a pair of run-rule wins over the Wildcats (20-10, 0-5 SEC). Friday night, the Gators trounced Kentucky 10-2 behind a 9-run third inning highlighted by a Walsh grand slam. Saturday, Walsh hit a 2-run homer and Baylee Goddard hit a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth to give the Gators a 9-1 margin for another run-rule win. Getting it done in the circle for the Gators was the two freshmen. Keagan Rothrock (13-3) gave up five hits for the win Friday and Ava Brown (12-1) got the win Saturday with a 1-hitter. Friday, Korbe Otis went 3-3 with four RBI and freshmen Mia Williams and Ariel Kowalewski hit home runs. Saturday, Williams homered once again. The Gators have now won 23 games by run-rule, a school record breaking the old mark of 22 held jointly by the 2009 and 2011 Florida teams. The Gators and Wildcats will conclude their series today at noon (ESPN2). SEC BASKETBALL Saturday’s score: Tennessee (26-8) 62, Texas (21-13) 58, Midwest Region Sunday’s games: Grand Canyon (30-4) vs. Alabama (22-11), West Region; Texas A&M (21-14) vs. Houston (31-4); South Region Tennessee: The Vols punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 with their win over Texas. The Vols will face Creighton (25-9) in Detroit next Friday night. NIT: Georgia (18-16) vs. Wake Forest (21-13) SEC in the basketball transfer portal: Alabama: PG Houston Mallette (6-5, 180, JR) from Pepperdine Arkansas: PG Keon Menifield (6-1, 150, SO); F Denijay Harris (6-7, 200, SR); WG Joseph Pinion (6-6, 195, SO) LSU: SF Mwani Wilkerson (6-5, 205, SO) Mississippi State: PG Andrew Taylor (6-3, 190, SR) Missouri: PF Jacob Crews (6-8, 210, JR), from UT-Martin; SG Curt Lewis (6-5, 215, JR) Ole Miss: PF Rashaud Marshall (6-9, 220, FR) to Arkansas State; C Malique Ewin (6-10, 240) Texas: SF Alex Anamekwe (6-6, 200, SO) Vanderbilt: PG Paul Lewis (6-2, 170, SO); C Lee Dort (6-10, 245, SO); SG Tyrin Lawrence (6-4, 200, SR); PF Colin Smith (6-8, 220) UF WOMEN’S SWIMMING: Gators finish third at NCAA Championships Virginia, led by Gretchen and Alex Walsh, proved too much for the rest of the field at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in Athens, Georgia. Capturing their fourth straight NCAA title, the Cavaliers scored 527.5 points to run away with the event. The Gators came home in third with 364 points. Bella Sims won the 500 and 200 free gold medals plus swam a leg on Florida’s gold medal 400 medley relay team. Top 10 finishers: 1. Virginia 527.5; 2. Texas 441; 3. FLORIDA 364; 4. Tennessee 277; 5. Stanford 250; 6. Louisville 212; 7. Indiana 206; 8. Southern California 200; 9. (Tie) Ohio State and North Carolina State 162 UF GYMNASTICS: Gators finish fourth at SEC meet The 4th-ranked Gators already owned the Southeastern Conference championship heading into Saturday night’s SEC Championship meet in New Orleans so a fourth place finish shouldn’t have much of an effect on seeing for the NCAA championships which begin April 4. The Gators will be hosting a regional this year. Saturday, LSU won the meet with a 198.075 score, the first time LSU has won since the last time it was held in New Orleans (2019). Alabama followed in second (197.750) with Kentucky (197.600) taking third and UF scoring a season low 197.300. Leanne Wong, who finished the meet with a 9.925 on bars, led the Gators with a 39.600 all-around score while Victoria Nguyen had a 39.525. “We had too many mistakes tonight,” Florida coach Jenny Rowland said. “It was a solid performance but not a performance I know the Gators are capable of.  At the same time, it isn’t an end all, be all. We have two weeks to get prepared for our regional championships, which is in Gainesville.  We are going to keep going into the gym day in and day out and getting a little bit better.” UF LACROSSE: Gators win 9th consecutive game The 11th-ranked Gators (9-2, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) opened conference play Saturday with a 19-4 win over Old Dominion. It was the ninth straight win for the Gators, who will be home Wednesday to face Liberty. Maggi Hall with five goals and two assists and Danielle Pavinelli with four goals and two assists led Florida’s attack against ODU.

Ricky Pearsall elected to go with his NFL Draft Combine numbers Thursday morning rather than work out for pro scouts. The Combine numbers were excellent, especially that 4.41 in the 40, and he showed both at the Senior Bowl and the Combine that he’s got the hands, the quickness and the precision to run clean routes. His draft stock has risen to the point that he's being projected as high the second or third rounds when the NFL drafts in April. While he chose not to work out Thursday, Pearsall was willing to talk about his Florida experience and what he sees as the future of the football program moving forward under Billy Napier. Health of the Florida football program: “I think it’s going in the right direction, for sure. I think Coach Napier does a tremendous job filtering a lot of things that needed to get filtered out, as far as just changing the culture itself. Having the guys trust in him. I think they’re taking off with it.” What Billy Napier has done for him: “Honestly, ever since the first phone call when he reached out to me, that’s when I just gained respect for him, knowing that he was about business from day one. I like that, too. I’m about business, really, at the end of the day. He’s done a lot for me, man. He’s done a tremendous job, putting me in the right positions, setting me up for success. I can’t thank him enough. As well as treating me like family, man, at the end of the day, every time I walked into this building, I felt like I was around my family. I can’t thank him enough for that.” Choosing to leave the Pac-12 (Arizona State) for the SEC and Florida: “I think that logo speaks volumes, that SEC logo, man. It spoke volumes to me when I was making my decision, for sure. There was a lot of Pac-12 teams I was talking through throughout that transfer portal process. A lot of SEC teams. Obviously I was favoring the SEC teams to come over here and play against the best competition. Being able to put on tape that I can excel in the Pac-12 as well as in the SEC, I think was really important for myself. I wanted to go against the best competition. Like I said earlier, that’s one of the best things that’s going for me is my competitiveness. Being able to come over here in the SEC and play against the best opponents.” Florida’s young wide receivers: “I think they're gonna make tremendous strides. I'm excited for them. I was actually at some of the practices. I went to their practice two days ago, I believe, and I was just watching Tre Wilson out there at work. He’s gonna be amazing this year. I'm super excited to watch him work. I've been texting him throughout this time, just giving him feedback. I still got some of the passcodes here so I'm spying a little bit, watching practice, watching one-on-ones, just giving them a little feedback that I can give him and just letting him play his game.” Freshman wide receiver Tank Hawkins: “He looks really good, too. He came up to me, too. That was actually – I hosted him. He can move. I’ve heard that he’s looking a lot better than people expected, and I heard that their expectations were really high.” Biggest thing he learned at UF: “How to be a pro, that’s the biggest thing. I feel like I’m a pro even before I became a pro, to be honest. How I handled myself off the field, on the field, throughout my work, really, and being detailed and having a game plan each and every day. I think that’s something Coach Napier really harps on to the guys is creating a plan for yourself each day. You have to know what you’re going to do.” What he offers to NFL teams: “… just being a consistent guy. I think that's the main thing. I’m a consistent worker, consistent person off the field along with all my explosive things that I got to show at the combine. But that I'm a competitor too, at the end of the day. I feel like a lot of teams want competitors, and that's what football is.” What he’s hearing about how he raised his draft stock at the Combine: “I’m hearing different things. I just try to leave that up to my agent to decipher. For me, I’m just grinding each and every day and how I can get better today.” Benefit of playing in the Senior Bowl: “It was very beneficial. I think that’s one of the most beneficial things because you’re actually playing football. You’re going out there with the pads on, throwing the ball around. So I think that’s really important for a lot of teams. While I was there they had a lot of coaches come in there and talk about how important it was.” Favorite memory of his two years at Florida: “I really liked that Utah game my first year just because it was just all new and that was my first game ever in the Swamp. So it was a great experience for myself and obviously we won that game. It was a big-time game. So I think that's my favorite memory.” UF SWIMMING: Gators 2nd after day to at NCAA Championships Despite a 1-2 finish in the 500 free, the Gators fell behind three-time national champ Virginia on day two of the NCAA Championships in Athens, Georgia. Bella Sims and Emma Wyant scored gold and silver for the Gators in the first event final of the evening, but Virginia won the next three swimming events, scoring 40 points to close out the night in the 200 free relay. Isabel Ivey got a silver medal for finishing second in the 200 IM. Friday, the Gators should score big in the 400 IM and 200, plus they should challenge Virginia for the gold in the 400 medley relay. Top ten team scores after two days: 1. Virginia 210.5; 2. FLORIDA 163; 3. Texas 141; 4. Stanford 105; 5. Tennessee 104; 6. Louisville 99; 7. Southern California 94; 8. Indiana 87; 9. Michigan 80.5; 10. Georgia 75

Will an increase in recruiting budget equate to more wins for the Florida Gators football program? By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com, Football Analyst Athletics has consistently been the lifeblood of colleges and universities for years. The excitement and revenue that is generated from athletic success cannot only provide an institution with enhanced visibility, but also affect everything from enrollment to the size of the library. The University of Florida has prided itself on being the “everything school” due to its prowess as not only the flagship academic institution in the state of Florida but also its place as the dominant athletic program in the southeast. While prominent programs such as football and basketball continue to rebound from recent program adjustments Florida has won national or conference titles in nearly every other sport and continues to sit on the doorstep for titles in others. The investment in athletics has always been real in Gainesville and it seems that that investment will continue to grow even stronger going forward. Last week it was reported that the Florida athletic department was operating at surplus levels in 2022-2023 due to payments from tickets sales, television rights and capital donations. Most of that surplus found its way to the department’s recruiting budget which saw a spending increase to $4.9 million in 2022-2023 compared to $2.7million in 2021-2022. By now it is widely known that the majority of the spending increase was absorbed by the football program which is looking to rebuild a recruiting infrastructure under Billy Napier that had found little viability under the previous regime led by Dan Mullen. Spending for football recruiting increased 78 percent from $1.6 million in 2021-2022 to $2.9 million in 2022-2023. Those numbers show an investment in creating a competitive landscape for recruiting that puts Florida football on par with its conference foes. It also begs the question is the increase a stamp of approval in what Billy Napier is building with his “organization” or a generic reaction to the swift changes seen in college football following the 2021 season. If you believe in the former then it begs the question of how the money is being utilized and will it eventually equate to more than six wins for the Napier led Gators. The first question is a simple answer. Frills, Frills, Frills. Florida Football has done a great job of identifying what recruits want and need when they visit Gainesville. Sources inside the program mentioned everything from car rides, to stationary, to meals, to balloons as expenditures that enhance the experience for recruits on the visits to UF. Furthermore the increase in budget allows for the individualization of on campus experiences that can make or break both unofficial and official visits. While the recruiting operation has clearly improved the Gators have yet to field a Top 10 recruiting class in two full recruiting cycles under Billy Napier. Additionally the 2024 class, heralded as the first Top 5 class in over a decade lost steam most likely due to the result of a 5-7 campaign in 2023. So with a less than .500 record, two Top 15 (not 10) classes, will the continued financial investment lead to on the field success for the Gators? The answer is: Time will tell. All indications from Napier and those around the program is that they finally have all the “systems” in place the way his organization envisioned when he first walked into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium two years ago. The buy-in of the student-athlete in the “organization” is as high as it has ever been under Napier and regardless what has been made of the strength of the 2024 schedule according to the head coach and those around him this team should be improved. If so, it means that one of two things is true. You can or cannot put a price tag on a field goal unit prematurely running on the field, a defense that fails to get off the field on 4th and 17, three interceptions (yes three) for an entire season, or an interior defensive line that produces less than five sacks. Last week Napier’s most ardent supporters championed the news of the increase as a vote of confidence from the administration in what Napier is attempting to build. While others are simply pleased that athletics, particularly football still matters to those holding the purse strings. One thing is for certain, the University of Florida takes pride in being the “everything” school and it will depend on its football team to carry the largest banner. Does spending more make more or is the answer buried somewhere else deep down at 2190 Stadium Road? As we said before. Time will tell.

Gators Need Is A Little Pick-Me-Up Today If Todd Golden has his way, Florida’s first round South Region game with Colorado (25-10) will be the basketball version of a track meet. “We want to get this game up and down a little bit and see if they can run with us,” Golden said Thursday afternoon in Indianapolis. “When we’re at our best we’re playing that way.” In the Gators’ run to the championship game of the Southeastern Conference Tournament, the Gators (24-11) averaged 94 points a game. They lit up Alabama for 102, the second time they had scored 100 or more against the Crimson Tide, which are a No. 4 seed in the West Region. Colorado got to this game by winning a 10-seed play-in game with Boise State Wednesday night. The game was a slow-paced, 63-60, rock fight in which the two teams combined to shoot 6-33 from the 3-point line. Colorado was 4-15 but 6-9 Tristan da Silva was 3-6 beyond the arc. It was grinding, physical and quite boring. Golden will want to run until Colorado’s players are grasping their shorts while trying to catch their collective breath. Colorado will be very happy to pound away defensively and on the boards. Offensively, the point guard KJ Simpson (19 points, 11 rebounds against Boise) controls the pace. He can slash his way to the rim but he’s a 44.6 percent shooter from the 3-point line. Simpson is 6-6, da Silva 6-9 and center Eddie Lambkin Jr. is 6-11, 265. This is a big team the Gators have to contend with and they’ll be without 7-1 Micah Handlogten, who fractured his leg in the SEC championship game with Auburn. Handlogten’s absence tightens the interior rotation although Golden has said 6-10, 250-pound Aleks Szymczyk, who hasn’t played this season while rehabbing a broken foot that required surgery, is available for minutes should he need to give Tyrese Samuel, Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh some rest. A concern is foul trouble. When Handlogten sprained his ankle in the opening minutes of the Pittsburgh game, then missed the next two, Golden was forced to play Condon and Haugh probably before they were ready. They were freshmen playing against veterans yet the Gators managed to play through it. Florida beat Pittsburgh, had Baylor on the ropes before falling by four and the only reason Wake Forest won by double figures had everything to do with a late rash of free throws. The Buffaloes have the big guy (Lambkin) in the middle and both Silva and Simpson will put the ball on the deck and go to the rack, forcing opponents’ big guys to defend shooters. “Obviously it's a variable that we have to deal with, but the great thing is our depth in the front court has been a big positive for us all year,” Golden said. “And we'll start Alex Condon tomorrow next to Tyrese (Samuel), and Tommy (Haugh) will get minutes, and we'll probably show small-ball lineups tomorrow, as well, just to make sure we have enough depth to survive out there all game. Next-man-up mentality, and I think Aleks will be ready to go for sure. “We've got to figure out ways to prevent ourselves from getting in foul trouble tomorrow. Early on – sorry, I shouldn't say early on, but before Micah's injury we could play through some foul trouble and know we have depth at both the four and the five to be able to steal minutes if we need to, whereas we don't have that luxury tomorrow as much. We'll try to find some ways to keep – specifically Tyrese and Condo out of foul trouble. Tommy does a pretty good job of that. But we've got to be mindful of that over the course of the game for sure.” At least in their win over Boise, Colorado didn’t foul. That’s what the stat sheet says anyway. Boise State, which is a long, physical team in its own right, managed to get to the line for only six free throws, this in spite of 19 offensive rebounds. Offensive rebounds usually equate to free throws but either the Buffaloes didn’t foul or the zebra crew swallowed its whistles. Often. This is a game that Florida can win, and quite frankly, should win even minus Handlogten. Colorado is a good team with some good players but Florida has played so well down the stretch that it is hard to imagine the Gators will lay an egg. Golden seemed confident and not the least bit cocky talking to the media Thursday. The Gators have gotten consistently better on an almost week-to-week basis. Last week they won three in a row in Nashville. Today against Colorado, it’s the first game of a one-and-done tournament. You can’t win a championship the first day, but you can see your season come to an end. “Obviously, Colorado is going to be a really tough opponent,” Golden said. “They should have some confidence after their win last night, but we'll be ready for them, and again, I think this team has the capacity to make a run, if things go our way tomorrow.” Anticipated starting lineups FLORIDA (24-11): 6-10 Tyrese Samuel (14 points, 7.5 rebounds); 6-11 Alex Condon (7.7 points, 6.3 rebounds); 6-4 Will Richard (11.3 points, 4.0 rebounds); 6-2 Walter Clayton Jr. (17.1 points, 3.6 rebounds); 6-4 Zyon Pullin (15.6 points, 4.0, 4.9 assists) COLORADO (25-10): 6-8 Luke O’Brien (6.5 points, 3.8 rebounds); 6-11 Eddie Lambkin Jr. (10.3 points, 7.1 rebounds); 6-9 Tristan da Silva (15.9 points, 5.1 rebounds); 6-6 J’Vonne Hadley (11.6 points, 6.0 rebounds); 6-2 KJ Simpson (19.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists) SEC BASKETBALL: BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK Imagine how embarrassing a day it would have been for the Southeastern Conference if not for Tennessee blowing the doors off St. Peter’s. The SEC, billed all year as the near equal of the mighty Big 12, was 0-3 Thursday before the Vols saved the league from an oh-fer. Mississippi State was hosed by a Michigan State team that is only in the tournament as a lifetime achievement award for Tom Izzo. South Carolina, which prided itself on defense all year, left its defensive owners manual back in the hotel. No one had a clue against a decent, but not exactly a world beater of an Oregon team. Then came Kentucky. How is it a team that has at least seven future No. 1 draft picks on its roster can give up 10 3-pointers to one shooter from a team like Oakland, whose signature win was by two points over a Xavier team that lost in the first round of the NIT to Georgia? Third-seed Kentucky lost to a 14 seed for the second time in three years. Perhaps Mississippi State dipped into its energy reservoirs so deeply just trying to get into the NCAA Tournament that there was nothing left in the tank. Perhaps South Carolina was just so happy to be there after being picked dead last by the preseason media that it was deer in the headlights. Perhaps. So how do we explain Kentucky? We can’t. This is a team with Final Four talent that never grasped the concept that on those nights when your shooting is off, you find other ways to compensate so you can still win the game. That brings us to today. Florida, Auburn, Alabama and the Aggies are carrying the torch for the SEC. They all four have winnable games. All four need to show up. Anything less than a 4-0 Friday will be serious embarrassment for the league. Thursday’s scores Michigan State (20-14) 69, Mississippi State (21-14) 51, West Region Oregon (24-11) 87, South Carolina (26-8) 73, Midwest Region Oakland (24-11) 80, Kentucky (23-10) 76, South Region Tennessee (25-8) 83, Saint Peter’s (19-14) 49 Friday’s games Colorado (25-10) vs. FLORIDA (24-11), South Region Yale (22-9) vs. Auburn (27-7), East Region Charleston (27-7) vs. Alabama (21-11), West Region Texas A&M (20-14) vs. Nebraska (23-10), South Region SEC basketball in the transfer portal Alabama: PG Houston Mallette (6-5, 180, JR) from Pepperdine Arkansas: PG Keon Menifield (6-1, 150, SO); F Denijay Harris (6-7, 200, SR); WG Joseph Pinion (6-6, 195, SO); SG Davonte Davis (6-4, 175, SR); PG Layden Blocker (6-2, 175, FR) Mississippi State: PG Andrew Taylor (6-3, 190, SR) Missouri: PF Jacob Crews (6-8, 210, JR), from UT-Martin; SG Curt Lewis (6-5, 215, JR) Ole Miss: C Malique Ewin (6-10, 220, SO); PF Rashaud Marshall (6-8, 220, FR) Vanderbilt: PG Paul Lewis (6-2, 170, SO); C Lee Dort (6-10, 245, SO); SG Tyrin Lawrence (6-4, 200, SR); PF Colin Smith (6-8, 220, SO) THE LAST WORD ON AN NCAA THURSDAY Take a moment and watch the play that decided the Samford-Kansas game. It’s as clean a block on a fast break as you will ever see, yet someone in the zebra crew of Tony Padilla, Wil Howard and Lamar Simpson called it a foul on Samford’s AJ Stanton-McCray. It wasn’t close. It should have been Samford’s basketball with 14.7 seconds and a chance to win the game with a layup or a jump shot. Instead, Kansas got two free throws and basically sealed a win. There is no way to challenge a rotten call and that was a rotten call. The kids from Samford, who had come from 22 points down to within a point deserved so much better. Kansas might have still won the game, but the Jayhawks might have lost, too. We’ll never know. This has been a year in which I’ve been more vocal than ever about bad officiating, probably because I can’t recall a year in which I’ve watched more games in which the zebras were so incompetent. I keep seeing badly officiated games and I’m not just talking Florida games. People who know me know I’m a college basketball junkie so if there is a game on, I’m usually watching. Too often, I’m left shaking my head at the ineptitude of the men in striped shirts. The same zebras keep on having bad games, too. Apparently, there is no punishment for having a bad game, much less a bad season. I can think of at least 10 SEC zebras who shouldn’t be allowed to officiate a pickup game at the YMCA. I don’t have the answers to the problems I see with officiating in college basketball, but I think a good place to start would be to ratchet down the physicality by calling fouls when bodies start banging. Foul a few guys out and maybe the game wouldn’t resemble something that only Gordon Solie could describe adequately. I would like to see the “Eurostep” taken out of the game. It’s walking. Period. How about a 3-second call? How about calling moving screens? Some of these guys look like Jerry Kramer and Fuzzy Thurston leading the Lombardi sweep the way they block so a teammate can have a clear path to the basket. I can wish. Meanwhile, I wish there was a way for those Samford kids to walk away win or lose knowing they got a fair shake. I also wish the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, would tell Wil Howard, Tony Padilla and Lamar Simpson that they won’t be calling any more games in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Kelly Rae Finley looks to build on historical SEC tournament run with a deep run in the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com The Florida Gators Women’s Basketball team is less than two weeks removed from advancing to the SEC quarterfinals and winning three games in the tournament for the first time since 1997. Kelly Rae Finley and staff continue to build a program that is rapidly putting the SEC on notice. In her second year as head coach (Finley spent 2021-2022 as interim) she is only the second coach in Florida women’s basketball history to reach the postseason in each of her first three years. This season the Gators will take part in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament an NCAA sponsored event that will feature the best 32 teams that failed to make the tournament with the “first four out” of the NCAA tournament as the top four seeds.  The top 8 seeds will host the first and second round games while the semifinals and finals will be held at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis. The Gators enter the tournament as a #3 seed and host St. John's out of the Big East Thursday evening at 7 pm. The matchup with will be particularly special for one of the Gators most prominent players. Reigning Sixth Woman of the Year Leilani Correa spent three years at St. John's before transferring to Florida in 2022. Correa scored over 1,000 points during her time and St. John's and has continued to flourish under Finley reaching the 2,000 point mark earlier this season. Kelly Rae Finley: Building program (UAA Photo) The Gators are poised to make a deep run in the WBIT and with a win Thursday will await the winner of the contest between 2nd-seeded Toledo and Cleveland State. Should the Gators prevail against St. John's and Cleveland State takes down Toledo, the Gators would host Cleveland State at the O’Connell Center on Sunday. After their last game at the SEC tournament Finley credited seniors Correa, Zippy Broughton and Faith Dut for setting a standard that should elevate the program for years to come and a consistent presence in postseason play will allow the Gators to build on recent recruiting success as the look to add key pieces through the transfer portal to go along with McDonald’s All-Americans Liv McGill and Me’Arah O’Neil (daughter of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neil) who will enroll at Florida this summer.

“Believe it or not, I’m walking on air, I never thought I could feel so free; Flying away on a wing and a prayer, who could it be? Believe it or not, it’s just me!” – Lyrics from “The Greatest American Hero” by Mike Post and Stephen Geyer

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday t“He’s just a great leader, does everything the right way. Communicates. He has presence in there, takes a lot off Graham’s plate, calm up front, giving the mike ID, obviously Graham has the trump card to check the play however we want but Jake just does a really good job, makes everyone around him better, and communication from inside and out, and Rod (Kearney) is doing a really good job pushing him.” Knijeah Harris, LG: “He's just a smart guy. He has instincts. He understands defensive patterns. He knows where his eyes are supposed to go. He communicates with the tackle. So if a tackle maybe might not be on the same page, he could tell him what to do. That might have been a bad example, but he just does a good job of all being on the same page. And just the way he comes in, he’s a really good kid and he’s a good Gator for us. We need more guys just like him.” Damieon George Jr., RG: “He’s just a bigger guy has a lot of mass, I think right now he’s 350, 354 something like that but, he can knock a three-technique back right, can slide his feet and he can run so, when it comes to outside zone, doing the things we like to do, but he’s more suited there.” Devin Manuel, LT, and Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, RT: “… I do like the two guys we got in the portal, Devin (Manuel) and Brandon (Crenshaw-Dickson) they got really character they are really good people and they are really good players, too.” Depth at tackle even with Austin Barber out for the spring: “I mean even if Austin was back we have tackle depth now which we haven’t had in the past, which is, it gives you so many more variables to get a starting lineup. Who is the best five? Like last year, we had so many different lineups, it was what is was, you know and so right now we got six, seven tackles that we can count on to go play winning football. Caden Jones is a young guy that’s going to be a really good player. Bryce Lovett can play tackle, it’s just hard to play as freshmen, it really is, a small handful can do it but we’ve got more tackle depth. You’ve got Devin (Manuel), you’ve got Kam Waites who has done a good job losing weight right now he’s at left tackle, Brandon (Crenshaw-Dickson) is at right so, we have tackle depth.” There were depth issues a year ago: “Last year was last year, you know. I just don't like to … it was what it was, you know. And look, we just, we had depth issues, right? It comes with it. When you take over a job, trying to recruit some guys and then there’s the new dynamics that we're in college football. But I really do like the guys that we signed. They're good kids, they got good character, but they're also really, really good players that we’ve hit on. It's a fresh breath of air in there, it really is. And you ask the guys, we’ve got guys that have each other's back, the togetherness, the five equals one that we talk about that we're trying to instill in these guys. I'm really excited about this group, really am.” Impressions of the freshmen: “Let's see who we all got. Fletcher (Westphal), Noel (Portnjagin), Mike Williams. That’s the three we got on campus right now. Marcus (Mascoll) is still in high school. They're really going to be good players. You know, Fletcher's long. I mean, the guy’s like 325. I don't know if y'all see him out there. I mean, he looks 285, you know what I mean? And his muscle mass can go up, you know. He can put on more weight and carry it, but he can bend. He's flexible. He's really smart. Noel, you know, we hit on him. He's a really good football player. He's an inside guy that's going to play a lot of ball around here, and Mike Williams is a guy that is long and athletic, so we're excited about all of them.” Potential of the Florida run game this year: “You know when you’ve got more length, you’ve got more tackles, more depth I mean when you got more bullets in the gun, you know, you’ve just got options. Who are the best five? We got a long time between now and the first game to figure that out but you’ve got more depth. I mean right now you’ve got five or six tackles that can play and you’ve got some inside guys that can play as well.  I mean there’s options if we need to move a tackle, whatever it may be, to get the best five. Last year, it was what it was. We had injuries, had to move guys around. We hung on the best we could but now it’s depth. We signed two really good classes that have good intangibles. They’re big, they’re long, they’re powerful and now they just keep growing up. Now we have layers in that room of old guys, guys that are in the middle and then young guys, so I really do like this group.” UF BASEBALL: Midweek pitching woes as Gators fall to JU, 7-6 Despite two home runs from Jac Caglianone the Gators dropped a 7-6 decision to Jacksonville University at Condron Family Ballpark Tuesday night. Caglianone hit his eighth homer of the season as part of a 4-run third inning and hit his ninth in the bottom of the ninth when a Florida rally fell short of a come-from-behind win. Ryan Slater got the start but gave up two first inning runs. The Gators fell behind 3-0 when Fisher Jameson gave up a run in the second. Caglianone’s homer and a 2-run double by Tyler Shelnut in the third gave the Gators 1 4-3 lead over the Dolphins, but freshman reliever Grayson Smith gave up two runs in the fourth and Alex Philpott and Frank Menendez gave up two in the top of the ninth. Following Caglianone’s homer in the ninth, Tyler Shelnut kept the inning alive with a 2-out single that was followed by an RBI single by Landon Russell but Armando Albert took a called third strike to end the game. The bright spot with the pitching was Luke McNellie, who gave the Gators 2-1/3 scoreless innings with six strikeouts. McNellie picked up a save Sunday when the Gators beat Texas A&M to clinch their first SEC series of the season. The Gators (12-8, 2-1 SEC) travel to Baton Rouge to face 4th-ranked LSU for a weekend SEC series starting Friday. UF SOFTBALL: Gators on the road at Florida Gulf Coast The Gators (25-4, 2-1 SEC) will be in Fort Myers tonight to face Florida Gulf Coast in a non-conference game. The Gators will be home this weekend to face 23rd-ranked Kentucky (18-3, Gators continued their climb in the national rankings, moving up to 10th in three of the four major polls. ESPN/USA Softball top 25: 1. Oklahoma 27-1; 2. Texas 24-3; 3. LSU 24-1; 4. Duke 22-2; 5. Georgia 23-4; 6. Oklahoma State 24-3; 7. Tennessee 22-4; 8. Stanford 22-5; 9. Washington 20-4; 10. FLORIDA 25-4; 11. Clemson 21-6; 12. Virginia Tech 21-4-1; 13. UCLA 17-6; 14. Texas A&M 25-3; 15. Alabama 22-5; 16. Missouri 22-6; 17. Arkansas 22-6; 18. Florida State 18-8; 19. Baylor 16-8; 20. Mississippi State 22-6; 21. California 21-7; 22. Oregon 16-1; 23. Kentucky 19-8; 24. Arizona 20-7; 25. South Carolina 21-7 USA Today/NFCA Coaches top 25: 1. Oklahoma 27-1; 2. LSU 24-1; 3. Texas 24-3; 4. Oklahoma State 24-3; 5. Georgia 23-4; 6. Duke 22-2; 7. Tennessee 22-4; 8. Washington 20-4; 10. FLORIDA 25-4; 11. Clemson 21-6; 12. Texas A&M 25-3; 13. Alabama 22-5; 14. UCLA 17-6; 15. Missouri 22-6; 16. Virginia Tech 21-4-1; 17. Florida State 18-8; 18. Arkansas 22-6; 19. California 21-7; 20. Mississippi State 21-6; 21. Arizona 20-7-1; 22. Baylor 16-8; 23. South Carolina 21-7; 24. Boston University 20-3; 25. Auburn 14-6-1 D1Softball top 25: 1. Oklahoma 27-1; 2. Texas 24-3; 3. Oklahoma State 24-3; 4. Stanford 22-5; 5. LSU 24-1; 6. Duke 22-2; 7. Georgia 23-4; 8. Tennessee 22-4; 9. Washington 25-4; 10. FLORIDA 25-4; 11. Clemson 21-6; 12. Texas A&M 25-3; 13. Virginia Tech 21-4-1; 14. UCLA 17-6; 15. Alabama 22-5; 16. Missouri 22-6; 17. Arkansas 22-6; 18. Mississippi State 21-6; 19. Baylor 16-8; 20. Arizona 20-7-1; 21. Charlotte 16-9; 22. California 21-7; 23. Florida State 18-8; 24. Boston University 20-3; 25. Texas State 22-7 UF LACROSSE: Gators extend winning streak to 8 straight Paisley Egan’s career-best four goals led the 11th-ranked Gators (8-2) to their eight straight win Tuesday afternoon, a 23-7 decision over Furman. Egan also had an assist while Ashley Gonzalez helped the UF cause with three goals. The Gators will be home Saturday for an American Athletic Conference game with Old Dominion (3-7, 0-1 AAC). SEC BASKETBALL Tuesday NIT scores: Georgia (18-16) 78, Xavier (16-18) 76; North Texas  (19-14) 84, LSU (17-16) 77 SEC in the transfer portal Alabama: PG Houston Mallette (6-5, 180, JR) from Pepperdine Arkansas: PG Keon Menifield (6-1, 150, SO); F Denijay Harris (6-7, 200, SR); WG Joseph Pinion (6-6, 195, SO) Mississippi State: PG Andrew Taylor (6-3, 190, SR) Missouri: PF Jacob Crews (6-8, 210, JR), from UT-Martin; SG Curt Lewis (6-5, 215, JR) Vanderbilt: PG Paul Lewis (6-2, 170, SO); C Lee Dort (6-10, 245, SO); SG Tyrin Lawrence (6-4, 200, SR) ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Florida State has company. Clemson has filed a lawsuit in state court against the Atlantic Coast Conference in a move to secede from the league due to a grant of rights contract that has 12 years remaining and what Clemson sees as excessive exit fees if and when it elects to leave. The Clemson suit claims the grant of rights contract is unenforceable and illegal. Under the grant of rights with the league, Clemson’s yearly payout from the ACC will be approximately half what the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten receive from their media rights deals. And, with the new College Football Playoff contract, both the SEC and Big Ten will get twice as much money as the ACC and Big 12. Florida State and Clemson – and perhaps other ACC schools – believe they would be invited to join either the SEC or Big Ten if they were able to secede. Both schools believe if they weren’t encumbered by a grant of rights contract that they would be greeted with open arms by either the SEC or Big Ten. That’s a gamble on the part of both FSU and Clemson. Neither one moves the television needle significantly, which is why the SEC has done nothing to encourage their leaving. Additionally, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey continues to stay the course, saying the league is quite content with 16 teams and sees no reason to expand further. So what happens if FSU and Clemson win their lawsuits against the ACC and then there is no invitation to join the SEC? Freedom from the ACC might seem desirable, but there is that old saying – “Be careful what you wish for” – they need to think long and hard about before going any further.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

Gators hoping this guy shows up. Aleks Szymczyk return means five more fouls to give. (UAA Photo) It turns out that even with Micah Handlogten gone for the year after his gruesome injury in the SEC Tournament Championship Game that Todd Golden may have five tall fouls to give when the Gators crank it up in the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon. Sophomore Aleks Szymczyk, all 6-10 and 250 pounds of him, has been sidelined all year recovering from surgery on a foot he broke during summer practice. After the way he played at the end of his freshman season, Szymczyk was thought to be a regular part of the inside rotation this year, but the broken foot was a real setback. He hasn’t gotten in a game even for a nanosecond but he’s been practicing and dressing out with the team most of the Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule. So, he’s sort of the forgotten man on the roster. Well, maybe no longer. With the Gators down one big in the rotation, Szymczyk could offer up minutes in a pinch when NCAA Tournament play begins Friday when the Gators (24-11) face the winner of tonight’s 10th-seed play-in game between Boise State (22-10) of the Mountain West Conference and Colorado (24-10) of the Pac-12. Although he hasn’t played, Szymczyk is tall and you can’t teach that, plus even if it’s just a minute or two on the floor, it’s a break for one of the big guys. Golden said Tuesday that 6-10 Tyrese Samuel will be joined in the starting lineup by 6-11 freshman Alex Condon with 6-9 freshman Thomas Haugh serving as the backup. The three of them worked together in a 3-man rotation earlier in the year when Handlogten sprained an ankle in the first minute of a win over Pittsburgh then missed consecutive losses to Baylor and Wake Forest. In the win over Pitt, Samuel scored 20 points with 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocked shots and three steals. Condon had 11 points, six rebounds and Haugh had seven points, five rebounds. 8 The next night against Baylor, Samuel had 18 points and six rebounds, while Condon had four points, five rebounds and Haugh had two points, two rebounds. Denzel Aberdeen came off the bench that night to contribute eight points and three rebounds. A few days later against Wake Forest, Samuel had 12 points, eight rebounds, while Condon had five points, five rebounds and Haugh had three points and six rebounds. Tyrese Samuel, says the loss of Handlogten will hurt on the defensive end, but he believes Condon and Samuel are more than capable. "It hurts a little bit because, you know, he's [Handlogten] a good rim protector and just having his presence there in the paint, and stuff like that helps us for sure, because he’s great, 7-1, long arms and stuff like that. Just altering shots on the rim just helps us go out and transition and that's where our bread and butter, is in transition. So, it's gonna hurt a little bit, but we've still got great rim protectors, especially like Condon in, and Thomas. They just make the second-effort plays that me and Micah probably are not as good at making. But yeah, it hurts us a little bit, but we'll be ready." Depending on who they play and perhaps the foul situation, the Gators could go unconventional with Will Richard playing the four (power forward), which they did on occasions last season when the Gators were a vertically challenged team. That would basically be a four-guard lineup, but the way the game is played these days, that isn’t all that unusual. Playing small ball will require contributions from Riley Kugel and Denzel Aberdeen. Kugel’s minutes have been diminishing lately. Aberdeen came through with a 20-point effort off the bench Saturday to lead the Gators from 18 points down to a semifinal win over Texas A&M. Kugel, who didn’t play either against Texas A&M in the SEC semifinal or Auburn in the championship game, has the skills to help the Gators, especially on the defensive end. Kugel is nearly 6-6, capable of guarding all the perimeter positions and able to guard taller players if required. His defense against Alabama in the quarterfinal win in Nashville was critical. Kugel has had some big offensive games this season but hasn’t scored double figures since he got 10 against South Carolina. He has scored 20 or more four times this season. When Handlogten was out earlier in the year, Kugel went off for 25 against Baylor, 24 against Wake Forest. Golden didn’t go into detail about why Kugel’s minutes have diminished, but said he believes Kugel will be ready to respond if and when his number is called. “I have faith that he will respond the right way,” Golden said. “Obviously, he was disappointed [that he didn’t play two games in Nashville]. I would have been if I was him, too, but again, there's a new opportunity this week is the best way I can say it. And you know, nothing that's happened in the past will prevent him from getting on the court if he deserves to be there this week. “So I expect and anticipate him having a great week and understanding this is another great opportunity to play in the best event in college sports, in my opinion. I assume a lot of the football people wouldn’t agree with me on that, but March Madness is amazing and I think he’ll be geared up and ready to go.” Will Richard, who is Kugel’s roommate, says the recent downturn in playing time has not affected his interaction with teammates. “I’m proud of him with the way he’s handled everything,” Richard said. “There’s definitely been some highs and lows, but he’s been with the team. He’s been encouraging and been positive around the guys. He’s still coming in here and working hard.” And, if there is a need for another of the big guys, Golden believes he can count on Szymczyk to answer the bell. “He's ready to go,” Golden said. “I think it'd be a lot to ask of him to step up, but after Micah went down, I did go down and say, ‘Hey, you better be ready to go’ and his eyes got about that wide. I'm not sure if he knew I was serious, but yeah, we need everybody. And he's capable, man, he's a capable player. He's obviously not in great shape right now, hasn't played in game minutes, but I believe and trust in him in a pinch that he can give us a good effort if we need it.”