A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning:  It has been a week since the Southeastern Conference broke camp at its annual spring meetings at the Sandestin Hilton. Sixteen university presidents, all of them with a PhD (stands for piled higher and deeper), who know far more about hiring the dean of the chemistry department than they do about collegiate athletics, were there to rubber stamp whatever their athletic directors and coaches brought to the table. They left for their respective campuses without signing off on anything significant.   Concerning is the lack of a decision regarding scheduling. Does the SEC stay with an 8-game conference schedule or expand to nine games? A year ago, commissioner Greg Sankey was pushing for expanding to nine games, largely because it would simplify scheduling. Every team in the league would have three permanent home and home opponents. Every team in the league would play the other 12 teams home and home at least once every four years. That would be better for television and for the fans. Why, for example, is it that Georgia has never played at Kyle Field even though Texas A&M has been in the Southeastern Conference since 2012? Some of the bottom feeders of the league complained that adding a conference game would eliminate a paycheck game and that could keep them from playing a bowl game. Bowl games aren’t about money. They’re about getting 15 extra practices, which is like a second spring.   There was also an issue with ESPN, which owns all the television rights to the SEC. The network didn’t have the broadcast crews, equipment and money necessary to add the extra game so that was the final straw in a decision to remain at eight conference games.   A year later, ESPN is in favor of adding the ninth conference game. There are reports that the network will add an additional $5 million to its payout to the 16 schools for the extra game. Since paying players is now a reality, an extra $5 million will come in handy for balancing the budgets.   So what’s the hangup?   This year it’s all about expanding the College Football Playoff. We’re only one year into the 12-team format, which worked out quite well and will only require a couple of tweaks to be even more successful in the future. Expanding to 16 teams will mean more money, therefore it’s a hot enough topic that you can all but bet the days of a 12-team playoff are numbered. It’s pretty much a question of when it expands, not if.   Discussions have focused on two particular models: Favored by the Big Ten is a 4-4-2-2-1 model that would guarantee four SEC teams, four from the Big Ten, two each from the Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference, one from Notre Dame or the highest ranked Group of Five team, and three at-large. For reasons that nobody has clearly explained, the SEC would likely choose to add a ninth conference game if this model is adapted.   From all reports, the SEC is not in favor of the 4-4-2-2-1 model, which has the Big Ten in somewhat of a dither. The Big Ten likes the guarantee of four teams in the playoff. Considering the league usually has only three legitimate playoff-type teams (Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State) a guarantee of four is certainly enticing. The ACC and Big 12 don’t like being relegated to country cousins with just two slots guaranteed while the SEC and Big Ten are guaranteed four each. The Group of Five doesn’t like it because there is no guarantee their best conference champ would be included. Under the 12-team format, the Group of Five gets a seat at the table.   The other format is a 5-11 model in which five conference champs get in with 11 at-large teams. Once again, for reasons no one has clearly explained, the SEC would rather stay at eight conference games in a 5-11. It’s interesting that if the CFP had been 16 teams in 2024, based on the CFP top 25 the SEC would have landed six teams in the playoff – 2. Georgia; 3. Texas; 7. Tennessee; 11. Alabama; 14. Ole Miss; and 15. South Carolina. The way the playoff teams were seeded, only three got in – 2. Georgia; 5. Texas; and 9. Tennessee.   There are two better solutions: 1. Either six or eight conference champs and either 10 or eight at-large; or 2. The top 16 teams.   I am of the opinion that any format that doesn’t allow at least one Group of Five team in the playoff isn’t going to fly. No Group of Five will result in lawsuits that won’t go away until the power schools give in and ensure little brother is included. A format that had six or eight conference champs would get little or no opposition from the Group of Five since they would get either two or four conference champs in the tournament. While I like the idea of the best 16 teams, I think that would have to be tweaked to include the best Group of Five team.   We won’t have to wait long for the SEC to decide its schedule for the 2026 season. A decision to stay eight or go nine will be made at or near the end of August. The playoff is more complicated. We will have a 12-team playoff this year and almost certainly for 2026.   MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING   Okay, Kevin O’Sullivan let his temper get the best of him last Sunday morning in Conway, South Carolina. Because the start time of Florida’s game with East Carolina had been shoved back an hour, O’Sullivan got into it with the organizers of the NCAA regional and some athletic department people from Coastal Carolina, which was hosting the event. He had a right to be upset but shouldn’t have unleashed a barrage of F-bombs. A hot mic and camera were taking it all in and within a matter of minutes, the encounter went viral.   Later that night, Coastal Carolina coach Kevin Schnall tore into O’Sullivan for disrespecting the NCAA and Coastal people on the receiving end of Sully’s outburst. It probably could have been handled better but Schall probably felt that he had the right to go after Sully in public since Sully’s tirade had gone viral.   Earlier in the week, Sully issued a public apology followed by one from Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin. Sully should have apologized. I would have preferred if Stricklin had said that while Sully’s choice of words and temper are regrettable, he was a coach standing up for his team under difficult circumstances.   Sixty-plus years of writing about sports has taught me that baseball coaches and managers despise any sudden change to their pregame routines and preparations. It is particularly tough on pitchers. Sunday morning, Sully had Pierce Coppola getting ready to go against East Carolina. Considering the number of injuries Pierce has had to deal with, Sully was being overprotective. He shouldn’t have unleashed all the F-bombs but he was indeed protecting his pitcher.   File this under much ado about nothing.   SPEAKING OF FLORIDA BASEBALL   Thursday the Gators got commitments from a pair of transfers – righthanded relief pitcher Ricky Reeth from Notre Dame and catcher AJ Malzone from Wabash Community College. They are the first transfers but definitely won’t be the last because the Gators might be in more of a rebuild mode than at any time since 2013, when the Gators finished 29-30.   The Gators already know they’ll be losing sophomore Jacob Gomberg, a little used lefty pitcher who entered the transfer portal. So far he’s the only Gator to declare for the portal. Having used up their collegiate eligibility are outfielder Ty Evans and third baseman Bobby Boser.   Draft eligible are: shortstop Colby Shelton, catcher Luke Heyman, catcher/first baseman Brody Donay, closer Jake Clemente, lefty Pierce Coppola, outfielder Blake Cyr, second baseman Cade Kurland, reliever Billy Barlow, outfielder Ashton Wilson and infielder/outfielder Justin Nadeau. Not all those guys will be drafted, but if Shelton, Heyman, Donay, Clemente, Coppola and Kurland all go pro, Florida’s roster will be very thin, requiring a major influx of talent.   It should be noted that once the House/NCAA settlement is approved baseball will go from 11.8 to 35 scholarships.   FOUR GATORS IN THE SOFTBALL PORTAL   Mia Williams isn’t the only Florida softball player in the transfer portal. Also announcing their intent to transfer are freshman Kylie Shaw and redshirt freshmen Makenna Bellaire and Layla Lamar.     Bellaire and Shaw were early enrollees, leaving infielder Kalie Matsuno as the only incoming freshman from the 2025 signing class. The Gators are also losing pitcher Kara Hammock, center fielder Kendra Falby, first baseman Reagan Walsh, left fielder Korbe Otis, shortstop Rylee Holtorf and outfielder Brooke Barnard to graduation.   Softball scholarships increase from 12 to 25 so Tim Walton is going to have to dip into the transfer portal to make up for some of the losses. As it stands now, Walton could have a potential lineup of catcher Jocelyn Erickson, first base/pitcher Ava Brown, second base Matsuno, shortstop Gaby Comia, third base Kenleigh Cahalan, left field Cassidy McLellan, center field Townsen Thomas, right field Taylor Shumaker and pitchers Brown, Keagan Rothrock, Olivia Miller and Katelynn Oxley.   NCAA SUPER REGIONAL PREDICTIONS No. 14 Tennessee (46-17) at No. 3 Arkansas (46-13): Dave Van Horn is the new Mike Martin. Despite great talent and a great home field advantage the Hogs find ways to never win the national title. They’ll win the regional. The national title? Maybe, if Oregon State doesn’t. No. 13 Coastal Carolina (51-11) at No. 4 Auburn (41-18): Coastal has won 19 straight games but the bubble bursts at Plainsman Park. Arizona (42-18) at No. 5 North Carolina (45-13): The Tar Heels have the pitching, the hitting and the home field. West Virginia (44-14) at No. 6 LSU (46-15): We could see an upset here. West Virginia is good enough to beat LSU although the home field will favor LSU in three games. No. 9 Florida State (41-14) at No. 8 Oregon State (45-13-1): Oregon State is good enough to win the national championship. FSU will continue its unprecedented run of most appearances in the NCAA tournament without ever winning a national championship. UT-San Antonio at No. 15 UCLA: UTSA beat Texas in Austin and Texas is much better than UCLA. Cinderella is from San Antonio. Miami (34-25) at Louisville (38-21): The home field advantage and better pitching favors Louisville. Murray State (42-14) at Duke (40-19): Too much lefty pitching for Duke, not enough pitching for Murray State.     Pharmacist mate Francis Beard, June 1945 ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: On this day 81 years ago, a 19-year old pharmacists mate on a tanker that was a floating gas station in the English Channel, tended to wounded brought to the USS Chemung on the LST landing craft that pulled up to fill up before taking more soldiers to the beaches of Normandy. The greatest invasion in history was also its bloodiest, but the six-beach assault caught the Germans by surprise. In 11 months the war in Europe would end.   The pharm mate never forgot water that turned red with blood or bodies that floated by his ship. Until the day he died in 1986 the memory of D-Day was burned into his mind to the point he would break down in tears, sometimes asking out loud why it was that he lived while so many brave young men died.   A year later with the war ended in Europe, the Chemung docked in Norfolk. The pharm mate took the train to Gainesville where he married the lovely Carleta Van Sickle. Three weeks later he was on the Chemung again, setting sail for Okinawa via the Panama Canal. When the war ended with Japan, the Chemung stayed in Okinawa until October at which time it returned to the US via the Cape of Good Hope.   He never forgot the horrors of war, the lifelong friends he made on the Chemung or the pride he felt that the United States of America made victory possible over Nazi Germany and Japan.   My dad, Francis Beard, was that pharmacists mate, one of America’s greatest generation. Today I can almost hear his voice trembling when he speaks of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in a war that brought out the best in our country.

Running back Jadan Baugh breaks away against LSU in 2024 (Photo by Chris Spears) Athlon’s preseason college football magazine hit the news stands Tuesday. When it comes to the Florida Gators, Athlon ranks the Gators No. 11 nationally and No. 5 in the SEC. That would lead you to believe they think Billy Napier has turned the corner at the University of Florida.   Well, maybe. It’s a bit of a paradox that the Gators would be ranked so highly and yet Athlon still has him on the coaching hot seat. Per Athlon, Florida’s quarterback room of DJ Lagway, backups Harrison Bailey and Aidan Warner plus early enrollee freshman Tramell Jones No. 4 in the country. The running backs room of Jadan Baugh, Ja’Kobi Jackson, Treyaun Webb, KD Daniels and Chad Gasper Jr. ranks ninth. Florida’s starting offensive line of Austin Barber and Bryce Lovett at the tackles, Knijeah Harris and Damieon George Jr. at the guards and All-America center Jake Slaughter as the No. 5 group in the country. The offense alone should be an indicator that Napier has the Gators on solid ground. If the defense, which came on strong once Ron Roberts moved up into the booth in the last month of the season, comes through, the Gators might be a lot better than fifth in the SEC.   Before delving into the Athlon rankings, it should be noted that it wasn’t until year four of his tenure at Clemson that Dabo Swinney got off the hot seat. Since that 19-15 start in his first three years, Dabo is 161-32 with two national championships to his credit. Dabo has done it without No. 1 recruiting classes by bringing in talent that fits his system and developing it.   According to 247Sports, Florida’s 2025 recruiting class ranked seventh, the first Napier class to crack the top ten. Yet, Florida has accumulated and developed the kind of talent that can compete for the SEC championship and one of 12 spots in the College Football Playoff in Napier’s fourth year.   ATHLON SEC: 1. Texas; 2. Georgia; 3. LSU; 4. Alabama; 5. FLORIDA; 6. South Carolina; 7. Ole Miss; 8. Texas A&M; 9. Oklahoma; 10. Tennessee; 11. Auburn; 12. Missouri; 13. Arkansas; 14. Vanderbilt; 15. Kentucky; 16. Mississippi State   My Opinion 1. Texas: Everybody is blinking loopy over Arch Manning to the point that some near to the program think if Arch had been the starting QB and not Quinn Ewers the Longhorns might have won the national championship. Four new starters on the O-line and for the defense to be as good as last year several transfers will have to come through.   2. Georgia: The QB is Gunner Stockton. There are four new starters on the O-line and the wide receivers are vastly overrated. There are only three returning starters on defense. The schedule, however, is favorable since Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas have to visit Athens. The Bulldogs won’t be as good as the record would try to tell you.   3. LSU: Behind what was billed as the best offensive line in the nation a year ago, Florida sacked Garrett Nussmeier eight times. There are four new starters on the O-line. LSU averaged all of 116 rushing yards per game a year ago. Brian Kelly has lost 11 games in three years with elite talent including the best college QB in the country two of those years. The Tigers open at Clemson with Florida coming in two weeks later and a roadie to Ole Miss two weeks after that. And they still have to go to Alabama.   4. Alabama: Bama has great wide receivers but is there anyone capable of getting them the ball? Ty Simpson will get the first call at QB so big questions there. The defense is going to have to carry the day for Kalen DeBoer, who will find out what wrath is all about if the Crimson Tide don’t make the College Football Playoff. With the exception of the Iron Bowl, all the tough games are in Tuscaloosa.   All-American Jake Slaughter is the best center in the country (Photo by Chris Spears) 5. FLORIDA: The Gators are going to be able to score on anyone. DJ Lagway has the best O-line in the SEC led by the nation’s best center in Jake Slaughter. The running backs are exceptional and the wide receivers could be spectacular. If the Gators can rush the passer effectively the defense will be outstanding. If the Gators win those back-to-back roadies at LSU and Miami, they could be formidable. The Gators get Texas in The Swamp.   6. South Carolina: Everybody is in love with QB LaNorris Sellers but he doesn’t have a running game, a so-so O-line and questionable wide receivers. The Gamecocks lost way too many studs from an extraordinary defense. It’s hard to see them much better than 7-5.   7. Ole Miss: The master of the transfer portal is at it again. Lane Kiffin makes up for a lack of outstanding prep talent in the state by having a great eye for portal talent. The defense might be better than last year. The offense will be very good if Austin Simmons can turn into a real dual threat at QB. With the exception of a roadie to Georgia, all the tough games are in Oxford.   8. Texas A&M: The Aggies return a lot of starters (15; 7 offense, 8 defense) from a team that won eight games and should have won more. Improvement will have to come from quarterback Marcel Reed if the Aggies are to threaten for the SEC championship. Roadies at Notre Dame, LSU, Missouri and Texas will define the season.   9. Oklahoma: Beware the Sooners, who landed the best transfer QB that nobody has heard of in John Mateer from Washington State. He’s a stud who finally can play with exceptional talent. Brent Venables is taking over the defense and he brought in Mateer’s offensive coordinator from Wazzoo. The four games of November (at Tennessee, at Alabama, Missouri and LSU) will determine if they are contenders ir pretenders.   10. Tennessee: When Nico Iamaleava bolted over NIL money it was addition by subtraction. The team will be better off from a culture standpoint, but can the Vols win with former App State QB Joey Aguilar running the show? Defense will have to play big for the Vols to win more than seven games. Georgia and Oklahoma are homers but the Vols have to go to Alabama and Florida. A 7-win season might be a real accomplishment.   11. Auburn: Hugh Freeze has a former 5-star QB in Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold. He’s got studs at wide receiver and three starters returning on the O-line. If Freeze can find two functional tackles, the offense will be fine. Too many questions on defense for this to be more than an 8-4 team. The Tigers get Georgia and Alabama at Jordan-Hare.   12. Missouri: Eli Drinkwitz keeps winning and nobody can understand why considering the Tigers don’t land a lot of studs on the recruiting trail. If Eli can turn former Penn State backup Beau Pribula into a capable QB, the Tigers are going to surprise a lot of people. If the Tigers win nine regular season games don’t be shocked. They could be one of the real SEC surprises.   13. Arkansas: The Razorbacks shocked everyone by making a bowl game a year ago. To win six regular season games this year a lot of transfers will have to come through, QB Taylen Green is really good, but the receivers are average at best and the O-line below par. The schedule is brutal.   14. Vanderbilt: It’s Vandy. History says the Commodores will revert back to their losing ways, but as long as Diego Pavia is the QB they’ll have a chance. There are four very winnable games on the schedule. Win those and they’ll only need to score two upsets in the other eight to be bowl eligible. Two straight bowl years at Vandy is akin to Alabama winning two national championships in a row.   15. Kentucky: The Wildcats lost eight games a year ago and that was with a better roster than they have now. Only six starters return and the QB is Zach Calzada, a 7th-year guy who started playing for Jimbo in Aggieland a long time ago. Another 8-loss season is in the works.   16: Mississippi State: The Bulldogs will be better this year. How could they be worse. This is a long term project, not a quick fix. Another painful year for a team whose QB will be Blake Shapen. Eight or nine losses on this schedule.   SEC UNIT RANKINGS DJ Lagway (2) heads up Florida's highly regarded quarterbacks room (Photo by Chris Spears) QUARTERBACKS: 1. Texas; 2. LSU; 3. South Carolina; 4. FLORIDA; 5. Vanderbilt; 6. Oklahoma; 7. Arkansas; 8. Ole Miss; 9. Georgia; 10. Texas A&M; 11. Alabama; 12. Auburn; 13. Mississippi State; 14. Missouri; 15. Tennessee; 16. Kentucky   RUNNING BACKS: 1. Texas; 2. Texas A&M; 3. Georgia; 4. FLORIDA; 5. Oklahoma; 6. Missouri; 7. Alabama; 8. LSU; 9. Tennessee; 10. Kentucky; 11. Ole Miss; 12. South Carolina; 13. Auburn; 14. Mississippi State; 15. Arkansas; 16. Vanderbilt   WIDE RECEIVERS: 1. Alabama; 2. Auburn; 3. LSU; 4. Texas; 5. Georgia; 6. Ole Miss; 7. FLORIDA; 8. Missouri; 9. Texas A&M; 10. Oklahoma; 11. Tennessee; 12. South Carolina; 13. Arkansas; 14. Mississippi State; 15. Vanderbilt; 16. Kentucky   OFFENSIVE LINE: 1. Texas A&M; 2. FLORIDA; 3. Alabama; 4. Texas; 5. Georgia; 6. Auburn; 7. LSU; 8. Tennessee; 9. Oklahoma; 10. Missouri; 11. Ole Miss; 13. Arkansas; 14. Kentucky; 15. Mississippi State; 16. Vanderbilt   DEFENSIVE LINE: 1. Texas; 2. Georgia; 3. Alabama; 4. Oklahoma; 5. Tennessee; 6. South Carolina; 7. LSU; 8. FLORIDA; 9. Ole Miss; 10. Auburn; 11. Missouri; 12. Texas A&M; 13. Vanderbilt; 14. Arkansas; 15. Kentucky; 16. Mississippi State   LINEBACKERS: 1. Texas; 2. Georgia; 3. Alabama; 4. LSU; 5. Ole Miss; 6. Texas A&M; 7. FLORIDA; 8. Missouri; 9. Tennessee; 10. Oklahoma; 11. Auburn; 12. Arkansas; 13. Vanderbilt; 14. South Carolina; 15. Kentucky; 16. Mississippi State   DEFENSIVE BACKS: 1. Texas; 2. Alabama; 3. Georgia; 4. Tennessee; 5. LSU; 6. South Carolina; 7. Missouri; 8. Auburn; 9. Oklahoma; 10. FLORIDA; 11. Vanderbilt; 12. Ole Miss; 13. Vanderbilt; 14. Kentucky; 15. Arkansas; 16. Mississippi State   ATHLON TOP 25 1. Texas; 2. Penn State; 3. Ohio State; 4. Georgia; 5. Clemson; 6. Notre Dame; 7. LSU; 8. Alabama; 9. Oregon; 10. Miami; 11. FLORIDA; 12. South Carolina; 13. Kansas State; 14. Arizona State; 15. Michigan; 16. Indiana; 17. Illinois; 18. Ole Miss; 19. Texas A&M; 20. Oklahoma; 21. Tennessee; 22. Texas Tech; 23. Iowa State; 24. SMU; 25. Boise State   My opinion: I would have Texas, Penn State and Clemson 1-2-3 with Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Illinois filling out my top 10. LSU and Miami won’t crack the top 10 due to too many transfers and not enough team chemistry.   ATHLON NATIONAL UNIT RANKINGS QUARTERBACKS: 1. Texas; 2. Clemson; 3. LSU; 4. South Carolina; 5. FLORIDA; 6. Penn State; 7. Ohio State; 8. Arizona State; 9. Miami; 10. Oregon   RUNNING BACKS: 1. Penn State; 2. Notre Dame; 3. Texas; 4. Texas A&M; 5. Oregon; 6. Georgia; 7. Louisville; 8. Baylor; 9. FLORIDA; 10. Michigan   WIDE RECEIVERS: 1. Ohio State; 2. Clemson; 3. Alabama; 4. Auburn; 5. LSU; 6. Texas; 7. Oregon; 8. Georgia; 9. Arizona State; 10. Penn State   OFFENSIVE LINE: 1. Notre Dame; 2. Penn State; 3. Texas A&M; 4. Miami; 5. FLORIDA; 6. Alabama; 7. Clemson; 8. Texas; 9. Ohio State; 10. Iowa   DEFENSIVE LINE: 1. Texas; 2. Clemson; 3. Penn State; 4. Georgia; 5. Alabama; 6. Notre Dame; 7. Ohio State; 8. Michigan; 9. Oklahoma; 10. Miami   LINEBACKERS: 1. Texas; 2. Georgia; 3. Ohio State; 4. Notre Dame; 5. Clemson; 6. Alabama; 7. Pittsburgh; 8. Oregon; 9. LSU; 10. Michigan   DEFENSIVE BACKS: 1. Texas; 2. Alabama; 3. Notre Dame; 4. Ohio State; 5. Penn State; 6. Georgia; 7. Clemson; 8. Tennessee; 9. Illinois; 10. LSU

We say goodbye to Kendra Falby, a fixture in the outfield as Gold Glove winner in her junior and senior seasons.

Catcher Brody Donay talks it over with Pierce Coppola (UAA Photo) Florida’s baseball season came to an end in Conway, South Carolina, Sunday afternoon when the Gators were overwhelmed for the second time in three days by East Carolina, 11-4. The easy thing to do is complain that Florida pitchers couldn’t find the strike zone often enough in the two losses to ECU or that hitters popped up and struck out too many times when the Gators desperately needed a lift or that unlike F. Lee Bailey, the defense rested.   That’s real and those kind of mistakes can’t be, nor should they be glossed over. For whatever reason, East Carolina played well above its pay grade both times and in those two losses the Gators looked nothing like a team from the Southeastern Conference. Sunday, for example, Florida’s six pitchers gave up 12 hits, walked seven, uncorked a wild pitch and hit three batters. Florida hitters managed only seven hits, hit into two double plays, struck out eight times and walked only four times.   The defense? There were three errors that led to four unearned runs and a passed ball.   Call this a bad day at Black Rock for a team that won its last six Southeastern Conference series. From a 1-11 start in SEC play the Gators were scorching hot the rest of the way, finishing 15-15 in league play. Had the Gators won another game at the SEC Tournament, they probably would have been a host team when regional seeds were handed out by the NCAA.   At the bitter end in Conway, the Gators looked the part of a team that gave out of gas, in large part because of injuries. It’s not an excuse to point out the injuries, because they forced Kevin O’Sullivan to jump through more hoops than a circus poodle. "They beat us handily two times," O'Sullivan said. "Obviously, it's always tough when your season comes to an end. You can see the pain they are going through right now. I care about these guys. The resiliency they showed this year, it's just tough. East Carolina deserves to move on. We'll get back to Gainesville, have our exit meetings and prepare for next year."   Think of what the lineup could have looked like except for injuries:   C: First team All-SEC Luke Heyman (.301, 13 HR, 44 RBI), Florida’s hottest hitter during the second half surge and a gold glove behind the plate where he committed only one error and three passed balls. Forty-two career home runs. Brody Donay hit for power in Heyman’s absence but his defense made it obvious why he was mostly a DH and sometime first baseman.   2B: Cade Kurland, hitting .316 with three homers and 16 RBI when he went down with a dislocated shoulder that would require surgery. A 3-year starter when he went down, Kurland played only 14 games.  Thirty-four career home runs. In his absence, O’Sullivan played Justin Nadeau, Boser, Brendan Lawson, Blake Cyr and Landon Stripling at second before settling on Nadeau.   SS: Colby Shelton (.377, 7 HR, 35 RBI) missed the final 16 games of the season when he suffered a wrist injury. Fifty-two career home runs. His absence forced O’Sullivan to move All-SEC defensive team Bobby Boser from third base to shortstop. Boser is an outstanding hitter and very good third baseman, but only an average shortstop. Third base was a defensive adventure the rest of the season.   CF: Kyle Jones was a gold glove center fielder at Stetson as a freshman. He suffered a knee injury sliding into third base after hitting a double against Air Force. He played only four games. A gap-to-gap defender he was expected to be as good as if not the best center fielder in the SEC. In his absence, Hayden Yost settled in as the regular. He had good moments at the plate and didn’t commit an error in the field, but only two outfield assists is telling.   RF: Ty Evans (.267, 4 HR, 30 RBI) fractured his wrist near the end of 2024 and missed the College World Series. He suffered a wrist injury early in 2025. He missed 25 games and spent the last third of the season at DH. Yost played right field early on but moved to center. Nadeau and Ashton Wilson shared right field until Nadeau went to second permanently. Wilson struggled at the plate and was an average right fielder with a weak arm.   P: Lefty Frank Menedez (1-0, 1.29 ERA) was on his way to an outstanding season when he suffered a season-ending elbow injury in a win over Jacksonville. In seven innings, all in relief, Menendez gave up five hits and struck out 12. Menendez might have evolved into a midweek starter or even a lefty closer.   P: Pierce Coppola (3-1, 2.53 ERA, 43 strikeouts in 21-1/3 innings) was brilliant in his first two starts before leaving the Miami game with an injury. At the time of his injury, Coppola had gone 12-2/3 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs while striking out 23. He missed all but one game in March, all of April and was on a pitch count when he returned in May. A healthy Coppola might have been the Friday night starter once the Gators hit the SEC portion of the season.   A healthy Florida team could have proven formidable. Making a regional after so many injuries contributed to a rotten start in SEC play, is a real accomplishment that should not be diminished by criticism.   SEC in regional play Nashville: No. 1 Vanderbilt (43-18) was eliminated in its own regional by Wright State (40-20), 5-4, Sunday.   Austin: No. 2 Texas (44-14) staved off elimination by beating Kansas State (32-26), 15-6, Sunday but lost the regional championship to UT-San Antonio (47-13), 7-4.   Fayetteville: No. 3 Arkansas (46-13) won its regional by beating Creighton (43-16) Sunday. Arkansas will host the winner of the Knoxville regional in a super regional.   Auburn: No. 4 Auburn (41-18) trounced North Carolina State (35-21), 11-1, to win its regional. Auburn will host No. 13 Coastal Carolina (51-11) in a super regional.   Chapel Hill: Oklahoma (38-21) hammered Nebraska (33-29), 17-1, then forced a regional championship game by knocking off No. 5 North Carolina (44-13), 9-5.   Baton Rouge: No. 6 LSU (45-15) will have to play for the regional championship Monday after losing to Little Rock (27-33), 10-4, Sunday.   Athens: No. 7 Georgia (43-17) was eliminated by Oklahoma State (30-24), 11-9, Sunday. Oklahoma State will face the winner of Monday’s game between No. 10 Ole Miss and Murray State in the super regional.   Tallahassee: Mississippi State (36-23) beat Northeastern (49-11), 3-2, then lost the regional championship to No. 9 Florida State (41-14), 5-2.   Oxford: No. 10 Ole Miss (43-20) beat Georgia Tech (41-19), 11-9, and Murray State (41-14), 19-8, Sunday. Ole Miss and Murray State play for the regional championship today.   Clemson: Kentucky (31-26) beat No. 11 Clemson (45-18), 16-4, Sunday but blew a 12-7 lead and lost to West Virginia (44-14) for the regional championship. West Virginia will face the winner of the Baton Rouge regional next week in the super regional.   Conway: FLORIDA (39-22) was eliminated Sunday by East Carolina (35-27), 11-4. No. 13 Coastal Carolina (51-11), beat East Carolina, 1-0, to win the regional and advance to No. 4 Auburn for the super regional.   Knoxville: The No. 14 Vols (45-17) lost to Wake Forest, 7-6, Sunday. The two teams play for the regional championship today.   Hattiesburg: Alabama (41-18) was eliminated in two games.   THE INJURY BUG WASN’T CONFINED TO BASEBALL Think of the 2024-25 athletic year at the University of Florida as one that needed its own M*A*S*H unit. What could have been and might have been for baseball is well documented, but consider what happened in football, gymnastics, men’s track and field, and softball.   Football: The Gators were on the verge of knocking off then 9th-ranked Tennessee in Knoxville when quarterback Graham Mertz went down with an ACL tear. The Gators had just gone ahead of the Vols, 10-0, silencing the Neyland Stadium crowd. The Gators lost the game, 23-17. DJ Lagway played well, but the Gators generated only one more TD the rest of the game. Lagway had the Gators leading Georgia, 10-3, with five minutes left in the half three weeks later. When he went down with a hamstring injury, the Gators had to turn to redshirt freshman walk-on Aidan Warner. Florida lost, 34-20. That’s another game that was winnable. A week later at Texas with Warner at QB, the Gators were hammered, 49-17. Lagway came back the final four games, all of which the Gators won.   Gymnastics: Even before the season began the Gators got bad news when both Skye Blakely and Kayla DiCello were injured at the Olympic Trials. DiCello, a sophomore who made All-America and SEC Freshman of the Year, missed the entire season. Blakely came back but only in a limited role. Healthy she figured to be one of the top ten gymnasts in the country. In a meet with Oklahoma, Sloane Blakely tore an Achilles, ending her career. Blakely probably would have meant a top four finish at the NCAA championship meet, perhaps even a national championship. The Gators failed to make the final four.   Track and field: A grade two quadriceps injury with minor tears to sprinter Wanya McCoy proved devastating to the Florida men. He missed the 60 and 200 at the NCAA indoors as the Gators didn’t make the top ten. Without McCoy running the 100, 200 and relays, the outdoor team will struggle to make a top 10 finish a year after winning the last three national championships.   Softball: The 2024 National Freshman of the Year Keagan Rothrock was shut down for an entire month with a shoulder issue. When she returned, Rothrock had moments of brilliance interspersed with issues giving up home runs. In the latter part of the season she also had to deal with a recurring problem with blisters that caused her rise ball to go flat. She gave up three home runs in a 3-0 loss to Texas in game one at the Women’s College World Series and then didn’t pitch in game two in which the Gators were eliminated by Tennessee. Rothrock went 33-9 in 2024 when the Gators finished third in the nation. She was 16-7 with a 3.24 ERA in half the innings in 2025.   Not all the injury news was bad. Florida basketball won a national championship, in part because during a rash of injuries midway through the SEC portion of the season, someone stepped up to fill the void. The experience gained coming off the bench by Tommy Haugh and Denzel Aberdeen proved critical. When Micah Handlogten elected to burn his redshirt due to frontcourt injuries to Alex Condon and Sam Alexis, the Gators didn’t miss a beat.   Walter Clayton Jr. sprained an ankle against Tennessee so Aberdeen filled in brilliantly in a win over Vanderbilt. When Alijah Martin suffered a hip pointer in the Vandy win, Aberdeen stayed in the starting lineup and had an outstanding game in a win on the road at then No. 1 Auburn. Alex Condon and Alexis went down with ankle injuries at Mississippi State. Haugh stepped into the starting lineup and became a force both offensively with his scoring and passing as well as on the backboards. Handlogten, who was planning to redshirt while recovering from a horrific fracture of his leg in the 2024 SEC Tournament championship game, elected to burn the redshirt to ensure the Gators had enough depth up front the rest of the way. He was a key contributor off the bench.   Without the efforts of Haugh, Aberdeen and Handlogten, the Gators wouldn’t have won the NCAA championship.

This is how you stave off elimination in a 4-team regional. As has been his habit ever since the Florida Gators began their remarkable turnaround of a season headed for the tank, freshman Aidan King came to the rescue. One day after the Gators were left for dead by East Carolina, King came back to keep hopes alive in the NCAA Conway Regional.   King went eight innings Saturday against Fairfield, allowing four hits while walking two and striking out seven. Except for a hung slider that Matt Bucciero crushed, sending it on a semi-orbital flight over the teal monster in dead center field, King was all but untouchable. Had he not spent 40 minutes on the bench in the eighth inning when the Gators put up an 8-spot on the Stags, King probably would have gone the distance but eight innings or nine? Did it matter? He was crafty, efficient and sometimes overpowering as he improved to 7-2 on the season while lowering his ERA to a sparkling 2.43.   Coincidentally, King’s effort on the mound awakened the Florida bats. Stifled by East Carolina Friday afternoon, Florida hitters bounced back with 16 hits and showed plenty of patience at the plate by waiting out Fairfield pitching for 11 walks.   This is how you stave off elimination in a 4-team regional.   “ We were in a very similar situation last year,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said after the Gators pounded out a 17-2 backs to the wall win that propelled the Gators into another elimination game Sunday noon against ECU, which was hammered by host Coastal Carolina, 18-7. “The first thing that has to happen is you've got to be able to score a bunch of runs. And the second thing is you need your starting pitcher to go deep so you don't have to use your pen. And that's exactly what happened.”   A year ago at the Stillwater Regional, the Gators lost their second game to Oklahoma State, then had to win three in a row to advance to the Clemson Super Regional. After taking out Fairfield, the Gators will have to win three straight games to advance to the Super Regional. They will go with lefty Pierce Coppola (3-0, 1.86 ERA) against East Carolina (34-26). Beat ECU and things will get interesting for O’Sullivan, who will have to juggle his pitching staff if the Gators are to win and advance.   Saturday, King held Fairfield hitless through the first three innings. He finally got some run support in the fourth when Blake Cyr homered into the left field bullpen. Fairfield answered with the Bucciero homer in the bottom half of the inning but the Stags managed only three singles the rest of the way.   Fairfield managed only one threat the rest of the way off King. In the sixth, Dean Ferrara hit a one-out single off shortstop Bobby Boser’s glove and Luke Nomura followed with a single to left, but King caught Bucciero looking at a 1-2 slider and got JP Kuczik to foul out to Brendan Lawson at first base to end the inning.   Florida put the game away with a 4-run fifth. Justin Nadeau singled to right field and Boser followed with a no-doubt 2-run homer to left center, his 19th of the season. The Boser blast was followed by a single to center field and a walk to Ty Evans. Blake Cyr hit a run-scoring single that scored Lawson and Hayden Yost hit a sacrifice fly that scored Evans.   The Gators increased the lead to 7-1 in the sixth on a double to right center by Lawson and Brody Donay’s monstrous homer to left center, his 19th of the season.   The Florida eighth was an absolute zoo. The Gators scored eight runs on three hits, five walks, a hit batter and a Fairfield error. Landon Stripling hit a sacrifice fly, Boser got an RBI with a bases loaded walk and Lawson hit a 2-run single to right. Donay got an RBI on a bases loaded walk, Cyr hit a 2-run single to left and Hayden Yost hit an RBI single to right.   The Gators scored two more in the ninth on one hit, a hit batter and two Fairfield errors. Lawson singled off the shortstop’s glove to drive in one run and Evans grounded out to third to drive in Florida’s final run of the day.   Lawson had a 5-7 day at the plate with four singles, a double and three RBI. Cyr went 3-4 with four RBI on two singles and his ninth home run of the season. Boser went 3-6 with two singles, his 19thhomer and three RBI.   SEC in regional play Nashville: No. 1 seed (43-17) Vanderbilt lost to Louisville (37-21), 3-2. The Commodores face Wright State (39-20) in a Sunday elimination game. Austin: No. 2 Texas (43-13) lost to UT-San Antonio (46-13), 9-7, and will face Kansas State (32-25) Sunday in an elimination game. Fayetteville: No. 3 seed Arkansas (45-13) beat Creighton (42-15), 12-1, in a winner’s bracket game. Auburn: No. 4 Auburn (40-18) beat Stetson (41-21), 8-5, in a winner’s bracket game. Chapel Hill: Oklahoma (36-21) lost to No. 5 seed North Carolina (44-12), 11-5, and will play Nebraska (33-28) in a Sunday elimination game. Baton Rouge: No. 6 LSU (45-14) blasted Dallas Baptist (41-17), 12-0, in a winner’s bracket game. Athens: No. 7 Georgia (43-16) lost to Duke (39-19), 6-3. The Bulldogs will face Oklahoma State (29-24) in a Sunday elimination game. Tallahassee: Mississippi State (35-22) dropped a 10-3 decision to No. 9 Florida State (40-14). The Bulldogs will play Northeastern (49-10) in a Sunday elimination game. Oxford: No. 10 Ole Miss (41-20) staved off elimination with an 8-5 win over Western Kentucky (46-14). The Rebels will face Georgia Tech (41-18) in a Sunday elimination game. Clemson: Kentucky (30-25) avoided elimination with a 7-3 win over USC-Upstate (36-25). The Wildcats will face No. 11 Clemson (45-17) in a Sunday elimination game. Conway: Florida (39-21) hammered Fairfield, 17-2, to avoid elimination. The Gators play East Carolina (34-26) in a Sunday elimination game. Knoxville: No. 14 Tennessee (45-16) beat Cincinnati, 10-6, in a winner’s bracket game. Hattiesburg: Alabama (41-18) was eliminated by No. 16 Southern Miss, 6-5.

Mia Williams starts a double play by tagging out Ashton Maloney of Texas (UAA Photo) Teagan Kavan wasn’t overpowering Thursday afternoon in the opening game of the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City. Far from it. The Texas righty only struck out one Florida hitter so making contact was the least of the Gators’ problems.   The Gators (48-18) spent the day pounding the ball into the ground or popping up to the infield. The ball left the infield only five times against Kavan’s steady diet of drop balls, which induced 13 ground outs, one of which was turned into an inning-ending double play. Of Florida’s two hits, only a fourth inning single by Korbe Otis reached the outfield and that one was off the mitt of first baseman Joley Mitchell.   Texas (52-11) didn’t exactly wear out Florida pitching, but three of the Longhorns’ seven hits left the yard and that was the difference in the game. With their 3-0 win over the Gators, Texas gets a day off before facing Oklahoma in the second round. Florida will face Tennessee tomorrow in an elimination game.   “ We were on the losing side, but thought both teams played well,” Florida coach Tim Walton said. “We weren't able to string anything together consistently, but overall thought we played well. Ready to play, and they just did a little bit better job than we did."   All three Texas homers came off Keagan Rothrock – a second inning homer to left field by Mitchell and back-to-back homers by Mitchell and Katie Stewart in the sixth. Mitchell’s second homer was perhaps an inch beyond the reach of Florida center fielder Kendra Falby. The Rawlings Gold Glove winner for the second straight year timed her leap perfectly but the ball was just too far for her to bring back into the Devon Field.   Kavan held Florida hitless for 3-2/3 innings. It wasn’t until Otis hit a scorcher down the first base line that ticked off Mitchell’s mitt and dribbled into right field that the Gators had their first base hit.   The Gators wouldn’t get another hit until the sixth when Taylor Shumaker legged out a one-out infield tapper back to Kavan. Any threat of a rally was erased when Reagan Walsh bounced into a second unassisted to first double play.   The Gators were shut out for only the third time this year and their two hits represents their worst game at the plate. Despite the poor production, Otis says there is nothing wrong with the Florida offense.   "There's nothing that's broken,” Otis said. “There's nothing broken to fix. Our offense is really powerful. Today obviously we just didn't get the right ... we obviously just didn't put the right swings on the right pitches, and sometimes that's how softball goes. So there's not a huge adjustment to make. We're just going out and playing Gator softball and staying us."     Other than the three home runs, Rothrock pitched well enough to win the game. She went five full innings before being yanked for Ava Brown after giving up the two homers to lead off the Texas sixth. Rothrock gave up five hits, walked two and struck out four.   Rothrock gave up a leadoff homer to Mitchell in the top of the second and hit the next batter but got out of the inning without further damage on a foul out and strikeout, throw out double play with Jocelyn Erickson nailing Stewart trying to steal with a perfect throw to Mia Williams.   In the fourth, Rothrock got out of a first and third with two out jam by inducing Victoria Hunter to ground out to Williams. Texas threatened in the sixth inning on a throwing error by Rylee Holtorff and a two-out single by Mia Scott, but Rothrock got out of the inning when she caught Reese Atwood looking at a third strike.   Rothrock said she believes the Gators will play well Friday against Tennessee.   "Nobody wants to be a loser on the elimination bracket side of it,” Rothrock said. “But I also think we're a team that when our back is against the wall, for whatever reason, we play a little bit more free, which seems really backwards, but at the same time I think the experience last year does help us. But with the new people, just learning how to continue to play Gator softball and just to continue to focus on us and make sure that we're doing the things that we need to be able to do."   The loss sends the Gators to the loser’s bracket where they will face Tennessee (45-16) at 7 p.m. Friday evening. Tennessee held a 3-1 lead on Oklahoma going into the bottom of the seventh, but the Sooners got a 2-out, 3-run homer to walk it off. Oklahoma (51-7) and Texas play a winner’s bracket game Saturday at 3 p.m.   For the Gators to get out of their bracket and to the best of three championship series, they will have to go 4-0 over the next few days.   "Obviously, it's a huge letdown to lose the first game of the College World Series, and the way they go about their business just tells me everything I need to know about the people that I coach," Walton said. "They take it serious. They compete. They work hard, and they enjoy what they do. So to me, no matter what we do tomorrow, today was a learning opportunity. ”