Rueben Chinyelu has withdrawn from the NBA Draft and will return to UF (Photo by Chris Spears) They have it all figured out at The Vatican. A puff of white smoke tells us there is a new pope. Black smoke says the wait continues. If only recruiting were this simple then we could watch the Florida basketball complex for smoke signals to tell us if and when Johnuel “Boogie” Fland commits to the Gators.   In Gainesville on a visit that could turn the Gators into odds on favorites to repeat as NCAA champions, Fland is a former 5-star recruit and the No. 17 player in the nation during his prep days at Archbishop Stepinac in The Bronx. He originally signed with Kentucky, but when John Calipari left for Arkansas, Fland followed.   Last season at Arkansas Fland averaged 13.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game as a true freshman. He declared for the NBA Draft and entered the transfer portal simultaneously. A week ago he was thought to be a possible NBA first rounder, but he withdrew his name from the draft, turning Florida into the odds-on favorite to sign him out of the portal.   Both Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, two of the nation’s top basketball writers, think Fland is all but a lock to sign with the Gators.   “I guess it’s not done done, but all indications would seem that Boogie Fland looks to be poised to stay in the SEC,” Norlander said on the Eye on College Basketball podcast. “I would think it’s going to be by the end of the week. I do think Fland’s going to wind up committing to Florida. Again, not done done, I guess but I’m expecting that to happen.” Obtaining Fland’s services won’t come cheap. Norlander speculated that it could take “anywhere between $2-3 million” which seems to be the going price for top 10 transfer talent these days and times. If only there was a smoke signal to tell us if the price is right.   Fland and Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee would give the Gators a pair of outstanding ball handlers and distributors. Both are outstanding as primary ball handlers and capable scorers off the ball. Additionally, Florida has already signed Ohio U transfer AJ Brown, a slasher who showed outstanding 3-point potential at Ohio last season when he hit 38 percent of his 3-pointers.   Monday, the Gators also got outstanding news when Rueben Chinyelu announced he is withdrawing from the NBA Draft to return to Florida. Chinyelu started all 40 games for the Gators last season when he averaged 6.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.   Florida still waits on Alex Condon, who has yet to decide whether to continue in the draft or return to Florida. Condon, who averaged 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game last season, is ranked as the No. 31 available player by ESPN, which would put him outside the first round. Condon, who has until May 28 to decide whether he’s staying in the draft or returning to Florida, indicated last week that he would stay in the draft for something close to a guaranteed deal. All first round draft picks get guaranteed deals. Occasionally, as in the case back in 2011 of Gator and SEC Player of the Year Chandler Parsons, a second rounder will get a multi-year guaranteed deal.   Although Golden said he anticipates signing only one more player – expectation that player being Fland – the Gators could also add Australian Ben Henshall (6-6, 200) if he decides to withdraw from the NBA Draft. A native of Perth and a buddy of Condon, Henshall is a hybrid guard/forward who can play both inside and outside. If he elects to withdraw it is anticipated that Henshall will choose to play college basketball either at Florida or Texas Tech.   Among the too early preseason top 25 rankings for 2025-26, Florida is as high as No. 2 at The Athletic, as low as No. 18 by ESPN.   FLORIDA’S POTENTIAL ROSTER 2025-26 Big guys (6): Micah Handlogten (7-1, 255, SR); Alex Condon (6-11, 232, JR); Tommy Haugh (6-9, 215, JR); Rueben Chinyelu (6-10, 260, JR); Viktor Mikic (6-11, 250, RFR); Olivier Rioux (7-9, 305, RFR)   Perimeter guys (7): Xaivian Lee (6-4, 180, SR/TR); AJ Brown (6-4, 200, RJR/TR); Urban Klavzar (6-1, 190, SO); Isaiah Brown (6-4, 200, SO); Boogie Fland (6-2, 175, SO/TR); Alex Lloyd (6-4, 180, FR); CJ Ingram (6-6, 190, FR)

The World’s Largest Outdoor Party moves to KSP for a slugfest in the Supers. By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com, The Lowdown with Loren Meadows The Florida Gators were all business as they made quick work of the Mercer Bears Sunday in the Gainesville Regional. Florida knocked off Mercer 8-0 in the inaugural game of the reginal round Friday and would duplicate that score in five innings Sunday to advance to the Super Regional round for the third straight season. Ava Brown hit a three-run homer while catcher Jocelyn Erickson would bring home a pair of runs as the Gators methodically handled the Mercer pitching staff leading to three pitching changes in the win. Pitcher Keegan Rothrock (14-5) had possibly her best outing of the season allowing just one hit and striking out six Bears in 4 and 1/3 innings. Sophomore and fan favorite Olivia Miller would handle the final two batters as the Gators completed their third straight run-rule victory in the regionals for the first time in school history.  Florida coach Tim Walton (UAA photo) In reflecting on his team’s performance and their ability to handle the tournament, Coach Tim Walton stated, “I have said this quite a few times: We're a tough matchup in a tournament. Really tough. That benefits us a little bit. Head to head, in a three-game series, obviously we've done very well with that during the year, but tournament style? We're a tough, tough matchup because our lineup is pretty good.” Florida would get hits from seven different players in the lineup with six different Gators crossing home plate. Ava Brown continued her hot May, picking up where she left off in last year’s postseason. In speaking of the teams’ preparation, Brown stated, “No team wants it to be their last game. So, we prepared this week, like we would really any other week, competing against the best of the best, competing against each other. Getting each other better, pitchers, hitters, whatever, and I think that's what best prepared us for this weekend." Ava Brown goes yard (UAA photo) The Gators will now host one of their most hated foes in the Super Regional to punch a ticket to Oklahoma City for the third straight season. Sunday afternoon in Durham, North Carolina the Georgia Bulldogs came from behind to defeat Duke in the final game of the Durham Regional in 5-2 in 8 innings. There is no love lost between the Gators and Bulldogs in anything but in softball the two teams have their own history to make this matchup more than interesting. The Gators were the two-time defending national champs in 2017 when Georgia held the Gators scoreless in two games to knock off top-rated Florida in the Super Regionals. In 2021, the Gators would again face heartbreak at the hands of the Bulldogs who would again hold the Gators scoreless in two games to advance. Despite the Super Regional losses the Gators have rebounded to take 6 of the last 8 matchups including a 9-4 win in Auburn last season on their way to the 2024 SEC Tournament Championship. While the annual football matchup between Florida and Georgia is usually the epicenter of this rivalry, KSP will most certainly replace Jacksonville as the holy grail for this matchup at least for this weekend. The Gators will be heavily favored to take the best of three series but if football has taught us anything the team that is favored in this matchup does not always leave with the prize. Can the Gators continue their recent dominance, or will the Bulldogs vanquish another higher rated foe on their front porch to punch the golden ticket and grab bragging rights until October?

Hayden Yost makes diving catch in center field (UAA Photo) Perhaps the most remarkable in-season turnaround in Southeastern Conference baseball history concluded in the final regular season game Saturday afternoon at Condron Family Ballpark when the 23rd-ranked Florida Gators evened their SEC record at 15-15 with a 9-3 win over 18th-ranked Alabama. Following a 1-11 beginning in conference play the Gators won six straight weekend series, a feat that puts maximum pressure on the NCAA Tournament selection committee that will choose 16 regional hosts next Sunday when they announce their field of 64 teams.   The Gators (37-19) have played their way into the tournament. The question for the committee is do they choose the hottest team from the nation’s best conference as one of the 16 hosts or do they go with a team that may have a better overall record but didn’t finish the season in nearly an impressive fashion as UF? There are teams with better records, but nobody finished the regular season hotter than the Florida Gators. Starting with a win over then No. 9 (now No. 2) Florida State, the Gators went 14-4 in SEC play with series wins over No. 5 Arkansas and No. 1 Texas. Counting non-conference games, the Gators finished the regular season on a 17-5 roll.   Florida’s 15-15 SEC record is good for tenth place in the final regular season standings, one game behind Ole Miss (37-18, 16-14 SEC), Tennessee (41-15, 16-14 SEC) and Alabama (40-15, 16-14 SEC). Ole Miss and Tennessee earned first day byes at the Southeastern Conference Tournament which begins Tuesday in Hoover, Alabama. Alabama as the No. 9 seed will open the tournament Tuesday against No. 16 Missouri (16-38, 3-27 SEC) while the Gators will face No. 15 South Carolina (28-28, 6-24 SEC).   If the Gators take down South Carolina in the first round, they will face seventh seeded Ole Miss in round two. A couple of wins would certainly enhance Florida’s chances of earning a regional host.   “It’s out of our hands,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said Saturday when asked if the Gators should host. Florida’s sensational finish to the season should exact a measure of influence on the selection committee, but so could a couple of wins in Hoover.   Prior to the SEC Tournament, the league will announce its all-conference selections and superlatives. Count on the coach of one of the teams at the top of the league standings winning coach of the year, but when you consider the number of injuries O’Sullivan has had to compensate for, it should be a no-brainer.   Among the injuries O’Sullivan has had to deal with: Second baseman Cade Kurland (missed 42 games), center fielder Kyle Jones (missed 52 games), right fielder Ty Evans (missed 20 games but returned recently), starting lefty Pierce Coppola (missed two months but returned recently) and shortstop Colby Shelton (missed the last 11 games).   Things went from bad to worse on the injury front in game one of the Alabama series when catcher Luke Heyman suffered a fractured forearm when hit by a pitch in the bottom of the first inning and second baseman Justin Nadeau left after one at bat with a finger injury. That left O’Sullivan with nine position players at his disposal. So Brody Donay went from first base/DH to catcher, left fielder Blake Cyr to second base and Blake Brookins went to left field, burning his redshirt. Donay responded with six hits, two homers and 12 RBI. Cyr struggled at the plate (2-10) and in the field, but he hit a critical double during a 5-run fifth inning Sstirday and turned a second unassisted to first double play in the fourth to snuff out a potential Alabama rally. Playing his first three games of the season, Brookins went 3-10 with a pair of doubles.   The patchwork lineup pounded out 12 hits including home runs by Bobby Boser (No. 15) and Donay (No. 16) in the first inning and Evans (No. 4) in the third. A big day at the plate was necessary because the Gators committed four errors in the field, but even with the miscues, freshman Aidan King gave the Gators 6-1/3 extraordinary innings. King gave up six hits, only one earned run, walked two (one intentional) and struck out eight to improve to 6-2 (2.76 ERA).   Staked to a 2-0 lead in the first on the homers by Boser and Donay, King gave up an unearned run in the second when a throwing error by Cyr on what should have been a routine double play scored Richie Bonomolo Jr. A walk put runners on first and third with one out but King struck out Garrett Staton and Brennen Norton to end the threat without further damage.   "Often times, you see someone makes an error and then it's a four-pitch walk and the inning kind of gets away from you, but he just kept it together and was truly remarkable honestly, to keep his composure like that,” O’Sullivan said of his freshman righthander. “He's shown time and time again that he's beyond his years with his maturity and focus and all those types of things, so that's two great starts in a row against two ranked teams, obviously. So really, really, really happy for him."   The Gators extended the lead to 3-1 in the third when Evans launched a 409-foot homer to center field and 4-1 in the fourth when Ashton Wilson singled, got a stolen base with a contortion that allowed him to evade a tag, and a single to center field by Landon Stripling.   Alabama narrowed the lead to 4-2 in the fifth when Norton reached on a one-out error at shortstop by Boser and scored on a double by Bryce Fowler. A double by Justin Labron and an intentional walk to Kade Snell loaded the bases but King got out of trouble by inducing Bonomolo to bounce to third where Brendan Lawson threw home for the force and the second out.  The inning ended when King got Will Hodo to fly out to center field to Hayden Yost.   Florida answered with five runs in the bottom half of the inning, sending nine men to the plate. Donay led off with a walk and moved to third when Cyr doubled down the left field line. Yost grounded out to first, scoring Donay from third. After Wilson was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Stripling hit a grounder to third that Jason Torres threw away allowing Cyr to score for a 6-2 lead. Brookins was hit by a pitch, once again loading the bases for Boser, who singled to right field, driving home Stripling and Wilson. The Gators then pulled off a double steal with Brookins taking home and Boser making it all the way to third when Labron threw the ball away.   Norton doubled to lead off the seventh and moved to third on a Fowler fly ball. That signaled the end of the road for King, who was replaced by Luke McNeillie. McNeillie gave up a sacrifice fly to Labron then got out of the inning with a fly ball to Yost in center. Alabama got a runner on in the eighth on a walk and in the ninth on a throwing error but couldn’t push across any runs.   This was a brilliant way to end a regular season-ending surge that will put the Gators in the NCAA field of 64 whether as a host or on the road as a No. 2 seed in someone else’s regional. Whether home or away, Florida’s chances will improve if Shelton and Nadeau are able to return to the lineup.   "Well, we obviously need to get Justin (Nadeau) back and it's really day-to-day with him, with his finger,” O’Sullivan said. “And hopefully we get Colby (Shelton) back for the regional and that's kind of what we're shooting for. It's just been a lot of disruption.   “We got guys moving around, but they hung in there. I told the team at the end: you probably need to take some time to reflect back on what just happened. Just to be 1-11 and end up at 15 wins in the league, no one's ever done that since the league expanded, since '92, but obviously our job is not finished. At least we put ourselves in at least discussion to host, but we'll see what happens. But can't say enough about this group and their resiliency."   SEC TOURNAMENT Tuesday games 1. No. 16 Missouri (16-38, 3-27 SEC) vs. No. 9 Alabama (40-15, 16-14 SEC) 2. No. 13 Kentucky (29-23, 13-17 SEC) vs. No. 12 Oklahoma (33-19, 14-16 SEC) 3. No. 15 South Carolina (28-28, 6-24 SEC) vs. No. 10 FLORIDA (37-19, 15-15 SEC) 4. No. 14 Texas A&M (28-25, 11-19 SEC) vs. No. 11 Mississippi State (34-20, 15-15 SEC)   Wednesday games 5. Winner game 1 vs. No. 8 Tennessee (41-15, 16-14 SEC) 6. Winner game 2 vs. No. 5 Georgia (42-14, 18-12 SEC) 7. Winner game 3 vs. No. 7 Ole Miss (37-18, 16-14 SEC) 8. Winner game 4 vs. No. 6 Auburn (38-17, 17-13 SEC)   Thursday games 9. Winner game 5 vs. No. 1 Texas (42-11, 22-8 SEC) 10. Winner game 6 vs. No. 4 Vanderbilt (39-16, 19-11 SEC)   Friday games 11. Winner game 7 vs. No. 2 Arkansas (43-12, 20-10 SEC) 12. Winner game 8 vs. No. 3 LSU (42-13, 19-11 SEC)

Home runs rule the day as Taylor Shumaker blasts two.

It was the Gators 24th run rule win of the season

Brody Donay watches his game-winning home run sail toward the fence (UAA Photo) The good news Thursday night was the No. 23 Florida Gators (36-18, 14-14 SEC) erased a 5-0 deficit for a come from behind 7-6 win over No. 18 Alabama (39-14, 15-13 SEC). It was Florida’s 13th SEC win in the last 16 games, bringing the Gators even in SEC play after a horrendous 1-11 start.   That was the good news.   The bad news was catcher Luke Heyman, who has been one of the driving forces behind Florida’s turnaround, suffered a fractured forearm when he was hit by a pitch in the first inning. Coming into the game, Heyman was hitting .302 with 13 homers and 44 RBI, seven homers and 30 RBI since April 8 when Florida’s late season surge began.   Heyman’s injury is just one of many that have plagued the Gators this year. Cade Kurland, a three-year starter with 34 career home runs, has been out since March 25 with a dislocated shoulder. Ty Evans, a two-year starter in the outfield, has missed 21 games. Kyle Jones, one of the best defensive center fielders in the college game, has been out since game four. Shortstop Colby Shelton, Florida’s leading hitter (.377, 7 HR, 35 RBI) has been out the last nine games with a wrist injury.  Lefty Pierce Coppola, scheduled to start tonight’s second game of the series with Alabama (6:30 p.m., ESPN+), missed nearly two months after a brilliant start.   Despite the injuries, however, the Gators have compensated. It has forced UF coach Kevin O’Sullivan to shift his lineup on an almost game-by-game basis, but somehow the Gators have become the hottest team in the Southeastern Conference. The Gators are so hot they are currently projected to make an NCAA regional as a No. 2 seed. That could change this weekend, however, if the Gators can pull off a sweep of Alabama.   O’Sullivan believes the injuries and adversity have toughened up the team.   "You know, we're already down players and we could have easily hung our heads,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “But I think honestly, without giving it much thought yet, starting out 1-11 and going through that adversity probably is helping us right now.”   When Heyman went down in the first inning, O’Sullivan shuffled the lineup with Landon Stripling taking over at first base. Blake Cyr moved from left field to second base and Blake Brookins took over in left field. Stripling hit a fifth inning single that drove home a run and Brookins went 1-3 with a sixth inning double.   “Obviously, the injuries are mounting, but with that being said, Strip gets a hit tonight and then Brookins comes off the bench and gets a double,” O’Sullivan said. “It's just one of those things, but what can you say? I'm awfully proud of the team, the way they battled. Like I said, they could have easily just thrown in the towel, but they continued to persevere through it.”   Alabama touched Florida starter Liam Peterson for two runs in the first and three in the third. After the rough start, Peterson came back to pitch a scoreless fourth and fifth. He hit a batter in the fourth, but induced Will Plattner to hit into a double play and got out of the inning with a ground out. In the fifth, Peterson set the Crimson Tide down 1-2-3.   “Obviously, he may not have had his best stuff or location today, but he battled and every run counts,” O’Sullivan said.” He put up two zeros in the fourth and the fifth and I've got no complaints about his start. He battled and he kept us in it.”   When O’Sullivan pulled Peterson after the fifth, the bullpen came through with an outstanding performance. Luke McNeillie (5-2) pitched the sixth and seventh innings, allowing one hit, an unearned run while walking one and striking out four. Jake Clemente, who struggled with his control while pitching the final two innings in Florida’s win over then No. 1 Texas back on Sunday, threw two shutout innings to pick up his seventh save. Clemente didn’t give up a hit, walked one and struck out two to preserve the win.   “McNeillie came in and obviously we lost the one ball in the twilight, but he pitched great,” O’Sullivan said. “Without his performance we're probably not standing here with a win. And then Jake bounced back from last weekend and threw 29 pitches over two…"   Down 5-0, the Gators began their comeback in the fourth inning. Stripling was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Evans singled to center and after a fly out by Cyr moved Stripling to third, Tyler Fay uncorked a wild pitch that scored Stripling with Florida’s first run.   The Gators mounted a 3-run rally in the fifth with two out. Fay should have gotten out of the inning unscathed but a Garrett Shelton error on a grounder by Bobby Boser extended the inning. Brendan Lawson moved Boser to third with a single to left field and Stripling followed with a run-scoring single to cut the Bama lead to 5-2. Ty Evans doubled to left center on an 0-2 count, scoring Lawson. A single by Donay down the third base line scored Stripling to cut the Alabama lead to 5-4.   Alabama increased the lead to 6-4 in the sixth with an unearned run after a throwing error by Lawson at third base, but the Gator countered in their half of the inning. Brookins lined a double down the left field line to lead off the inning and Boser followed with an RBI single to center.   The Gators took the lead for good in the seventh when Evans walked after working the count full and one out later, Donay hit his team-leading 15th homer of the season to right center field.     With a 7-6 lead to protect, Clemente worked his way out of an eighth inning jam with a pop fly out three by Will Plattner. In the ninth, Clemente set the Crimson Tide down 1-2-3 on a fly ball to left field, a strikeout and a harmless pop to second base.   The combination of injuries and the terrible 1-11 start in the SEC created a dismal outlook for the Gators, but they’ve turned things around and have a shot at finishing the regular season with a winning record in SEC play. The turnaround has been nothing short of spectacular.   "I think if you go back to my post-games, I think I was pretty consistent with what my message was for the team: that we are going to turn this thing around,” O’Sullivan said. “Now to sit here and say we would be 14-14 with two games left, I don't know about that, but I did truly believe that we're going to turn this thing around. And the players have to go out and play, but our staff deserves a ton of credit … everybody involved. No one started pointing fingers, we stayed together and it turned out to be a heck of a story."   Game notes: The Gators have come from behind to win 15 times this season, eight times in their last 20 games … Brookins double was his first career hit … The Gators have won 16 of their last 20 games. UF is 13-3 in SEC play over the last two games.   SEC Baseball No. 23 FLORIDA (36-18, 14-14 SEC) 7, No. 18 Alabama (39-14, 15-13 SEC) 6 South Carolina (28-26, 6-22 SEC) 6, No. 1 LSU (40-13, 17-11 SEC) 5 #3 Texas (41-10, 21-7) 7, Oklahoma (32-18, 13-15 SEC) 4 Ole Miss (36-17, 15-13 SEC) 9, No. 6 Auburn (37-16, 16-12 SEC) 2 No. 17 Tennessee (41-13, 16-12 SEC) 10, No. 8 Arkansas (41-12, 18-10 SEC) 7 No. 9 Vanderbilt (37-16, 17-11 SEC) 8, Kentucky (29-21, 13-15 SEC) 7 No. 10 Georgia (41-13, 17-11 SEC) 10, Texas A&M (27-24, 10-18 SEC) 6 Mississippi State (32-20, 13-15 SEC) 25, Missouri (16-36, 3-25 SEC) 7

On paper, the Gators should win this regional .   Happy Days for Gator softball. Can they keep it going? (UAA photo)   By EDDIE GILLEY GatorBaitMedia.com   Gator Softball returns to Katie Seashole Pressley stadium on Friday to host the Gainesville Regional. Gator fans have come to expect nothing less under Coach Tim Walton: 18 of the 19 appearances in the tournament have happened in the friendly confines of the “Hole.”   Only once have the Gators failed to win and advance to the Super Regionals. They are also a top 8 seed, coming in at #3, which means should they win the Regionals, they would host the Super Regional next weekend. That would be the winner of the Duke Regional.   Florida split a pair of games with Duke back in February in Gainesville.   Usually, the Gators open play at high noon on the first day of Regionals. But this year, that honor will go to the Florida Atlantic Owls and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.   Don’t be surprised to see the Owls come out on top of that matchup.   The Gators will play Mercer in the nightcap on Friday. It’s a homecoming for the skipper of the Bears. Lindsay Fico, formerly Norfleet, played for the UF from 2003-2006.Playing under Coach Walton in his first year as the head coach.   The Bears came through the losers bracket in the Southern Conference tournament to secure their spot, with a 38-24 record.   On paper, the Gators should win this regional. That is the case more often than not. But it doesn’t happen 100% of the time.   If there is going to be an upset this weekend in Gainesville, it might come from FAU, which has some impressive W’s over quality teams this season.   The Gators will need to bring their A game for every outing this weekend, with fans loud and invested in every inning. In the end, if you are Gator softball fan, it just feels right to spend these two weekends in May in the sweltering heat and humidity among a sold-out crowd. Back where we belong.