The 2023 Florida Gators baseball team represents the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in the sport of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

during the 2023 college baseball season. Florida competes in the Eastern Division of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC). Home games will be played at

Condron Ballpark Condron Family Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field is the college baseball stadium of the University of Florida, and serves as the home field for the Florida Gators baseball team. Condron Ballpark is located on the university's Gainesville, Fl ...

on the university's

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gaine ...

, campus, in the third season at the ballpark. The team is coached by Kevin O'Sullivan in his sixteenth season as Florida's head coach. The Gators enter the season looking to return to the College World Series after a home regional final loss in the 2022 NCAA tournament. Florida returned to the College World Series for the first time since the 2018 season. In a rematch of the 2017 championship series won by

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, LSU defeated the Gators in the championship series 2–1, handing the Gators their third runner-up finish at the College World Series.

Previous season

Ranked ninth in the D1 Baseball preseason poll, the Gators dropped their opening series against unranked

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, and would not reach the top 10 again until the opening weekend of conference play, which was highlighted by a 2–1 series win at

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. The Gators would go 3–3 against their first two conference opponents in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

, and defeated in their annual game in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. However, Florida got swept at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

to drop to 3–6 in conference play. The Gators bounced back by taking the series against No. 2

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

at home to get back to 5–7 against the conference. Traveling to

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

to play the second of three games against Florida State, the Seminoles evened the series at one win apiece. The Gators lost their next two games in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

before avoiding the sweep against Vanderbilt. Florida would return home to host the top-ranked

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

, who had lost only one conference game up to that point. The Volunteers were able to sweep the Gators by mounting a ninth-inning comeback and 11-inning defeat in the series finale, to move the Gators to 6–12 against the conference, featuring a 4–11 stretch against the gauntlet of LSU, Georgia, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, and Tennessee. The Gators moved to an even 15–15 conference record by the end of the season, winning each of their remaining series against

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, defending national champion

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, and

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, and won the season series against Florida State in Gainesville with a 7–5 ten-inning victory. In a

SEC baseball tournament The Southeastern Conference baseball tournament (sometimes known simply as the SEC Tournament) is the conference tournament in baseball for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). It is a partially double-elimination tournament and seeding is based on ...

marred by significant weather delays, the Gators were able to overcome a second-round loss to

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

by winning their next three games, including a semifinal win to avenge their earlier second round loss to the Aggies, to set up a Championship Game against the regular season champion Volunteers. Florida was able to stymie the prolific Volunteers offense for the first four innings, but ultimately surrendered the first seven runs of the game in a 5–8 loss. Florida's run in the SEC Tournament proved to be enough to earn a No. 13 national seed, and host the Gainesville Regional. After a second-round loss to the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Run ...

, Florida was able to hold off Central Michigan with a 6–5 victory in the elimination game to set up a rematch against Oklahoma in the regional final. Florida was able to take the first game with a 7–2 victory to set up a winner-take-all game for the right to advance to the Super Regional against

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

. Florida got a 2–1 lead in the seventh inning before a 5-hour, 33-minute rain delay struck Gainesville. Florida was able to add to their lead to obtain a 3–1 advantage over the Sooners in the bottom of the seventh inning, but surrendered four runs in the top of the eighth inning, and was only able to make up one of the runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. As a result, their season came to a close with a late-night, rain delayed, 4–5 home loss to the eventual national runners-up.

Preseason

Preseason SEC awards and honors

Outfielder and catcher,

Wyatt Langford Wyatt Michael Langford (born November 15, 2001) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Texas Rangers organization. He was the fourth overall selection in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft. He played college baseball for the ...

and BT Riopelle, respectively, were named to the All-SEC preseason first-team.

Coaches poll

The SEC baseball coaches' poll was released on February 9, 2023.

Roster

Schedule

:Schedule Source: *Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

Record vs. conference opponents

Rankings

References

{{Florida Gators baseball navbox

Florida Gators baseball seasons

Florida Gators baseball The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (S ...

College World Series seasons