The 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 t ...

. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and 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 o ...

(SEC). They play their home games in

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, 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, which had a population of 339,247 in ...

, campus, and are currently led by head coach Kevin O'Sullivan. In the 105-season history of the Florida baseball program, the team has won 15 SEC championships and has appeared in 12 College World Series tournaments. The Gators won their first national championship in 2017.

History

The modern University of Florida was created in 1905 when the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Co ...

passed the

Buckman Act The Buckman Act was a Florida law passed by the state legislature in 1905. It reorganized the state's institutions of higher learning and created a Florida Board of Control to govern the system. The act, named for legislator Henry Holland Buckman ...

, and thereby consolidated the university's four predecessor institutions into the new " University of the State of Florida." The university fielded its first varsity baseball team, and enjoyed its first winning baseball season, in 1912.
2011 Florida Gators Baseball Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 93–94, 95–97, 98–101, 112–125 (2011). Retrieved June 6, 2011. During most of Florida baseball's early existence, the new university's athletic association suffered from a lack of financial resources, and few of the head baseball coaches were full-time baseball coaches. William G. Kline was also the

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

, head football coach, and head basketball coach;

James L. White James L. White (November 15, 1947 – July 23, 2015) was an American screenwriter best known for his original screenplay for the 2004 film '' Ray'', a biopic on Ray Charles. For his work on ''Ray'', White received the Satellite Award for Best O ...

was Florida's athletic director and head basketball coach;

Brady Cowell Warren C. "Brady" Cowell (December 12, 1899 – April 15, 1989) was an American college football, basketball, and baseball coach and college athletic director. Cowell played football, basketball and baseball at Kansas State Agricultural College, ...

, Ben Clemons and

Lewie Hardage Lewis Woolford Hardage (February 11, 1891 – August 29, 1973) was an American college football player and college football and baseball coach. Hardage was an All-Southern halfback every year he played: 1908, 1909, 1911, and 1912—the first tw ...

were assistant football coaches; and Sam McAllister was the head basketball coach and an assistant football coach. A notable exception was Lance Richbourg, who was a Florida alumnus and a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

outfielder for the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

and others, and led the Gators to an impressive 39–21 overall record (a .650 winning percentage) in 1922, 1923 and 1926. McAllister was the Gators' last pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

coach, and he returned from military service to lead the Gators baseball team again in 1946 and 1947.

Fuller era: 1948–1975

The modern post-war era of the Florida Baseball program began with head coach Dave Fuller assuming control in 1948. Fuller was originally hired as a physical education instructor in 1946, and also served as an assistant football coach under four different Gators head coaches. Ultimately, he became the longest-serving Gators head coach in any sport, and won more games than any other Gators coach, after leading the Gators baseball team for 28 seasons. Fuller brought stability and consistency to the program, and his Gators teams won SEC championships in 1952, 1956 and 1962, and made appearances in the NCAA tournament in 1958, 1960 and 1962. His final record was 557–354–6 (.611). Florida

Bergman era: 1976–1981

Fuller's successor, Jay Bergman, advanced the Florida baseball program a step further. After a difficult transition season in 1976, Bergman's Gators showed marked improvement, winning an SEC championship and SEC tournament title in 1981. His teams also qualified for the NCAA Regionals in 1977, 1979 and 1981, and compiled a 7–6 tournament record, but in each instance did not advance beyond the double-elimination opening round of the NCAA tournament. In his six seasons as the Gators' skipper, Bergman posted an overall win–loss record of 216–113 (.657)—the best multi-season winning percentage until that time, and still the second best in Gators baseball history.

Arnold era: 1984–1994

Joe Arnold followed Jack Rhines' short two-season stint as Florida's head coach. Arnold's Gators won SEC championships in 1984 and 1988, and SEC tournament titles in 1984, 1988 and 1991. His teams made seven appearances in the NCAA tournament, and for the first and second time ever, the Gators advanced to the College World Series in 1988 and 1991. In 11 seasons coaching the Gators, Arnold compiled an overall record of 434–244–2 (.640).

Lopez era: 1995–2000

Andy Lopez Andrew Lopez (born November 30, 1953) is a retired American college baseball coach. He was most recently the head baseball coach at University of Arizona, and has served as the head baseball coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Pepperdine, and F ...

took over the program in 1995, two seasons removed from leading the Pepperdine Waves of Pepperdine University to their only national championship in the 1992 College World Series. In his second season as Florida's head coach in 1996, he led the Gators to a 50-win season and the semifinals of the College World Series. In 2000 and 2001, however, the Gators were eliminated in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament, and Lopez was replaced. In seven seasons, Lopez posted an overall record of 278–159–1 (.636).

McMahon era: 2001–2007

Pat McMahon became Florida's baseball coach in 2001, after coaching the Mississippi State Bulldogs for the four preceding seasons.GatorZone.com, Baseball History, 2007 Roster
Pat McMahon
. Retrieved June 6, 2011. Early in the 2003 season, the Gators began to make a comeback with several freshly scouted prospects, including Andy Ramirez (first base) David Headage (right field), and Randy Thompson (shortstop). The 2003 season set the standard for the next two years of baseball, entering the NCAA tournament in both the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The 2005 season was the best in school history, as the team won the SEC championship and advanced to the College World Series for the first time in seven years, ultimately losing to the Texas Longhorns, two games to none in the final championship round of the Series. The expectations for the Gators were high in 2006; they were the consensus No. 1 team in the preseason polls, but the team struggled through the 2006 season. The Gators found themselves one game under .500 (26–27) heading into their final series against the LSU Tigers in Gainesville. The team surprisingly won two of the three games to finish the season at .500 (28–28). The Gators' 10–20 SEC record was the second worst in the conference, and they did not qualify for the SEC Tournament, nor were they selected for the NCAA Regionals. After missing the NCAA Regionals again in 2007, McMahon was fired on June 7, 2007. McMahon finished his six seasons as the Gators' head coach with an overall record of 202–113–1 (.641).

O'Sullivan era: 2008–present

Kevin O'Sullivan became the head coach of the Florida baseball team following the 2007 season.GatorZone.com, Baseball Coaching & Support Staff
Kevin O'Sullivan
. Retrieved June 6, 2011. In each of his first four seasons, O'Sullivan's Gators improved their overall record and SEC standing. In 2008, his first season as the Gators' skipper, the team finished 34–24 overall, 17–13 in SEC play, and in second place in the SEC Eastern Division standings. In 2009, the Gators compiled an overall record of 42–22, 19–11 in the SEC, and in first place in the SEC Eastern Division. O'Sullivan's 2010 Gators finished with an overall win–loss record of 47–17, 22–8 in SEC play, and SEC regular season champions. In each of his first three seasons, his Gators also showed post-season improvement, too: early elimination in the NCAA Regional in 2008; progressing to the NCAA Super Regional in 2009; and a berth in the College World Series in 2010. In 2011, Florida finished the regular season 41–15 overall, 22–8 in the SEC, and SEC regular season co-champions—sharing the regular season conference title with the South Carolina Gamecocks and

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the Nation ...

. After defeating the Mississippi State Bulldogs,

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

and Vanderbilt Commodores to win the SEC tournament, the Gators received the overall No. 2 seed in the sixty-four team NCAA tournament. The Gators swept the NCAA Regional three games to none, and beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs two games to one in the NCAA Super Regional, and advanced to the

2011 College World Series The 2011 NCAA Division I baseball tournament began on Friday, June 3, 2011 as part of the 2011 NCAA Division I baseball season. The 64 team double elimination tournament concluded with the 2011 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, on June 29 ...

. By beating the seventh-seeded Texas Longhorns 8–4 in the opening game of the 2011 Series, and then defeating the sixth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores twice, 3–1 and 6–4, the Gators earned a berth in the best-of-three College World Series championship finals. In the championship finals, the South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Gators in two straight games, 2–1 and 5–2; the Gators finished the 2011 season with an overall record of 53–19—the most games the Gators have ever won in a single season. FloridaVsFloridaState03-13-18

Florida finished the 2012 regular season with a record of 40–16, and were selected as the No. 1 seed in the 2012 NCAA Division I baseball tournament. Jonathon Crawford pitched the seventh

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

in NCAA Tournament history against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats in the opening round of the Gainesville Regional. The Gators swept the double-elimination regional tournament in three straight wins over Bethune-Cookman (4–0) and the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wre ...

(6–1, 15–3), and then swept the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college foot ...

in two straight games to win the best-of-three Gainesville Super Regional (7–1, 9–8) and earn a bid to the 2012 College World Series. The 2012 season came to an abrupt end in the College World Series, as the Gators lost their first two games to the South Carolina Gamecocks 7–3 and the Kent State Golden Flashes 5–4. Florida returned to the College World Series for the ninth time in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

and for the tenth time in 2016. The Gators made their 11th College World Series in 2017, finally breaking through and winning their first national championship after sweeping LSU two games to none in the championship series. They returned to the College World Series in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

to defend their title, but fell to

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 O ...

in the semifinals. After an up-and-down 2019 campaign, the 2020 Gators got off to a school-best 16–1 start before the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Stadium facilities

Condron Ballpark at Alfred A. McKethan Field is the home field for the Florida baseball team. The playing surface is named for Florida alumni Alfred A. McKethan and is located on the University of Florida's Gainesville campus. The stadium includes seating for approximately 7,000 fans (expandable to 10,000), a press box, locker rooms and coaching staff offices. The ballpark replaced Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at Perry Field after the 2020 season. Home plate faces northeast with the sun behind the stadium to provide shade for fans. A 360-degree open concourse allows fans a constant field view. Permanent chairback seats accommodate 4,000 spectators, with 700 club seats, berm capacity of over 2,000, and an option to temporarily expand capacity to around 10,000. The new ballpark is adjacent to Pressly Softball Stadium and Dizney Stadium for lacrosse. McKethan Stadium was demolished to make way for the James W. "Bill" Heavener Complex, a football training facility.

Head coaches

Year-by-year results

College World Series appearances

The Florida Gators have reached the College World Series 12 different times, including three consecutive trips from 2010 to 2012 and four consecutive trips from 2015 to 2018 under Kevin O'Sullivan.

Florida in the NCAA tournament

*The NCAA Division I baseball tournament started in 1947. *The

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of the tournament has changed through the years.

Championships

National championships

Florida won its first national championship in 2017, sweeping rival LSU in the CWS Championship Series to emerge victorious in the school's third CWS Finals appearance. The Gators have also reached the College World Series Championship Series two additional times, getting swept both times.

SEC regular season championships

The Gators have won a total of 15 SEC regular season championships, second most among the 14 current SEC members. Their most recent title came in 2018 under Kevin O'Sullivan.

SEC Tournament championships

The Gators have won seven SEC Tournament championships, third most among the SEC's current 14 members. However, after winning five in 11 years from 1981 to 1991, it was 20 years before Kevin O'Sullivan led the Gators to their sixth SEC Tournament Championship in 2011.

Player awards

National awards

* Dick Howser Trophy : Mike Zunino (2012) : Brady Singer (2018) * Golden Spikes Award : Mike Zunino (2012) * Baseball America College Player of the Year Award : Mike Zunino (2012) *

Rotary Smith Award The Rotary Smith Award was created in 1988 to honor the most outstanding college baseball player of the year. The award was founded by the Greater Houston Sports Association. In 1996, the Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest ...

Brad Wilkerson Stephen Bradley Wilkerson (born June 1, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball for eight seasons. Wilkerson played college baseball for the University of Florida, and was selected ...

(1998) *

Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...

: Brandon McArthur (2009) *

John Olerud Award The John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award (known colloquially as the John Olerud Award) is a college baseball award given to the best two-way player of the season. The award is named after former Washington State Cougars All-American pitc ...

: Brian Johnson (2012) * Collegiate Baseball Freshman Player of the Year : JJ Schwarz (2015)

SEC Awards

* Player of the Year :

Matt LaPorta Matthew Vincent LaPorta (born January 8, 1985) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and left fielder who played for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2009 to 2012. LaPorta played college baseball for t ...

(2005, 2007) : Mike Zunino (2011) * Pitcher of the Year : Justin Hoyman (2004) : Brady Singer (2018) * Freshman of the Year : Preston Tucker (2009) :

Austin Maddox Austin Dean Maddox (born May 13, 1991) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He had previously played for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed, and is listed at and . Early years Maddox gra ...

(2010) : Austin Cousino (2012) : Logan Shore (2014)

Florida's first Team All-Americans

Former players in Major League Baseball

Many former Florida Gator baseball players have gone on to play in

and other professional leagues. As of 2015, over 170 UF alumni have been chosen in the Major League Baseball draft and over 60 players have appeared in a Major League game. The first was Lance Richbourg, who made his MLB debut with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

in 1921. Other notable alumni include 1953 American League MVP Al Rosen, 2006 World Series MVP

David Eckstein David Mark Eckstein (; born January 20, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player. He was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida and played professiona ...

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

winner

Harrison Bader Harrison Joseph Bader (born June 3, 1994), nicknamed "Tots," is an American professional baseball center fielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals. Born and r ...

, and former

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

managing general partner Haywood Sullivan.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Florida Gators Baseball Baseball teams established in 1912 1912 establishments in Florida