Recent success has Florida Gators surging in latest Baseball America's rankings
Recent success has Florida Gators surging in latest Baseball America's rankings
The Florida baseball program started its 2025 Southeastern Conference schedule by winning just one of its first 12 games this spring. However, the tides have turned of late and the Gators are surging back up the standings with one more weekend left in the regular season.
Since that 1-11, Kevin O'Sullivan's squad has gone 12-3 with series wins against the Texas Longhorns, South Carolina Gamecocks, Arkansas Razorbacks, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Missouri Tigers. The final straw that snapped Florida into action was a three-game sweep in Gainesville at the hands of the Vanderbilt Commodores ahead of that 15-game turnaround.
As a result of the recent success, the Gators are now ranked 13th in Baseball America's top 25 rankings, put together by Peter Flaherty and Jacob Rudner — up from No. 22 in the previous rankings.
What Baseball America says about Florida
"Florida bounced back from its midweek loss to South Florida with a statement road series win at then-No. 2 Texas in which it bookended the weekend with a pair of victories," they begin.
"Eight different Gators hitters drove in at least one run, but their pitching was the biggest bright spot this weekend. In Sunday's series-clinching win, freshman Aidan King was sensational and collected nine strikeouts across seven shutout innings," they continue.
"After appearing to be dead in the water in early April, Florida is potentially a series win over No. 16 Alabama away from hosting."
Baseball America's Top 25 rankings
LSU Auburn North Carolina Georgia Florida State Texas Arkansas Coastal Carolina Oregon Vanderbilt Oregon State UC Irvine Florida Troy Dallas Baptist Alabama Clemson Tennessee West Virginia UCLA NC State Ole Miss Louisville Southern Miss UTSA
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New York Times
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USA Today
43 minutes ago
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Grading each SEC football head coach ahead of the 2025 season
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If DeBoer does not make the playoffs, you can bet it will become more hostile in Tuscaloosa. He's a better coach than most give him credit for, and he could very well lead the Crimson Tide back to where they belong this season with a plethora of talent on the roster. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss (A-) Whether he is hurling clipboards into the air or telling folks to get their popcorn ready, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has brought the Rebels out of the SEC gutter and into the national spotlight. His mastermind coaching ability has led to 28 players being drafted out of Oxford, including a program record of eight in the 2025 NFL Draft. Now, there are some places that Kiffin needs to improve if he seeks to get the Rebels into the CFP this season. Like Kelly, Kiffin struggles when it comes to getting over the hump. 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However, multiple losses like experienced quarterback Brady Cook and exceptional wideout Luther Burden III leave the Mizzou offense looking for answers this offseason. The addition of former Penn State backup gunslinger Beau Pribula is nice, but only time will tell if Drinkwitz can lead this team to a CFP appearance for the first time in school history. Shane Beamer, South Carolina (B+) Through four years with the South Carolina Gamecocks, Shane Beamer has showcased his ability to take the program back to the top of the mountain. He has won more games (29-22) through four seasons than any other head coach in school history, while also leading the Gamecocks to three bowl appearances in four years and two wins over in-state rival Clemson Tigers. Beamer Ball is making huge waves throughout the conference, making South Carolina a team nobody wants to face, especially on the road. LaNorris Sellers returns as one of the most athletic and talented quarterbacks in the country. At the same time, the Gamecocks' defensive unit under Beamer in 2025 looks to be one of the best the Gamecocks have displayed on the gridiron in a long time. However, it will take consistency, despite a challenging schedule, to secure a spot in the CFP. Mike Elko, Texas A&M (B+) Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko walked into Bryan-College Station, Texas, in his first year and made an immediate impact on the program. Instantly, he turned the Aggies into a contender for the SEC Championship. If it were not for a couple of late slip-ups, he would have become just the third head coach in the conference's history to lead their respective teams to the SEC title game in their first season at the helm. That is just hypothetical, however. Elko is a brilliant mind who knows how to recruit and develop players, as evidenced by the rapid growth of quarterback Marcel Reed toward the end of the 2024 campaign. Elko will have another shot to rewrite the wrongs against the likes of Notre Dame and Texas on the road this season. If he can get the Aggies rolling, he could shoot up this list in a hurry. Hugh Freeze, Auburn (B) There are some people, including the members of the Auburn Tigers fanbase, who believe that Hugh Freeze's stint at Auburn has been disappointing so far. At a program that believes in success and invests so much into making superstars on the gridiron, the expectations are high, as they should be. Since being named the head coach, Freeze has went 11-13 with a 5-11 league record, including losses against New Mexico State and Vanderbilt. That is a sentiment to his inconsistency so far on the Plains. However, Freeze has recruited well and this year's team looks to be the best one in a while for the Tigers. There is no more excuses, it is time for him to win at Auburn. Billy Napier, Florida (B-) When a coach inherits a program like the Florida Gators, the expectations of success are to be competing for titles. For the last couple of years under head coach Billy Napier, the program has been lucky just to reach six wins, much to the disappointment of the entire fanbase. He holds a 19-19 record with just eight conference wins since he was hired in 2022. There were signs of a potential turnaround at the end of last season, as the Gators claimed huge victories over Ole Miss and the school's first bowl game win since 2019 against Tulane in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl. Napier has one of the most athletic quarterbacks in DJ Lagway returning for his sophomore year in Gainesville. The potential of the roster could secure Napier another season, but if the Gators are not able to get back to winning more than six games, the writing could be written on the wall for his tenure at Florida. Brent Venables, Oklahoma (B-) Brent Venables' third year at the helm for the Oklahoma Sooners was filled with ups and downs. Positives? The program stunned the Crimson Tide in Norman last season, which provided Venables with one of his biggest victories of his head coaching career so far. Negatives? Inconsistency on both sides of the ball and poor coaching in moments led to a 6-7 record and a 21-20 loss to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. Point being, the Sooners have not been able to break the glass ceiling and reach the apex of college football in a few years. Venables' decisions, specifically involving the quarterback position, put the program in a bad position throughout the entirety of last season. Now, it is time for Venables to face the music and take the talented roster back to success. If he is not able to achieve such a feat, we could see the end of the Venables era before we know it. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt (C+) If there is one coach on this list who deserves his flowers for what they have been able to do at the helm, it is Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Clark Lea. With the helpful addition of signal-caller Diego Pavia last season, Lea helped lead the Dores to a historic win over No. 1 Alabama and the school's first bowl game victory since 2013, in a 35-27 win over Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl. Is there more magic left in the tank in Nashville? That is still to be seen. However, Lea has done an excellent job establishing a talented roster in preparation of the upcoming season, including retaining Pavia for one more year. The defensive unit still needs some work, but SEC teams should beware of the Dores in 2025. Arkansas, Sam Pittman (C-) The Sam Pittman era at Arkansas has been anything but spectacular. His inconsistency has led to a rapidly increasing dissatisfaction among the Razorbacks' fan base, who are clamoring for an opportunity to break through in a revamped era of college football finally. Pittman has yet to truly find his footing with the Hogs, despite finding a way to reach nine wins in 2021. The type of consistency, or lack thereof, produced by Pittman might be allowed or even celebrated in other conferences, but this is the SEC. If he wants to stay in Fayetteville for longer, he will need some help to take Arkansas to the next level. Offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino definitely could help, but it might be too late for Pittman. Jeff Lebby, Mississippi State (D+) After finishing 2024 with just two wins, Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby received more hatred than well-wishes from fans. The Bulldogs may not be a blue-blood program in football, but they do produce a plethora of talent and always finish amongst the middle of the pack in the conference. Usually, this is a team that most fear playing, especially on the road. That has not been the case lately, however. Lebby has been tasked with revamping a program that has gone through more hardships and adversity than any other in the conference, bar none. He has a sneaky-good offensive roster, with an experienced group of transfers blocking for the returning gunslinger, Blake Shapen. It might not be this year, but Lebby will find a way to get the Dawgs back to complete form in the next couple of years. Mark Stoops, Kentucky (D) Finally, we reach the bottom of the list with Kentucky's Mark Stoops. Well, we have some work to do. The complete decline of this program has been one of the most disappointing things to watch. Have you ever felt such dissatisfaction when your favorite movie starts to end? Sometimes, you almost just want to restart the movie entirely because you love it so much. That is how it feels watching Stoops and the Kentucky Wildcats. This is going to be a rough season in Lexington, and it will likely be one that the program will want to forget forever. Stoops is on one of the hottest seats in America, which will likely ignite into a wildfire if he is not able to turn this ship around. Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Dylan on X: @dylanmflippo.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Florida baseball earns two transfer commitments
Florida baseball earns two transfer commitments Super Regionals haven't even been played and the transfer portal is already running wild in college baseball. The Florida Gators added a pair of commitments from the portal on Thursday, kicking off what should be a busy cycle for the Orange and Blue. Notre Dame right-hander Ricky Reeth and Wabash Valley (JUCO) catcher AJ Malzone are the newest Gators. Florida has also already lost players from its 2025 roster. Left-handed reliever Jacob Gomberg was the first of likely several departures from a squad that came up short in many ways. Let's take a closer look at both new players and what their roles might be with the team. Notre Dame RHP Ricky Reeth A Windermere, Florida native who played high school ball at West Orange, 6-foot-4, 190-pound Ricky Reeth has provided Notre Dame with three years of solid relief work out. Reeth's numbers have improved each year. His ERA dropped from 6.46 over 15.1 innings in 2023 to a 5.21 over 48.1 innings a season ago. He followed that up with a 4.31 this season, and the K rate has climbed above 21% while keeping the walk rate at 6%. He has a fastball that can sit anywhere from 89-93 mph and top out at 94. His main secondary pitch is a low-80s sweeping slider, and he also uses a high-70s changeup. Florida struggled to figure out the hierarchy of its bullpen this year, going with a closer-by-committee at one point. Reeth might not be the closer for Florida next year, but he's a stable, veteran presence in the bullpen, assuming Jake Clemente leaves for the draft. Reeth could also be a vital piece of recruiting fellow Notre Dame transfer and battery mate Carson Tinney. Wabash Valley College (JUCO) C AJ Malzone One of the primary objectives Florida has in this transfer cycle is to replenish the catchers' room. Brody Donay and Luke Heyman can and likely will leave for the MLB draft, and Florida has JUCO transfer Cole Bullen and rising redshirt freshman Brock Clayton left behind the dish. Bullen might be gone too after four years of college ball, but the point stands that Florida needs catchers. Enter AJ Malzone out of Wabash Valley (Illinois), who batted .347 with 10 home runs and 58 RBI last season en route to an all-conference and all-region nod. Malzone flashed some speed with 13 stolen bases and walked (36) more than he struck out (35). Transfer Season Just Getting Started These early additions are important to help fill out Florida's roster, but the Gators are looking to fill several key spots that neither Malzone nor Reeth addresses. Bobby Boser and Colby Shelton are both likely to depart, opening the door for a left-side infielder to join the roster. Brendan Lawson could move to one of those positions, especially if Donay drops catching and sticks at first base. Still, the Gators are in the market for a starting shortstop or third baseman — Dayton freshman Rylan Lujo is a potential add up that alley. With Clemente and Coppola also in the draft mix, Florida needs left-handed arms and a Sunday starter. Reeth is good right-handed bullpen depth, but he's not going five innings every weekend in the SEC. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
