2020 Florida Gators baseball team

Last updated

2020 Florida Gators baseball
Florida Gators alternate logo.svg
Conference Southeastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
CB No. 1
Record16–1 (0–0 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Craig Bell (13th year)
  • Chuck Jeroloman (1st year)
Home stadium Alfred A. McKethan Stadium
Seasons
  2019
2021  
2020 Southeastern Conference baseball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Eastern
No. 1 Florida  00 161 .941
Tennessee  00 152 .882
No. 3 Georgia  00 144 .778
South Carolina  00 124 .750
No. 6 Vanderbilt  00 135 .722
Missouri 00 115 .688
Kentucky  00 116 .647
Western
No. 8 Ole Miss  00 161 .941
Alabama  00 161 .941
Texas A&M  00 153 .833
No. 17 Mississippi State  00 124 .750
No. 18 Auburn  00 135 .722
No. 19 LSU  00 125 .706
No. 14 Arkansas  00 115 .688
Tournament champion
  • – ineligible for postseason due to NCAA sanctions
    As of March 12, 2020 [1]
    Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2020 Florida Gators baseball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of baseball during the 2020 college baseball season. Florida competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games were played at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, in the final season at the ballpark. The team was coached by Kevin O'Sullivan in his thirteenth season as Florida's head coach. The Gators entered the season looking to return to the College World Series after an early regional exit in last year's Lubbock Regional.

Contents

The season was cut short in stages by March 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [2] The Gators finished with a 16–1 record, tied for the best in the country, and ranked No. 1 in all major polls. A tightly contested road sweep of the Miami Hurricanes helped propel Florida to the top spot in the rankings. Not knowing at the time it would be their final game, the Gators saw their 11-game winning streak over Florida State come to an end in the last game played at McKethan Stadium.

Previous season

The Gators finished the 2019 season with a 34–26 record, compiling a 13–17 mark in the SEC.

2019 MLB draft

The Gators had five players drafted in the 2019 MLB draft. [3]

PlayerPositionRoundOverallMLB Team
Brady McConnellShortstop244 Kansas City Royals
Tyler Dyson Pitcher5153 Washington Nationals
Wil DaltonOutield8257 Boston Red Sox
Nelson MaldonadoOutfield21642 Chicago Cubs
Hunter Barco Pitcher24718 New York Mets
Feleipe Franks Pitcher31947Boston Red Sox
Tyler NesbittPitcher32969 Colorado Rockies

Players in bold are signees drafted from high school that will attend Florida.

Preseason

SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on February 6, 2020, with the Gators predicted to finish in second place in the Eastern Division. [4]

Media poll (East)
Predicted finishTeamVotes (1st place)
1Vanderbilt87 (9)
2Florida77 (3)
3Georgia76 (2)
4Tennessee50
5South Carolina48
6Missouri32
7Kentucky22

Personnel

By player

2020 Florida Gators baseball team
PlayersCoaches
#Pos.NameB/THeightWeightYearHome town
22 INF Cory ActonL/R6 ft 0 in(1.83 m)190 lb (86 kg)So Fort Lauderdale, FL
39 RHP Justin AlintoffR/R6 ft 2 in(1.88 m)220 lb (100 kg)Jr Jupiter, FL
34 INF Kris ArmstrongS/R6 ft 4 in(1.93 m)230 lb (104 kg)SoJupiter, FL
12 LHP Hunter Barco L/L6 ft 4 in(1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg)Fr Jacksonville, FL
21 INF Nick BlasucciR/R6 ft 3 in(1.91 m)210 lb (95 kg)Sr Fort Myers, FL
29 OF Austin BrinlingL/L5 ft 9 in(1.75 m)170 lb (77 kg)Fr Bradenton, FL
15 INF Jordan ButlerL/L6 ft 1 in(1.85 m)195 lb (88 kg)Jr Tampa, FL
16 LHP Ryan CabarcasL/L5 ft 11 in(1.8 m)160 lb (73 kg)Fr Pembroke Pines, FL
6 INF Kendrick CalilaoR/R6 ft 1 in(1.85 m)210 lb (95 kg)So Kissimmee, FL
37 RHP Nolan CrispR/R5 ft 9 in(1.75 m)185 lb (84 kg)So Locust Grove, GA
18 OF Brock EdgeL/L6 ft 0 in(1.83 m)190 lb (86 kg)Jr Lake City, FL
4 OF Jud Fabian R/L6 ft 2 in(1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg)So Ocala, FL
46 RHP Nick FicarrottaR/R6 ft 3 in(1.91 m)170 lb (77 kg)Fr Palm Harbor, FL
2 C Cal GreenfieldR/R6 ft 1 in(1.85 m)205 lb (93 kg)Jr Chicago, IL
11 INF Nathan Hickey L/R6 ft 0 in(1.83 m)205 lb (93 kg)FrJacksonville, FL
44 OF Austin LangworthyL/L5 ft 11 in(1.8 m)200 lb (91 kg)Sr Williston, FL
23 RHP Jack Leftwich R/R6 ft 4 in(1.93 m)220 lb (100 kg)Jr Orlando, FL
17 RHP David LuethjeR/R6 ft 5 in(1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg)So Vero Beach, FL
47 RHP Tommy Mace R/R6 ft 6 in(1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg)JrTampa, FL
52 INF Kirby McMullenR/R5 ft 11 in(1.8 m)200 lb (91 kg)SrOcala, FL
3 RHP Garrett Milchin  Cruz Roja.svg L/R6 ft 5 in(1.96 m)215 lb (98 kg)Jr Windermere, FL
30 RHP Hunter MinkR/R6 ft 2 in(1.88 m)200 lb (91 kg)FrPalm Harbor, FL
10 RHP Tyler NesbittR/R6 ft 3 in(1.91 m)180 lb (82 kg)Fr LaBelle, FL
27 INF Isaac NunezR/R6 ft 0 in(1.83 m)190 lb (86 kg)FrOrlando, FL
20 RHP Nick PogueR/R6 ft 5 in(1.96 m)235 lb (107 kg)So Melbourne, FL
28 C Matt PowellR/R6 ft 1 in(1.85 m)190 lb (86 kg)FrFort Myers, FL
24 INF Josh Rivera R/R6 ft 2 in(1.88 m)205 lb (93 kg)Fr Avon Park, FL
13 INF Andrew RobertsR/R6 ft 2 in(1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg)Fr Altamonte Springs, FL
14 RHP Christian Scott R/R6 ft 4 in(1.93 m)215 lb (98 kg)So Parkland, FL
9 INF Brady SmithR/R6 ft 1 in(1.85 m)200 lb (91 kg)Jr Niceville, FL
55 RHP Ben SpechtR/R6 ft 1 in(1.85 m)210 lb (95 kg)SoFort Myers, FL
5 RHP Brandon Sproat R/R6 ft 3 in(1.91 m)205 lb (93 kg)Fr Pace, FL
32 OF Tucker TalbottR/R6 ft 2 in(1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg)Fr Atlantic Beach, FL
33 LHP Trey Van Der WeideL/L6 ft 3 in(1.91 m)230 lb (104 kg)Sr Longwood, FL
1 OF Jacob Young R/R6 ft 0 in(1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg)So Ponte Vedra, FL
Head coach

7 Kevin O'Sullivan

Assistant coach(es)

36 Craig Bell
35 Chuck Jeroloman


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Cruz Roja.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: September 25, 2020

By position

2020 Florida Gators roster [5]
 

Pitchers

  • 3 - Garrett Milchin - Redshirt.svg Junior
  • 5 - Brandon Sproat - Freshman
  • 10 - Tyler Nesbitt - Freshman
  • 14 - Christian Scott - Sophomore
  • 16 - Ryan Cabarcas - Freshman
  • 17 - David Luethje - Sophomore
  • 20 - Nick Pogue - Sophomore
  • 23 - Jack Leftwich - Junior
  • 30 - Hunter Mink - Freshman
  • 33 - Trey Van Der Weide - Graduate Student
  • 37 - Nolan Crisp - Sophomore
  • 39 - Justin Alintoff - Junior
  • 46 - Nick Ficarrotta - Freshman
  • 47 - Tommy Mace - Junior
  • 55 - Ben Specht - Sophomore
 

Catchers

  • 2 - Cal Greenfield - Junior
  • 28 - Matt Powell - Freshman

Infielders

  • 13 - Andrew Roberts - Freshman
  • 21 - Nick Blasucci - Redshirt.svg Senior
  • 22 - Cory Acton - Sophomore
  • 24 - Josh Rivera - Freshman
  • 27 - Isaac Nunez - Freshman
  • 34 - Kris Armstrong - Sophomore
  • 52 - Kirby McMullen - Senior
 

Outfielders

  • 1 - Jacob Young - Sophomore
  • 4 - Jud Fabian - Sophomore
  • 18 - Brock Edge - Junior
  • 29 - Austin Brinling - Freshman
  • 32 - Tucker Talbott - Freshman

Utility

  • 6 - Kendrick Calilao (1B/OF) - Sophomore
  • 9 - Brady Smith (INF/C) - Junior
  • 11 - Nathan Hickey (C/INF) - Freshman
  • 12 - Hunter Barco (P/1B) - Freshman
  • 15 - Jordan Butler (P/1B) - Junior
  • 44 - Austin Langworthy (OF/P) - Senior
 

Coaching staff

2020 Florida Gators coaching staff [5]
NamePositionSeasons at
Florida
Alma Mater
Kevin O'Sullivan Head coach13 Virginia (1991)
Craig BellAssistant coach12 North Florida (1989)
Chuck JerolomanAssistant coach1 Auburn (2005)
Lars DavisVolunteer Assistant Coach6 Illinois (2007)
Matt den Dekker Student Assistant Coach1 Florida (2010)
Nolan Fontana Student Assistant Coach1 Florida (2013)

Schedule and results

Schedule

Legend
 Florida win
 Florida loss
 Postponement
BoldFlorida team member
2020 Florida Gators baseball game log
Regular season
Schedule Source: [9]

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

Florida defeated South Florida 15-5 in the last Saturday game played at McKethan Stadium FloridaVsSouthFloridaPanorama2019.jpg
Florida defeated South Florida 15–5 in the last Saturday game played at McKethan Stadium

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre1234Final
Coaches' [10] 1010*10*1 (26)1 (28)1 (28)
Baseball America [11] 421111*
Collegiate Baseball^ [12] 14142211
NCBWA [13] 851111
D1Baseball [14] 421111*

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

2020 MLB draft

The Gators did not have anyone selected in the 2020 MLB draft.

References

  1. "2020 Standings". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 "COVID-19 Updates". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College . Retrieved March 13, 2020.
  3. "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from".
  4. "Vanderbilt picked to win 2020 SEC Baseball Championship".
  5. 1 2 "Official Baseball Roster". Florida Gators. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  6. Dirlam, Zach (February 25, 2020). "Florida-Florida A&M Game Postponed". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College . Retrieved February 25, 2020.
  7. Dirlam, Zach (February 26, 2020). "Florida-Stetson Midweek Game Rescheduled". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College . Retrieved February 26, 2020.
  8. "Stetson, ASUN Cancel Athletics Events". gohatters.com. Stetson University . Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  9. floridagators.com
  10. Baseball Coaches Poll
  11. Baseball America College: Top 25
  12. NCAA DIV I Baseball Polls-Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
  13. NCBWA Division I poll
  14. D1 Baseball