2021 Florida Gators baseball team

2021 Florida Gators baseball
Gainesville Regional, 0–2
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 25
Record	38–22 (17–13 SEC)
Head coach	Kevin O'Sullivan (14th season)
Assistant coaches	Craig Bell Chuck Jeroloman
Home stadium	Florida Ballpark
Seasons ←  2020 2022  →

2021 Southeastern Conference baseball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Eastern
No. 6 Tennessee  x‍‍‍y	20	–	10		.667			50	–	18		.735
No. 2 Vanderbilt  ‍‍‍y	19	–	10		.655			49	–	18		.731
Florida  ‍‍‍y	17	–	13		.567			38	–	22		.633
South Carolina  ‍‍‍y	16	–	14		.533			34	–	23		.596
Georgia  ‍‍‍	13	–	17		.433			31	–	25		.554
Kentucky  ‍‍‍	12	–	18		.400			29	–	23		.558
Missouri  ‍‍‍	8	–	22		.267			15	–	36		.294
Western
No. 5 Arkansas  x‍†‍‡‍y	22	–	8		.733			50	–	13		.794
No. 1 Mississippi State  ‍‍‍y	20	–	10		.667			50	–	18		.735
No. 13 Ole Miss  ‍‍‍y	18	–	12		.600			45	–	22		.672
No. 18 LSU  ‍‍‍y	13	–	17		.433			38	–	25		.603
Alabama  ‍‍‍y	12	–	17		.414			32	–	26		.552
Auburn  ‍‍‍	10	–	20		.333			25	–	27		.481
Texas A&M  ‍‍‍	9	–	21		.300			29	–	27		.518
x – Division champion † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 2021 [1] Rankings from D1Baseball

The 2021 Florida Gators baseball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of baseball during the 2021 college baseball season. Florida competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Home games were played at Florida Ballpark on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, in the first season at the ballpark. The team was coached by Kevin O'Sullivan in his fourteenth season as Florida's head coach. The Gators entered the season looking to return to the College World Series after an early regional exit from the 2019 NCAA tournament (no tournament held in 2020 due to COVID-19).

Entering the season as the unanimous No. 1 ranked team, the Gators were swiftly eliminated from their own regional after losing 5–3 to South Florida and 19–1 to South Alabama.

Previous season

The Gators finished the abridged 2020 season with a 16–1 record – highlighted by a 16–0 start – and did not play any conference games. They finished ranked No. 1 in all five major polls.

Personnel

Coaching staff

2021 Florida Gators coaching staff [2]
Name	Position	Seasons at Florida	Alma Mater
Kevin O'Sullivan	Head coach	14	Virginia (1991)
Craig Bell	Assistant coach	13	North Florida (1989)
Chuck Jeroloman	Assistant coach	2	Auburn (2005)
Lars Davis	Volunteer Assistant Coach	7	Illinois (2007)

Schedule

Legend
	Florida win
	Florida loss
	Postponement
Bold	Florida team member

2021 Florida Gators baseball game log
Regular season
February (6–2) Date Opponent Rank Stadium Site Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record SEC Record February 19 No. 21 Miami (FL) Rivalry No. 1 Florida Ballpark Gainesville, FL W 7–5 T. Mace (1–0) D. Federman (0–1) F. Aleman (1) 1,418 1–0 — February 20 No. 21 Miami (FL) Rivalry No. 1 Florida Ballpark L 9–1013 B. Wagner (1–0) J. Butler (0–1) None 1,583 1–1 — February 21 No. 21 Miami (FL) Rivalry No. 1 Florida Ballpark L 6–8 A. Arguellas (1–0) H. Barco (0–1) None 1,668 1–2 – February 23 at North Florida No. 7 Harmon Stadium Jacksonville, FL W 9–6 J. Butler (1–1) E. Jones (0–1) B. Specht (1) 125 2–2 – February 24 North Florida No. 7 Florida Ballpark W 8–3 C. Centala (1–0) M. McKinley (1–1) None 1,562 3–2 – February 26 Samford No. 7 Florida Ballpark W 8–4 T. Mace (2–0) S. Strickland (1–1) None 1,743 4–2 – February 27 Samford No. 7 Florida Ballpark W 18–2 J. Leftwich (1–0) J. McCord (0–1) None 1,770 5–2 – February 28 Samford No. 7 Florida Ballpark W 10–9 B. Sproat (1–0) C. Isbell (0–1) None 1,673 6–2 –
March (10–6) Date Opponent Rank Stadium Site Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record SEC Record March 3 No. 21 Florida Atlantic No. 6 Florida Ballpark L 2–310 M. Entenza (1–0) F. Aleman (0–1) None 1,626 6–3 – March 5 (1) Florida A&M No. 6 Florida Ballpark W 10–2 T. Mace (3–0) K. Coleman (0–2) None 1,510 7–3 – March 5 (2) [a] Florida A&M No. 6 Florida Ballpark W 5–1 J. Leftwich (2–0) K. Fox (0–1) None 1,724 8–3 – March 7 Florida A&M No. 6 Florida Ballpark W 8–0 H. Barco (1–1) J. Hancock (0–3) None 1,865 9–3 – March 9 Georgia State No. 5 Florida Ballpark W 5–1 G. Milchin (1–0) S. Clark (0–1) None 1,657 10–3 – March 10 Stetson No. 5 Florida Ballpark W 10–7 B. Sproat (2–0) N. Chiseri (0–1) None 1,680 11–3 – March 12 Jacksonville No. 5 Florida Ballpark L 9–10 T. Santana (2–2) C. Scott (0–1) J. McCoy (1) 1,769 11–4 – March 13 Jacksonville No. 5 Florida Ballpark W 9–0 J. Leftwich (3–0) M. Cassala (1–2) B. Sproat (1) 2,052 12–4 – March 14 Jacksonville No. 5 Florida Ballpark W 5–2 H. Barco (2–1) M. Adams (1–1) F. Aleman (2) 1,844 13–4 – March 16 at Florida State Rivalry No. 5 Dick Howser Stadium Tallahassee, FL L 2–10 C. Haney (2–0) G. Milchin (1–1) None 1,581 13–5 – March 18 Texas A&M No. 5 Florida Ballpark W 13–4 T. Mace (4–0) D. Saenz (3–2) None 1,773 14–5 1–0 March 19 Texas A&M No. 5 Florida Ballpark W 3–1 J. Leftwich (4–0) C. Jozwiak (1–2) C. Scott (1) 1,993 15–5 2–0 March 20 Texas A&M No. 5 Florida Ballpark W 8–4 H. Barco (3–1) J. Childress (2–2) F. Aleman (3) 2,078 16–5 3–0 March 26 at No. 25 South Carolina No. 5 Founders Park Columbia, SC L 8–914 J. Bosnic (2–1) B. Specht (0–1) None 1,938 16–6 3–1 March 27 at No. 25 South Carolina No. 5 Founders Park L 1–4 B. Jordan (2–2) J. Leftwich (4–1) B. Kerry (2) 1,938 16–7 3–2 March 28 at No. 25 South Carolina No. 5 Founders Park L 5–8 W. Sanders (4–1) H. Barco (3–2) None 1,938 16–8 3–3 March 30 vs. No. 18 Florida State Rivalry No. 15 121 Financial Park Jacksonville, FL Canceled (COVID-19 pandemic) [3] March 30 Mercer No. 15 Florida Ballpark Canceled (inclement weather) [4] ^[a] Rescheduled from March 6 due to the threat of rain. [5]
April (12–5) Date Opponent Rank Stadium Site Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record SEC Record April 1 No. 3 Ole Miss No. 15 Florida Ballpark W 4–1 F. Aleman (1–1) [b] G. Hoglund (3–1) T. Mace (1) [b] 2,335 17–8 4–3 April 2 No. 3 Ole Miss No. 15 Florida Ballpark L 2–8 D. McDaniel (4–0) J. Leftwich (4–2) T. Broadway (7) 2,009 17–9 4–4 April 3 No. 3 Ole Miss No. 15 Florida Ballpark W 6–5 H. Barco (4–2) D. Diamond (3–3) R. Cabarcas (1) 2,894 18–9 5–4 April 6 Stetson No. 12 Florida Ballpark W 7–6 G. Milchin (2–1) J. Gonzalez (2–1) F. Aleman (4) 2,061 19–9 – April 7 Florida A&M No. 12 Florida Ballpark W 10–07 C. Centala (2–0) K. Wilson (1–4) None 2,042 20–9 – April 9 at No. 6 Tennessee No. 12 Lindsey Nelson Stadium Knoxville, TN L 4–6 C. Dallas (5–0) C. Scott (0–2) S. Hunley (4) 1,477 20–10 5–5 April 10 at No. 6 Tennessee No. 12 Lindsey Nelson Stadium L 4–5 M. McLaughlin (2–0) T. Van Der Weide (0–1) K. Connell (1) 1,430 20–11 5–6 April 11 at No. 6 Tennessee No. 12 Lindsey Nelson Stadium W 7–6 C. Scott (1–2) S. Hunley (4–2) None 1,537 21–11 6–6 April 13 No. 24 Florida State Rivalry No. 18 Florida Ballpark W 3–210 J. Leftwich (5–2) C. Kwiatkowski (1–2) None 2,972 22–11 – April 16 Missouri No. 18 Florida Ballpark W 8–5 C. Scott (2–2) S. Halvorsen (3–2) None 2,102 23–11 7–6 April 17 (1) Missouri No. 18 Florida Ballpark W 8–6 J. Leftwich (6–2) L. Veinbergs (1–1) None 2,628 24–11 8–6 April 17 (2) [c] Missouri No. 18 Florida Ballpark W 6–4 H. Barco (5–2) Z. Hise (0–5) T. Van Der Weide (1) 2,236 25–11 9–6 April 20 at Jacksonville No. 15 John Sessions Stadium Jacksonville, FL W 8–7 T. Van Der Weide (1–1) J. Carver (1–2) J. Carrion (1) 809 26–11 – April 23 at Auburn No. 15 Plainsman Park Auburn, AL W 4–2 C. Scott (3–2) T. Bright (3–4) J. Leftwich (1) 1,551 27–11 10–6 April 24 at Auburn No. 15 Plainsman Park Postponed (rain)Makeup: April 25 as a 7-inning doubleheader [6] April 25 (1) at Auburn No. 15 Plainsman Park L 8–107 J. Gonzalez (1–3) J. Leftwich (6–3) W. Morrison (1) 1,137 27–12 10–7 April 25 (2) at Auburn No. 15 Plainsman Park W 6–47 H. Barco (6–2) M. Barnett (2–3) T. Van Der Weide (2) 1,535 28–12 11–7 April 30 No. 2 Vanderbilt No. 14 Florida Ballpark L 7–11 K. Rocker (10–1) F. Aleman (1–2) None 3,341 28–13 11–8 ^[b] The boxscore incorrectly lists Aleman as the winning pitcher and Mace as having earned a save. [7] According to Rule 10, Section 25, a starting pitcher must pitch for at least five innings to receive credit as the winning pitcher, and per Section 26, a save may not be credited to a winning pitcher. [8] Aleman, the starting pitcher, pitched for the first four innings, and Mace for the remaining five. Therefore, Mace should have been credited as the winning pitcher. ^[c] Rescheduled from April 18 due to the threat of rain. [9]
May (7–6) Date Opponent Rank Stadium Site Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record SEC Record May 1 No. 2 Vanderbilt No. 14 Florida Ballpark W 11–8 T. Mace (5–0) J. Leiter (7–2) None 3,390 29–13 12–8 May 2 No. 2 Vanderbilt No. 14 Florida Ballpark W 5–3 H. Barco (7–2) C. McElvain (3–1) J. Leftwich (2) 2,986 30–13 13–8 May 4 Stetson No. 10 Florida Ballpark W 9–6 T. Van Der Weide (2–1) N. Long (0–1) C. Scott (2) 2,222 31–13 – May 6 at Kentucky No. 10 Kentucky Proud Park Lexington, KY L 5–7 D. Harper (3–0) T. Van Der Weide (2–2) None 1,161 31–14 13–9 May 7 at Kentucky No. 10 Kentucky Proud Park W 8–5 C. Scott (3–3) A. Strickland (1–1) J. Leftwich (3) 1,598 32–14 14–9 May 8 at Kentucky No. 10 Kentucky Proud Park W 9–2 H. Barco (8–2) Z. Lee (4–5) J. Leftwich (4) 1,406 33–14 15–9 May 11 at Stetson No. 9 Conrad Park DeLand, FL L 1–6 D. Garcia (3–1) B. Specht (0–2) None 425 33–15 – May 14 Georgia No. 9 Florida Ballpark W 4–3 J. Leftwich (7–3) B. Harris (4–1) None 3,009 34–15 16–9 May 15 Georgia No. 9 Florida Ballpark W 9–2 H. Barco (9–2) J. Woods (3–1) None 3,471 35–15 17–9 May 16 Georgia No. 9 Florida Ballpark L 1–6 J. Cannon (3–2) F. Aleman (1–3) None 2,715 35–16 17–10 May 20 at No. 1 Arkansas No. 9 Baum–Walker Stadium Fayetteville, AR L 1–6 P. Wicklander (5–1) T. Mace (5–1) K. Kopps (8) 11,084 35–17 17–11 May 21 at No. 1 Arkansas No. 9 Baum–Walker Stadium L 3–4 K. Kopps (10–0) J. Leftwich (7–4) None 11,084 35–18 17–12 May 22 at No. 1 Arkansas No. 9 Baum–Walker Stadium L 3–9 Z. Vermillion (3–0) F. Aleman (1–4) None 11,084 35–19 17–13
Postseason
SEC Tournament (3–1) Date Opponent Rank Stadium Site Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record SECT Record May 25 vs. (11) Kentucky First Round No. 13 (6) Hoover Metropolitan Stadium Hoover, AL W 4–1 T. Mace (6–1) S. Harney (3–2) J. Leftwich (5) 3,499 36–19 1–0 May 26 vs. No. 8 (3) Mississippi State Second Round No. 13 (6) Hoover Metropolitan Stadium W 13–17 H. Barco (10–2) B. Smith (4–3) None 5,235 37–19 2–0 May 27 vs. (10) Alabama Third Round No. 13 (6) Hoover Metropolitan Stadium W 7–2 F. Aleman (2–4) D. Smith (1–8) None 8,625 38–19 3–0 May 29 vs. No. 4 (2) Tennessee Semifinals No. 13 (6) Hoover Metropolitan Stadium L 0–4 C. Sewell (4–1) B. Sproat (2–1) None 8,735 38–20 3–1
NCAA tournament: Gainesville Regional (0–2) Date Opponent Rank Stadium Site Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall Record Regional Record June 4 (4) South Florida First round No. 14 (1) Florida Ballpark L 3–5 D. Burns (5–5) T. Mace (6–2) O. Kerkering (5) 3,581 38–21 0–1 June 5 (3) South Alabama First round elimination game No. 14 (1) Florida Ballpark L 1–19 M. Smith (7–1) H. Barco (10–3) None 3,673 38–22 0–2

Schedule Source: ^[10]

*Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll. Parentheses indicate tournament seedings.

Record vs. conference opponents

Last two do not qualify for conf. tourn. Blank are not scheduled. Blue are home games, otherwise away.

2021 SEC baseball records v t e Source: 2021 SEC baseball game results, 2021 SEC baseball schedule
Team	W–L	ALA	ARK	AUB	FLA	UGA	KEN	LSU	MSU	MIZZ	MISS	SCAR	TENN	TAMU	VAN	Team	Div	SR	SW
ALA	12–17		1–2	2–1	.	.	1–2	1–2	0–3	3–0	0–3	.	1–2	3–0	0–2	ALA	W5	3–7	2–2
ARK	22–8	2–1		2–1	3–0	2–1	.	2–1	3–0	.	2–1	2–1	2–1	2–1	.	ARK	W1	10–0	2–0
AUB	10–20	1–2	1–2		1–2	2–1	0–3	1–2	0–3	2–1	0–3	.	.	2–1	.	AUB	W6	3–7	0–3
FLA	17–13	.	0–3	2–1		2–1	2–1	.	.	3–0	2–1	0–3	1–2	3–0	2–1	FLA	E3	7–3	2–2
UGA	13–17	.	1–2	1–2	1–2		2–1	.	.	2–1	1–2	1–2	1–2	1–2	2–1	UGA	E5	3–7	0–0
KEN	12–18	2–1	.	3–0	1–2	1–2		1–2	0–3	2–1	.	0–3	1–2	.	1–2	KEN	E6	3–7	1–2
LSU	13–17	2–1	1–2	2–1	.	.	2–1		1–2	.	2–1	1–2	0–3	2–1	0–3	LSU	W4	5–5	0–2
MSU	20–10	3–0	0–3	3–0	.	.	3–0	2–1		1–2	2–1	2–1	.	3–0	1–2	MSU	W2	7–3	4–1
MIZZ	8–22	0–3	.	1–2	0–3	1–2	1–2	.	2–1		.	1–2	0–3	2–1	0–3	MIZZ	E7	2–8	0–4
MISS	18–12	3–0	1–2	3–0	1–2	2–1	.	1–2	1–2	.		3–0	.	1–2	2–1	MISS	W3	5–5	3–0
SCAR	16–14	.	1–2	.	3–0	2–1	3–0	2–1	1–2	2–1	0–3		1–2	.	1–2	SCAR	E4	5–5	2–1
TENN	20–10	2–1	1–2	.	2–1	2–1	2–1	3–0	.	3–0	.	2–1		2–1	1–2	TENN	E1	8–2	2–0
TAMU	9–21	0–3	1–2	1–2	0–3	2–1	.	1–2	0–3	1–2	2–1	.	1–2		.	TAMU	W7	2–8	0–3
VAN	19–10	2–0	.	.	1–2	1–2	2–1	3–0	2–1	3–0	1–2	2–1	2–1	.		VAN	E2	7–3	2–0
Team	W–L	ALA	ARK	AUB	FLA	UGA	KEN	LSU	MSU	MIZZ	MISS	SCAR	TENN	TAMU	VAN	Team	Div	SR	SW

Updated for entire regular season.

Rankings

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I baseball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
Coaches' [11]	1 (24)	1 (24)*	5	5	5	5 (2)	13	11	15	14	12	9	7	8	13	13	13*	13*	25
Baseball America [12]	1	7	7	6	6	5	14	10	19	18	16	10	9	8	12	12	12*	12*	19
Collegiate Baseball^ [13]	1	3	3	3	3	2	10	9	14	12	9	7	7	7	12	12	—	—	—
NCBWA† [14]	1	7	4	4	6	6	13	11	16	10	8	8	8	12	13	13	25	25*	23
D1Baseball [15]	1	7	6	5	5	5	15	12	18	15	14	10	9	9	13	14	14*	14*	—

^ 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.

2021 MLB draft

Player	Position	Round	Overall	MLB Team
Jud Fabian	OF	2	40	Boston Red Sox
Tommy Mace	RHP	B	69	Cleveland Indians
Nathan Hickey	C	5	136	Boston Red Sox
Christian Scott	RHP	5	142	New York Mets
Jack Leftwich	RHP	7	216	Cleveland Indians
Franco Aleman	RHP	10	306	Cleveland Indians

Fabian did not sign with the Red Sox and returned to Florida.

References

1. "2021 SEC Baseball Standings". secsports.com. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
2. "Official Baseball Roster". Florida Gators. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
3. Barney, Justin; Pepper, Cole (January 21, 2021). "Florida, Florida State baseball game in Jacksonville off until 2022". news4jax.com. WJXT News4Jax . Retrieved January 23, 2021.
4. Dirlam, Zachary (March 30, 2021). "Florida Baseball Against Mercer Tuesday Night is Canceled". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College . Retrieved March 30, 2021.
5. Dirlam, Zachary (March 5, 2021). "Florida Baseball Announces Schedule Change for Florida A&M Series". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College . Retrieved March 5, 2021.
6. Parler, Denver (April 24, 2021). "Weather Postpones Saturday's Baseball Game at Auburn". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College . Retrieved April 24, 2021.
7. "Ole Miss Game 1 Boxscore". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. April 1, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
8. NCAA 2021 and 2022 Baseball Rules Book
9. Parler, Denver (April 17, 2021). "Gators Down Missouri in Game 1". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College . Retrieved April 17, 2021.
10. floridagators.com
11. Baseball Coaches Poll
12. Baseball America College: Top 25
13. NCAA DIV I Baseball Polls-Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
14. NCBWA Division I poll
15. D1 Baseball