After inspired College World Series run, Florida baseball will look to regroup in 2025 (2024)

OMAHA, Neb. — The long road to Omaha ended abruptly for Florida baseball as the Gators were shut out for the first time in 144 games, losing 6-0 to Texas A&M on Wednesday night in a College World Series elimination game.

That the Florida Gators reached the CWS and advanced as one of the last three teams standing in the field seemed unthinkable three weeks ago, when UF, at 28-27, was sweating out the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Memorial Day to see if it would be included in the Field of 64.

"This team never quit," Florida baseball coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "There's a lot of people that said a lot of negative things about us this year and you know, we kind of deserved it at times. We didn't play as well as we should. But these guys stayed the course."

Florida needed to win 2 of 3 games in its final series of the regular season at Georgia just to go 13-17 in SEC play to stay above .500. Pitching and timely hitting were big issues. A frontline starter failed to emerge for the Gators, as Florida ranked last in the SEC in earned-run average at 6.05. Florida junior pitcher Brandon Neely bounced from closer to the starting rotation back to closer, and his ability to close multiple innings helped fuel UF's postseason run.

At the plate, Florida socked 133 home runs, ranking fourth in Division 1. But the Gators had a hard time scoring runs without aid of the longball throughout the season. Florida went 2 for 23 with runners in scoring position in its two losses to Texas A&M in the CWS.

Despite its shortcomings, Florida showed some moxie, winning five straight NCAA Tournament elimination games before falling to TAMU on Wednesday night. Still, at 36-30, Florida could not get as far as it did last season, when it lost in the CWS Finals in three games to LSU.

"We're a resilient group," Florida left fielder Tyler Shelnut said. "And like I said last year, it's heartbreaking, any time you lose a game to end the year, especially in Omaha, it's going to be heartbreaking. I'm just super proud of my teammates and the rest of this group who pushed through a lot to get here, I mean, a lot. This whole year was pretty hard on all of us. So being here was a huge accomplishment."

Looking ahead to Florida baseball for 2025

Questions remain as to whether Florida can make a third straight run to the College World Series in 2025. First and foremost will come in how UF can replace the production of two-way star Jac Caglianone, who led UF in batting average (.419), homers (35) and RBIs (72), while pitching to a 5-2 record and 4.76 ERA.

Caglianone is projected as the number three overall pick in next month's amateur draft. Shortstop Colby Shelton (.254, 20 HR, 56 RBIs) and Neely (3-4, 5.13 ERA, 5 saves) are two more players projected within the top five rounds of next month's draft who will likely leave. Shelnut (.261, 16 homers, 52 RBIs) is another solid veteran bat who will likely move on to the draft, along with relief pitcher Fisher Jameson (5-0, 3.99 ERA, 3 saves).

Junior outfielder Ty Evans (.316, 13 home runs, 43 RBIs) could opt to return for one more year after his season was cut short by a broken wrist in May during a series against Kentucky. If Evans returns, it will provide a boost to UF's lineup.

Key position players expected to be back include catcher/first baseman Luke Heyman (.246, 16 homers, 52 RBIs), second baseman Cade Kurland (.245, 14 homers, 44 RBIs) and catcher/designated hitter Brody Donay (.246, 14 homers, 32 RBIs), who belted two home runs in UF's 15-4 CWS win over Kentucky on Wednesday. Freshman outfielder Hayden Yost (.284, 0 home runs, 4 RBIs) showed promise before suffering a torn ACL in May and could figure into UF's outfield plans next season, along with sophom*ore Ashton Wilson (.279, 2 homers, 16 RBIs), who stepped up and produced in big moments throughout the postseason.

Florida has already dipped into the transfer portal for positional talent, landing commitments from Miami infielder Blake Cyr, Texas Tech infielder Landon Stripling, Stetson outfielder Kyle Jones and Jacksonville infielder Justin Nadeau.

Can Florida baseball fix its pitching issues?

A big issue for Florida's pitching staff throughout the season was command. Florida walked 305 batters in 2024, an average of 4.6 per game.

Freshman righty Liam Peterson (3-6, 6.43 ERA) walked 44 batters in 63 innings, including four of the five batters he faced on Wednesday night against Texas A&M, lasting just 1/3 of an inning. If Peterson returns next season, he will need to learn to locate his off-speed pitches to complement his 96 mile per hour fastball.

Lefty Pierce Coppola (1-4, 8.75 ERA) could emerge as an important starter for UF as well if he can stay healthy throughout the offseason. At 6-foot-8, Coppola is an imposing pitcher on the mound with a good fastball/slider mix. Lefty Cade Fisher (4-3, 7.13 ERA) will seek a bounce back season after struggling in a starting role.

O'Sullivan was forced to use a number of freshman arms who took their lumps in mid-week games but grew threw the course of the season. Righty Luke McNeillie (4-6, 7.07 ERA, 2 saves) proved to be better out of the bullpen than as a starter and could be in line to replace Neely as closer next season. Righty Jake Clemente (2-0, 5.13 ERA), lefty Frank Menendez (1-0, 4.96 ERA), lefty Robert Satin (1-0, 4.00) and righty Alex Philpott (2-2, 6.90 ERA) are four more freshmen pitchers who could see their roles increase next season.

"Hopefully it's like a normal progression that you see from year to year," O'Sullivan said. "We have got a couple freshmen that have grown up, so to speak, but there's some more growth that has to happen."