Last Spring, only the Florida track and field team brought a title home to Gainesville. But expectations are higher for some teams this season, and with several sports about to start up, staff writers Patrick Pinak, Ian Cohen, Matt Brannon and Ethan Bauer debate which UF team will have the most success this Spring season.
Pinak: Softball should return to dominance
Let’s be honest: 2016 was a fluke.
At 56-5, the Gators were the clear-cut No. 1 team in the nation and looked poised to run through the NCAA Tournament and repeat as National Champions for a third straight year.
Until they flopped against Georgia.
The Bulldogs, down to their last strike in the second of a best-of-three Super Regional series, used a pinch-hit walk-off homer to knock UF out of the NCAA Tournament.
The unthinkable took place: Powerhouse Florida lost two straight and missed the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2012.
But this season will feature a different fate.
Just why, exactly? Pitching.
The trio of Aleshia Ocasio, Delanie Gourley and Kelly Barnhill all return and will almost surely dominate the way they did in 2016.
Ocasio (.77) and Gourley (.80) finished with two of the top three ERAs in the nation, and Barnhill (1.36) followed closely behind at the No. 11 spot. Florida nearly joined FSU’s 1993 squad as the only team in NCAA history to finish the season with three pitchers in the top 10.
But the success won’t all come from the circle.
At the plate, Florida also returns the bash sisters: Kayli Kvistad and Amanda Lorenz.
The two lefties powered UF all season, combining to hit .388 with 19 homers and 108 RBIs.
Despite losing key offensive weapons in Kelsey Stewart and Kirsti Merritt, Florida should score enough to once again earn a WCWS berth.
Now go take home the trophy, Tim Walton.
Cohen: The baseball team is due for a national championship
It’s difficult to argue against Florida baseball.
Yes, the Gators lost two of their starting pitchers — Logan Shore and A.J. Puk — to the MLB Draft last year.
But if there has been one constant under coach Kevin O’Sullivan and UF baseball over the last several years, it’s talented arms. And, this year, UF has plenty of ammunition to reload for a deep postseason run.
Junior Alex Faedo, Baseball America’s No. 1 college draft prospect, will likely be UF’s Friday night starter. He’s backed by a bunch of young, talented arms in UF’s bullpen, including sophomores Jackson Kowar and Brady Singer, who will undoubtedly see their pitch count increase this season.
Meanwhile, Florida’s lineup returns some experienced starters, including former freshman All-American JJ Schwarz and 2016 All-SEC Second Team members Dalton Guthrie and Mike Rivera, to name a few.
And, as is usually the case for Florida baseball, a few freshmen will make their names known during the regular season. According to PerfectGame.org, UF’s incoming 2017 class is the second best in the nation, with seven top-100 prospects.
Finally, one last reason has me believing that the baseball team could go further than any other UF team in the Spring: the fact that it has never won a national championship.
The Gators have made it to the College World Series 10 times, including the last two years, and have finished as the runner-up twice.
They’re due.
Brannon: New year, new arena, new chance for Gators in March Madness
When point guard Kasey Hill was a freshman, the Gators basketball squad was UF’s premier sports team.
They ripped off a 30-game win streak.
They took the court against powerhouse Kentucky three times, and three times they won.
They fought through four March Madness matchups and earned a spot in the Final Four.
But now Hill is a senior, and he hasn’t been back to the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Mike White and the Gators can change that in 2017.
Don’t let their No. 23 ranking or 13-3 record fool you. Florida is one of the best teams in the country.
The NCAA’s RPI rankings — which take home vs. away games and strength of schedule into account — have the Gators ranked third in the country and rightly so.
All three of Florida’s losses have come against AP Top-10 teams.
Losses to No. 5 Gonzaga and No. 7 Duke on neutral courts and a defeat in Tallahassee against No. 9 Florida State are the only blemishes on an otherwise impressive record.
And a handful of Gators have contributed to Florida’s most explosive offense since 2012.
SEC Player of the Week KeVaughn Allen is leading UF with 14.7 points per game and is shooting 42.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Junior Devin Robinson has been a consistent contributor for the Gators, scoring in double figures in eight of UF’s last 10 games.
Canyon Barry, son of Hall of Famer Rick Barry, has been a sparkplug off the bench and is averaging 12.3 points and shooting 52 percent from the field through three SEC games.
And Justin Leon, labeled the team’s “mad dog” by coach Mike White, is the SEC’s fourth-best three-point shooter, converting on 45.5 percent of his attempts from deep.
But offense isn’t even the Gators’ strong suit.
Only two SEC teams have allowed fewer points than the Gators (66.5 per game).
Defensive prowess, offensive weapons and a battle-tested team are the perfect ingredients for a potent punch at the Big Dance.
So while Florida’s baseball, softball and track squads are perennial NCAA title contenders, the basketball team will be waiting in wings of the O’Connell Center, ready to showcase its squad on a national stage.
Bauer: Men’s track team can take it home again
Florida’s track and field team is already making headlines in 2017.
Grant Holloway, a freshman from Chesapeake, Virginia, debuted for the Gators by winning the 300-meter sprint with a time of 32.80 — the third-fastest time in collegiate history — over the weekend at Clemson’s Orange and Purple Classic.
Holloway also secured the 60-meter hurdles title with a nation-leading time of 7.63, earning him USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week recognition.
Fellow freshman Clayton Brown also grabbed SEC Field Athlete of the Week honors.
And freshmen aside, Florida returns 400-meter hurdle national champion Eric Futch and runner-up TJ Holmes, along with standout sprinters Kunle Fasasi and Ryan Clark as well as talented thrower Anders Eriksson.
Couple them with the freshmen who have already made an impact and this isn’t a tough question. The Florida track team won it all at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships and it has the pieces to do so again.
Especially since coach Mike Holloway has been at the helm for 15 years, leading his men’s team to six national titles during that time.
He knows what to do, and with the high-caliber athletes at his disposal, he should be able to do it again.
Alex Faedo pitches during Florida's 10-4 loss to Mississippi State on April 9, 2016, at McKethan Stadium.
