After 256 days, the wait is finally over.
The 2023 Florida Gators baseball campaign hits the ground running Friday night with a three-game series against the Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Condron Ballpark.
The beginning of the non-conference slate should give the Gators plenty of opportunities to put last season’s ending behind them. Florida bowed out of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament in the Gainesville regional final last June against Oklahoma.
UF needed to defeat the Sooners twice to advance to the Super Regional. The Gators were victorious in the first contest before they dropped the final game of the season in a 5-4 heartbreaker.
Despite the disappointing ending, Florida finished last year’s regular season strong after floundering early on. The Gators posted a 6-12 Southeastern Conference record before they won nine of the final 12 games in conference play to finish 15-15 and 42-24 overall.
Florida also made a deep run in the SEC tournament and lost in the championship game to Tennessee.
The Gators will debut as the No. 7-ranked team in college baseball, per D1Baseball. Junior Brandon Sproat will get the ball as Florida’s Friday night starter, an honor Hunter Barco received last season. Southern Mississippi transfer Hurston Waldrep is expected to make his Gators debut Saturday night.
While the top two spots in the starting rotation were forgone conclusions, the Sunday starter was less so. UF head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, who returns for his 16th season at the helm, will give left-hander Jac Caglianone the opportunity to impress in the series finale. Sunday’s game will be Caglianone’s first collegiate pitching appearance.
The sophomore two-way player was the designated hitter for the last 27 games of the 2022 season but received time on the mound and at first base during the Gators’ preseason scrimmages.
The Florida faithful can look forward to the return of junior Wyatt Langford. The Trenton, Florida, native led the team and conference with 26 home runs in a breakout sophomore season. He will be at the forefront of a Florida outfield looking for players to step up in the absence of Major League Baseball draftees Jud Fabian and Sterlin Thompson.
Other notable offensive players to return include infielders Josh Rivera and Colby Halter, as well as All-SEC catcher BT Riopelle.
Florida fared well in non-conference play in 2022, going 20-5. The first task is a Charleston Southern squad that was picked to finish seventh out of 10 teams in the Big South Preseason Poll.
This weekend is the first matchup between the pair since 2010, with Florida leading the all-time series 11-2.
The Buccaneers are coming off a season where they finished 24-30 overall and 13-11 in the Big South. Charleston head coach Marc MacMillan tabbed righty Zac Robinson to face Sproat Friday. Southpaw Ryan Gleason and right-hander Evan Truitt are slated to start Saturday and Sunday.
First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. All three games will be streamed on SEC Network+.
Contact Ethan Eibe at eeibe@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @EthanEibe.
Ethan Eibe is a second-year UF sports media major and covers Gators baseball for The Alligator. Outside of his writing, Ethan is a play-by-play broadcaster for UF student radio and has spent two summers announcing professional baseball with the Alpine Cowboys. He is a long-suffering Miami Marlins fan.
