2026 Fall College Baseball Reset: Florida

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

2026 Fall College Baseball Reset: Florida

Originally posted on New Baseball Media
By Chris Studley | Last updated Oct 19, 2026 4:35 PM ET

While the 2026 Florida Gators season ended at the hands of Troy, a school that ultimately went to Omaha, there were positives. Although perhaps not everything was a positive, given that UF had high hopes last season. What does help the 2027 installment of the Gators is that many key players from last year are back. Plus, some help from the outside.

The Returnees

The sophomores were the stars this past year for the Florida Gators.

Ethan Surowiec came into the 2026 season with big expectations. Recruited from Ole Miss two summers ago and fresh off a 17-home run campaign in the Northwoods League, Surowiec wound up being a top offensive player for the Gators. The now-junior infielder led Florida with 78 hits, 12 of which were home runs.

The other was Brendan Lawson, a well-known commodity in Gainesville before 2026. Lawson was a standout freshman for the Gators during the 2025 campaign and was a force yet again last season. The Canadian walked 53 times and hit 19 home runs in his sophomore campaign.

There’s also another big junior to watch, redshirt junior Caden McDonald. McDonald is technically already on the board for 2026-27, as he hit a home run in Florida’s fall exhibition against USF earlier this month. But he was a very formidable slugger in 2026, as McDonald slugged over .700 last season with nine home runs and 18 extra-base hits in only 94 at-bats.

He’s also worked as a reliever over the past two seasons. McDonald induced a lot of swing-and-miss (31.4%) in the Cape Cod League as a pitcher.

Aside from those three, Landon Stripling is back for his senior season. Cash Strayer, Jacob Kendall, and Colton Schwarz, all freshmen on the 2026 Gators, also returned. Strayer saw the most time of the bunch, as he slashed .272/.375/.447 with nine extra-base hits.

The sophomore Strayer slashed .224/.353/.337 with five extra-base hits for Brewster in the CCBL this past summer. His 28.4% Whiff% was in the bottom 50% of the circuit.

As for the pitching, the “King” returns. More specifically, Aidan King.

King was a starter in the Gators’ rotation for 2025 and 2026. This past summer, he was one of three Florida pitchers to make the 2026 USA collegiate national team, joining Jackson Barberi and Joshua Whritenour.

The right-hander showed the power to pound the zone and punch them out over the last two years. In 2026, King struck out 92 and walked 19 over 87 innings.

Barberi has been a weapon over the past two seasons in the Gators’ bullpen. He struck out 55 over 37 innings, blowing away hitters with an upper-90s fastball and able to put them away in other ways.

(via New Baseball Media)

Whritenour, like Barberi, was another valuable piece in Kevin O’Sullivan’s bullpen. The now-sophomore right-hander struck out 49 over 36 innings.

Schuyler Sandford and Jackson Hoyt are also back for 2027. Both were freshmen last year.

The Newcomers

Much like other seasons, many Gators went pro after 2026, as Blake Cyr, Kyle Jones, Russell Sandefer, and Liam Peterson were all drafted this past July. Additionally, Cade Kurland transferred to rival LSU.

O’Sullivan did very well replenishing the roster, starting with sophomore Trey Morris.

Morris worked as both a reliever and starter for Oregon State last season. And had the left-hander stayed in Corvallis, he would have been a major block for that school. Instead, he’s now with the Gators after he posted a stellar 1.98 ERA and punched out 67 over 59 frames for the Beavers.

His fastball isn’t a hard one, as far as velocity is concerned. Morris was clocking in at the low 90s. But it checks boxes: carrying and cutting action, and can be played off it with the offspeed and slider.

(via New Baseball Media)

Additionally, Florida also added ex-Oregon State reliever Zach Edwards. Edwards, who boasted a hard fastball that can jump into the upper-90s, struck out 37 over 25.2 IP last season.

(via New Baseball Media)

You can add another notable reliever to the mix with Maddox McDougall from Jacksonville State. McDougall punched out 54 over 49 innings, posting a sub-3.00 ERA along the way for the Gamecocks of Jax State.

Drew Dickerson already made an impact in fall ball, as he homered twice against USF in an exhibition game. Dickerson hit well for the Oklahoma Sooners as a sophomore with 10 extra-base hits (four home runs) over 35 contests. However, he and other notable outfielders had trouble finding runway on the national title-winning Sooners.

Florida also replenished things behind the plate with Eddie Marshall and Jon Embury. Marshall hit 12 home runs as a freshman with Samford, while Embury hit a team-high 17 with FGCU. The latter batted .320 in the Cape this past summer. There was some swing-and-miss (29.9%).

UF’s roster also includes 14 freshmen. Nic Partridge and Minjae Seo are redshirt freshmen. Hard-throwing pitcher Brady Snow, plus Brady Harris and Braylen Montgomery, are among the notables from that list.

This article first appeared on New Baseball Media and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: