Gators Baseball Miss Out on Hosting a Regional

The NCAA on Sunday night revealed the 16 regional hosts in this year’s postseason, and the Florida Gators were not among those listed. 

Florida pushed to host a regional after winning six straight SEC series, including wins over Texas on the road and Arkansas at home. Additionally, from April 8 to May 17, the Gators went 17-5. 

However, as good as this stretch was, what happened before it is what cost them their spot as a top 16 national seed. 

The Gators started 1-11 in the conference, which was the worst start in program history in the SEC. They were swept by Tennessee, Georgia and Vanderbilt while also grabbing just one win versus Ole Miss. 

This start caught the entire world by surprise as the Gators entered the year near the top 10 in most rankings. 

There is one big detail when analyzing the Gators’ start, though. UF head coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s squad was dealt several season-ending injuries at the beginning of the season. 

He lost starting center fielder Kyle Jones, starting second baseman Cade Kurland and left-handed reliever Frank Menendez for the season before conference play even hit. Then, he had to make things work without his No. 2 pitcher, Pierce Coppola, for a stretch of the season after he was removed from his start against Miami just a couple of innings in. 

More recently, the Gators also lost shortstop Colby Shelton to a hamate injury. However, Shelton is expected to return to the lineup for the NCAA Tournament. They lost him in the series against Arkansas, but Florida still managed to go 4-2 versus Texas and Alabama.

If the Gators were able to carry the momentum they had at the end of the regular season into the SEC Tournament, things may have gone differently. Despite cruising past South Carolina in the first round, they stumbled against Ole Miss in the following round, which was also vying for one of the final hosting spots. In the end, Ole Miss made a deep push in the tournament after beating Florida and came out hosting a regional. 

Florida will find out which regional spot they are heading to on Monday. The NCAA Baseball selection show will be aired on ESPN2 at noon ET. 

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