Gators Baseball Transfer Named Northwoods League MVP

The infielder transferred in this summer from SEC foe Ole Miss. He rarely played in his one year with the Rebels, appearing in only 11 games last year. However, he held a batting average of .375, smacked two home runs and drove in eight runs 

Coming out of high school, Surowiec was rated as the No. 89 overall prospect and No. 7 third baseman in the country, according to Perfect Game. 

He is part of a big, but much-needed, offseason rebuild for the Gators. 

For starters, the Gators have brought in multiple arms to reinforce the bullpen. Those pitching on the mound that are making the move to Gainesville this summer are right-handed pitcher Cooper Walls, right-handed pitcher Ricky Reeth, right-handed pitcher Russell Sandefer and left-handed pitcher Ernesto Lugo-Canchola. 

On the other hand, Florida lost contributors Pierce Coppola, Jake Clemente, Alex Philpott and Frank Menendez, in addition to other depth bullpen pieces.

Then, while snagging commitments from outfielder Jaden Bastian and infielder Sam Miller, O’Sullivan decided to go heavy in the catcher market, grabbing backstops AJ Malzone, Karson Bowen and Cole Stanford while seeing Luke Heyman and Brody Donay sign with professional teams after being taken in the 2025 MLB Draft.

Luckily for Florida, though, they do still have tons of talent returning for 2025. They will have righties Liam Peterson and Aidan King in the weekend rotation. Taking up infield roles will be Cade Kurland and Brendan Lawson. Finally, roaming the outfield are Kyle Jones and Hayden Yost.  

Lawson has been having a strong summer, too. In 23 games with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League, he batted .333 with four home runs and 13 RBI. He also drew eight walks.

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