2018 Florida Gators baseball team

The 2018 Florida Gators baseball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of baseball during the 2018 college baseball season. The Gators competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They played their home games at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The team was coached by Kevin O'Sullivan in his eleventh season as Florida head coach. The Gators entered the season as the defending national champions, having defeated LSU two games to none in the championship series of the 2017 College World Series.

2018 Florida Gators baseball
SEC regular season champions
Gainesville Regional champions
Gainesville Super Regional champions
College World Series, 2–2
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
CBNo. 3
2018 record49–21 (20–10 SEC)
Head coachKevin O'Sullivan (11th year)
Assistant coachCraig Bell (11th year)
Brad Weitzel (11th year)
Home stadiumAlfred A. McKethan Stadium
2018 Southeastern Conference baseball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
East Division
No. 3 Florida  x‍†‍‍y 20–10 .667  49–21 .700
No. 20 Georgia  ‍‍‍y 18–12 .600  39–21 .650
No. 12 South Carolina ‍‍‍y 17–13 .567  37–26 .587
No. 16 Vanderbilt  ‍‍‍y 16–14 .533  35–27 .565
Kentucky  ‍‍‍ 13–17 .433  34–22 .607
Missouri  ‍‍‍ 12–18 .400  34–22 .607
Tennessee  ‍‍‍ 12–18 .400  29–27 .518
West Division
No. 19 Ole Miss  x‍‍‡‍y 18–12 .600  48–18 .727
No. 2 Arkansas  x‍‍‍y 18–12 .600  48–21 .696
No. 15 Auburn  ‍‍‍y 15–15 .500  43–23 .652
LSU  ‍‍‍y 15–15 .500  39–27 .591
No. 4 Mississippi State  ‍‍‍y 15–15 .500  39–29 .574
Texas A&M  ‍‍‍y 13–17 .433  40–22 .645
Alabama  ‍‍‍ 8–22 .267  27–29 .482
x – Division champion
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
Rankings from Collegiate Baseball
Florida faces Florida State in front of a sell-out crowd at McKethan Stadium

Roster

By player
2018 Florida Gators baseball team
PlayersCoaches
#Pos.NameBats/ThrowsHeightWeightYearHome town
35 LHP Andrew Baker L/L 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Haines City, FL
32 OF Keenan Bell L/L 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Jacksonville, FL
21 RHP Nick Blasucci  R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 197 lb (89 kg) Jr Fort Myers, FL
15 LHP Jordan Butler L/L 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 173 lb (78 kg) Fr Tampa, FL
17 RHP Michael Byrne R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Orlando, FL
1 RHP Connor Churchill R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Fr Palm Harbor, FL
14 INF Jose Ciccarello R/R 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 176 lb (80 kg) Fr Tampa, FL
16 OF Wil Dalton R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 187 lb (85 kg) So Spring Hill, TN
18 RHP Tyler Dyson R/R 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Bradenton, FL
30 RHP Felix Garcia R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Jr Miami, FL
11 C Jonah Girand R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Jr Winter Park, FL
10 LHP Colton Gordon L/L 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Bradenton, FL
2 C Cal Greenfield R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Fr Chicago, IL
26 LHP Nick Horvath R/L 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 201 lb (91 kg) Sr Jupiter, FL
6 INF Jonathan India R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Coral Springs, FL
37 RHP Jackson Kowar R/R 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Charlotte, NC
44 OF Austin Langworthy L/L 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 194 lb (88 kg) So Williston, FL
23 RHP Jack Leftwich R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Fr Orlando, FL
8 INF Deacon Liput L/R 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Oviedo, FL
34 RHP Nick Long R/R 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Sarasota, FL
47 RHP Tommy Mace R/R 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Fr Tampa, FL
27 OF Nelson Maldonado R/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Tampa, FL
36 LHP Cole Maye L/L 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 227 lb (103 kg) So Huntersville, NC
4 INF Brady McConnell R/R 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 177 lb (80 kg) Fr Merritt Island, FL
25 RHP Hunter McMullen R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Fr Ocala, FL
52 RHP Kirby McMullen R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 196 lb (89 kg) So Ocala, FL
3 INF Garrett Milchin  L/R 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 211 lb (96 kg) So Windermere, FL
12 INF Blake Reese S/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Jr Tallahassee, FL
28 RHP Hunter Ruth  R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Fr Gainesville, FL
22 C J. J. Schwarz (C) R/R 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Sr Palm Beach Gardens, FL
5 INF Shane Shifflett S/R 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 162 lb (73 kg) Fr Venice, FL
51 RHP Brady Singer R/R 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Eustis, FL
9 C Brady Smith R/R 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Fr Niceville, FL
Head coach

7 Kevin O'Sullivan

Assistant coach(es)

33 Craig Bell
42 Brad Weitzel

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: March 17, 2018

By position
2018 Florida Gators roster

Pitchers

  • 1 – Connor Churchill – Freshman
  • 3 – Garrett Milchin – Sophomore
  • 10 – Colton Gordon – Freshman
  • 15 – Jordan Butler – Freshman
  • 17 – Michael Byrne – Junior
  • 18 – Tyler Dyson – Sophomore
  • 21 – Nick Blasucci – Junior
  • 23 – Jack Leftwich – Freshman
  • 25 – Hunter McMullen – Freshman
  • 26 – Nick Horvath – Senior
  • 28 – Hunter Ruth – Freshman
  • 30 – Felix Garcia – Freshman
  • 34 – Nick Long – Sophomore
  • 35 – Andrew Baker – Sophomore
  • 36 – Cole Maye – Sophomore
  • 37 – Jackson Kowar – Junior
  • 44 – Austin Langworthy – Sophomore
  • 47 – Tommy Mace – Freshman
  • 51 – Brady Singer – Junior
  • 52 – Kirby McMullen – Sophomore
  

Catchers

  • 2 – Cal Greenfield – Freshman
  • 9 – Brady Smith – Freshman
  • 11 – Jonah Girand – Junior
  • 22 – J. J. Schwarz – Senior

Infielders

  • 3 – Garrett Milchin – Sophomore
  • 6 – Jonathan India – Junior
  • 8 – Deacon Liput – Junior
  • 12 – Blake Reese – Junior
  • 14 – Jose Cicarello – Freshman
  • 18 – Tyler Dyson – Freshman
  • 22 – J. J. Schwarz – Senior
  • 27 – Nelson Maldonado – Sophomore
  • 32 – Keenan Bell – Sophomore
  

Outfielders

  • 12 – Blake Reese – Junior
  • 16 – Wil Dalton – Sophomore
  • 26 – Nick Horvath – Senior
  • 27 – Nelson Maldonado – Junior
  • 32 – Keenan Bell – Sophomore
  • 35 – Andrew Baker – Sophomore
  • 44 – Austin Langworthy – Sophomore
  • 52 – Kirby McMullen – Sophomore

Coaching staff
Coaching Staff
  • 7 – Kevin O'Sullivan – Head Coach – 11th year
  • 33 – Craig Bell – Assistant Coach – 11th year
  • 42 – Brad Weitzel – Assistant Coach – 11th year
  • 31 – Lars Davis – Volunteer Assistant Coach – 4th year
  • Jon Michelini – Athletic Trainer – 5th year
  • Paul Chandler – Strength & Conditioning Coordinator – 9th year

Schedule
Legend
 Florida win
 Florida loss
 Postponement
BoldFlorida team member
2018 Florida Gators Baseball Game Log
Regular Season
^[a] Rescheduled from March 11 due to the threat of rain.[2]
^[b] Rescheduled from April 15 due to the threat of rain.[4]
Postseason

^[c] The game was suspended during the sixth inning due to heavy fog and continued at 11:00 a.m. on May 26 prior to the start of the session scheduled for that day.[6]

Rankings from USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches' baseball poll. All times Eastern. Parentheses indicate tournament seedings. Retrieved from FloridaGators.com

Rankings
Main article: 2018 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Final 
Coaches'[8] 1 (26) 1 (26)* 1 (26)* 1 (19) 2 (3) 2 2 (2) 1 (26) 1 (29) 1 (30) 1 (19) 1 (19) 1 (19) 1 (30) 3 (12) 1 (15) 1 (15)* 1(15)* 3 
Baseball America[9] 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1* 1* 3 
Collegiate Baseball^[10] 1 1 2 2 6 4 3 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 2 4 2 2 3 
NCBWA†[11] 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 3 4 2 2* 3 
D1Baseball

^ Collegiate Baseball ranks 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
 † NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
 * New poll was not released for this week so for comparison purposes the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

References
  1. Apple, Daniel (March 20, 2018). "Florida-Jacksonville Postponed". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. Retrieved April 2, 2018.
  2. Apple, Daniel (March 9, 2018). "Schedule Change for Florida-Rhode Island Series". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  3. "Vols-Gators Series Opener Postponed Due to Rain". utsports.com. University of Tennessee Athletics. April 6, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  4. "Schedule Change for Florida-Missouri Series". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. April 13, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  5. Apple, Daniel (May 24, 2018). "Florida-Arkansas Postponed". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  6. Apple, Daniel (May 26, 2018). "Florida Falls to LSU in SEC Tournament". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  7. Apple, Daniel (June 3, 2018). "Florida Baseball Game Postponed to Monday". floridagators.com. University Athletic Assoc., Inc., Fox Sports Sun, IMG College. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
  8. Baseball Coaches Poll
  9. Baseball America College: Top 25
  10. NCAA DIV I Baseball Polls-Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
  11. NCBWA Division I poll
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