Riedell Fall Report: Florida Baseball Scrimmage vs Georgia Southern

By Andrew Riedell

Oh, what a fall it has been in Gainesville for the Florida Gators baseball program.

Kevin O’Sullivan has been on a leave of absence the last few weeks, dealing with a personal matter, and it seems like there is no finite timetable for him to return to the program. David Kopp, the pitching coach for the Gators, wasn't with the team for a few days as he and his wife welcomed their first child. (Congrats to them!)

Then, Interim Head Coach and Associate Coach Chuck Jeroloman announced his departure from the program to take the same permanent position with Tennessee. So, it was a crazy few weeks for the program until AD Scott Stricklin announced last Friday the hiring of former Auburn HC Tom Slater as the new Associate Head Coach and Interim Head Coach. Slater officially started working with the team this past week. 

With all the craziness and uncertainty, the Gators still had to play three games in two weeks. I had the pleasure of attending their latest scrimmage against Georgia Southern, which consisted of two seven-inning games.

Injury notes:

Obviously, the big one is that Jaden Bastian, the Jacksonville transfer, will most likely miss this upcoming season after suffering a compound fracture running the bases in a scrimmage. TCU transfer Catcher Karson Bowen caught the first two innings of the first game, but he did not take any live at-bats. I was told he should be good for the beginning of the season, though.

Outfielder Blake Cyr did not play in the doubleheader, but he did take BP before the scrimmages, battling an injury as well. Cooper Walls did not throw in yesterday's scrimmage, either. I do not think that was injury-related, though. Brendan Lawson was out for the first game and was questionable for the second game, and he did not play either.

In non-injury-related news, Liam Peterson and Aidan King did not throw in the scrimmage, but they are projected to be the Friday and Saturday starters in 2026. Let’s jump into what I saw from the Gators!

Hitting:

Cade Kurland picked off right where he left off last season, tripling off the RCF wall in game one, then hitting a towering home run in Game Two that tied the game. Kurland, who has dealt with injuries the last two seasons, said, “It’s extremely frustrating. I think it would be for anyone. Stuff happens, and it’s how you bounce back from it.”

Though the day didn't show it, Ethan Surowiec, the Ole Miss transfer, has been a standout in Florida Fall Ball so far, smoking some balls that just did not land for hits. Kyle Jones played in Game One just as he began last year, red hot before being sidelined with a shoulder injury. He did not miss a beat, either, as he had an infield single and also reached on a walk.

The Gators hit four home runs on the day: Caden McDonald, Kurland, and Landon Stripling, who launched his over the RF berm out of the ballpark. Stripling and the UF lineup were hitting some hard balls against the Georgia Southern pitching staff.

The longest home run of the night came from AJ Malzone, who has made some noise and is potentially in the catching duo with Karson Bowen. The guy that most impressed me, though, yesterday was Columbia Transfer Sam Miller, who is projected to start at SS this season, going 2-3 in the lone game he played, with a double that nearly got out and a single as well. I do not think there will be a struggle for him transitioning from Ivy League pitching to SEC Hitting.

Some freshmen played in Game Two yesterday, such as Kolt Myers and Colton Schwarz, who both have family ties to UF Baseball. Kolt Myers' father is former MLB Pitcher Brett Myers, who was committed to UF before he was drafted, and Colton Schwarz is the younger brother of former UF catcher JJ Schwarz. Both of them played well and also had RBI hits. 

Pitching:

With Liam Peterson and Aidan King most likely solidified as the Friday-Saturday starters for the Gators 2026 rotation, on Sunday we got to see who could become the third weekend arm in the rotation, with multiple names being thrown around.

Luke McNeillie and Russell Sandefer, the UCF transfer, both got the nod to start Sunday’s DH. McNeillie became one of the more reliable arms out of the UF bullpen last year, and after a shaky summer in Cape Cod, he looked to make a run at the Sunday starting spot, turning in a solid case for himself. In his outing, he went two shutout innings, striking out three while only allowing one hit. McNeillie sat 94-96, topping out at 97 with his fastball, while working in some really good off-speed pitches as well.

Sandefer, on the other hand, did not look as good as some were expecting. In his two innings of work, Sandefer struck out five while walking three, but in nearly every at-bat, it was a deep count. Georgia Southern made him pay for those walks as they hung up two on the former Golden Knight.

Another transfer expected to make an impact on this UF pitching staff is D2 Pitcher of the Year Ernesto Lugo-Canchola (Say that three times fast!). The lefty has struggled all fall and despite his stat line of 1 ⅓ innings of scoreless ball, it did not appear he had any off speed pitches working when he was ahead. This enabled Georgia Southern to make some loud contact off of him.

Cape Cod Pitcher of the Year Christian Rodriguez also struggled to throw strikes, walking two and not making it out of his inning of work. However, Notre Dame transfer Ricky Reeth impressed me, going 2 ⅓ out of the bullpen and surrendering only a run while striking out two and getting a lot of weak contact.

Billy Barlow was the first pitcher in relief in game two, and he looked really good, maybe a name we could see fighting for either that Sunday role or one of the top reliever spots. He went two shutout innings, striking out two.

The potential Gator closers we saw included freshmen Joshua Whritenour and Jackson Barberi. Whritenour came out sitting 97-98 with his fastball, getting quick outs and weak contact. Barberi came out 94-96 and struck out three to end the doubleheader on Sunday.

Final Thoughts:

The way this team has handled itself with all the craziness the last few weeks has stood out to me, and it is screaming…OMAHA! Kurland said it best, “The program with the players we have and the brand of baseball we play--we play hard and we show up every day, keep our heads down and compete. You can only control what you can control.”

Just because UF is currently without O’Sullivan does not mean this team isn’t going to stop working. I believe if this team avoids the injury bug, they can easily compete with the top half of the SEC and find their way to hosting a regional in Gainesville and eventually making their way to Omaha.

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