As Gator fans gear up for another spring at Condron Family Ballpark, four players earned a spot on the 2026 SEC Baseball Preseason All-SEC Teams Thursday as voted on by the league’s 16 head coaches.
The Preseason All-SEC First Team includes junior pitchers Liam Peterson and Luke McNeillie. The Second Team includes sophmore third baseman Brendan Lawson and sophomore pitcher Aidan King.
Each player returns to Gainesville after playing significant roles in Florida’s 2025 season. Right-hander, Peterson, anchored the rotation a year ago, leading the team in wins (eight), starts (15) and strikeouts (96), while finishing fifth among the SEC’s top strikeout pitchers. This distinction comes after Peterson was named Preseason SEC Pitcher of the Year Wednesday.
Out of the bullpen, McNeillie became a steady presence in the lineup, appearing more than any other Gator and filling multiple roles when needed, including spot starts in 2025. He posted a 4.82 ERA, .230 batting average against, 72 strikeouts and 24 walks across 52.1 innings pitched.
Fresh off Freshman All-America honors, Lawson showed consistency on both sides of the ball at third base. He ranked second on the team last season in RBIs (61), multi-RBI games (15) and multi-hit games (23), slamming 10 homers and 14 doubles. This season, the sophomore will move to the left side of the infield as Florida’s primary third baseman.
On the mound, King had a breakout rookie year, breaking a program record with four SEC weekly honors during his 2025 Freshman All-American tour. He put up the lowest earned-run averages (2.58) on the staff as a freshman since Brady Singer in 2018 (2.55).
While preseason kudos provide an early gauge of expectations, they offer no guarantees in a conference as deep as the SEC, where several programs placed multiple players on the list and remain firmly in the conversation entering spring.
Florida is currently in week four of preseason practice. It opens the 2026 regular season at home on Friday, Feb. 14 against Air Force, hosting the Falcons for a three-game series for the first time in program history (Feb. 14-16).
