Florida Baseball Prepares for Opening Day Without Kevin O’Sullivan

The elephant was in the room long before coach Kevin O’Sullivan walked in, but he handled it the same way he would explain why he was taking a pitcher out of a game. He made a poor decision – no way around that.

The end of Florida’s season came with fireworks, but not in the form of homers. Rather, O’Sullivan went on an explicative-laden rant provoked by a time change in the Gators’ elimination game. Originally scheduled for noon, the matchup was pushed back an hour.  

“I certainly wish I didn’t do it. No one feels more regretful than I do,” he said Friday. “The last thing I want to do is misrepresent Florida or myself, or anybody. I handled it poorly. I did what I needed to do, as far as apologies.”

Eastern Carolina University later eliminated Florida from the Conway Regional, 11-4. The Division I Baseball Committee and coaches alike criticized the Gators head coach, and the university suspended him for three games – all of the UAB series – as a self-imposed punishment.

“The suspension announced today reinforces Florida Athletics’ commitment to our standards, with Coach O’Sullivan accepting full responsibility for his behavior,” athletic director Scott Stricklin said in a statement. “Sully has vowed to learn from the experience and serve as a better leader moving forward.”

The offseason, though, wasn’t quieter for the Gators. During a personal leave, O’Sullivan lost interim head coach Chuck Jeroloman to Tennessee, which lost its coach to the San Francisco Giants. The team lost six players to the MLB draft, most notably former shortstop Colby Shelton and righty pitcher Jake Clemente.

This fall, according to O’Sullivan, was one of the hardest moments in his life, other than the deaths of his mother and his father. Despite this, Florida’s coach said he felt at “peace” and “rejuvenated.”

It could be, in part, because of the way Florida’s bets have turned out. Florida’s 1-2 spots in their rotation are secure: junior Liam Peterson and sophomore Aiden King. Both have high thresholds on the mound and will be supported by a lineup that looks eager to put runs on the board.

Ole-Miss transfer Ethan Surowiec’s power hasn’t vanished, and the catching group has spoken highly of senior transfer from TCU, Karson Bowen.

The only thing missing: a consistent closer.

“It’s demoralizing to the entire group when you fight your tail off for eight innings, and it just slips away,” O’Sullivan said. “When it happens on a consistent basis, boy, that’s a tough, tough pill to swallow.”

The perfectionist in O’Sullivan doesn’t leave much room for error. Even when he’s not in the dugout managing games, Florida’s coach said he isn’t able to quickly turn off the gears spinning in his brain. A sharp mind keeps SEC teams competitive, especially in an era where the conference is the most competitive it’s ever been.

Last year, a record 13 SEC teams were selected to compete for the 2025 NCAA Division I Baseball College World Series tournament. NIL money kept top talent competing in college ball — rather than taking a draft day payout — and each school is forced to one-up the other in non-financial resources like training gear or nutritionists.

“There’s schools in our league that you know that significantly have more advantages that way,” he said. “But just keep telling yourself, ‘We are Florida still.’ That part of it, too, for me personally, was a stressful thing to adjust to.”

There lies the dichotomy of Florida baseball: the belief that it is the best baseball program in the nation, not just one of the best. It’s rooted in O’Sullivan’s 19 years with the program, a tenure resulting in a 756-371 record, one national title and a runner-up finish in 2023.

But times are changing. Whether O’Sullivan and the team have the flexibility to change with them will depend on how well the Gators can reset last season’s woes.

“Maybe at the end of the year, we see how many wins we have,” O’Sullivan joked. “Because that’s ultimately what we’re going to talk about, right?”

Category: Baseball, College Baseball, Feature Sports News, Gators Baseball