Florida Baseball’s Recent Struggles With Mid-Majors

With Florida baseball starting its 2026 season Friday against UAB, the Gators must prepare to overcome an alarming trend.

They’ve struggled in recent years in non-conference play against mid-major programs. That’s not to say they’ve been much better in the SEC. In 2025, Florida fell to 1-11 in conference play before turning the season around to secure an NCAA tournament berth. Soon thereafter, East Carolina, a member of the American Conference, then eliminated the Gators in the regionals. In two tournament games versus the Pirates, Florida was outscored 22-10.

But that’s just one of many similar instances. In 2024, No. 2 Florida opened the season against unranked St. John’s. The Gators fell behind early, going down 7-0 in the third inning. While it attempted to crawl back, it ultimately fell short, losing 9-5. At the time, manager Kevin O’Sullivan discussed his team’s lack of offensive scoring. “When you fall behind that early, it amplifies the pressure that you put on yourself.” 

Just 11 days later, Florida once again lost to a mid-major, Steson. Afterwards, O’Sullivan described it as “unexpected.” As seen in the losses to East Carolina and St. John’s, the Gators found themselves in an early hole, down 5-0 in the top of the third. Florida managed to score only four runs, all coming from the third inning. They would be held to zero runs through the rest of the six innings and would lose by a final score of 7-4. While the Gators redeemed themselves in a 13-3 win over Stetson later in the season, they would lose to two other mid-major teams in 2024, Jacksonville and St. Mary’s.

Now the Gators have to prepare for a UAB team that isn’t unfamiliar with taking down power conference foes. In 2025, the Blazers beat Michigan State and Auburn, sweeping the Tigers in a pair of top-25 wins. The Gators need to get ahead early, as their greatest mid-major struggles have come when they let teams stick around late into games. A strong example: in its three meetings with Air Force to open 2025, Florida outscored the Falcons 28-5. If the Gators can come out as strong as they did in the opening weekend of 2025, then they shouldn’t have a problem leaving Condron Family Ballpark with a win on Friday. 

Category: Baseball, Gators Baseball