Former Gators Take on the World Baseball Classic
Five former Florida Gators are competing in the World Baseball Classic. This two-week tournament happens every four years and features many MLB stars that step away from spring training to represent their countries.
The World Baseball Classic began Thursday. It’s the biggest event in global baseball with 20 teams competing for the title of the world’s greatest.
The Kansas City Royals’ Jac Caglianone was the sixth overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft and is representing Italy as an outfielder. At Florida, he helped power Florida to back-to-back College World Series appearances in 2023 and 2024, as well as a 2023 SEC Championship.
In his first game of the tournament, Caglianone hit an RBI double to contribute to an 8-0 shutout over Brazil. Italy next plays Team USA Tuesday at 9 p.m.
San Francisco Giants outfielder Harrison Bader is representing Israel. He was drafted in 2015 in the third round by the St. Louis Cardinals. For the Gators, he became the 11th player in school history to record over 20 home runs, 100 RBIs and 30 steals over his career.
A 17th-round draft pick in 2023, Colby Halter is also a member of Team Israel as an infielder. He played for the Gators from 2021 to 2023, primarily playing third base.
Even though Bader and Halter did not play together at Florida, they got to come together to represent Florida on the world stage. However, that run was short lived.
Team Israel suffered an 11-3 loss to Venezuela in its first game of the tournament at LoanDepot Park in Miami. Bader did get a run that contributed to Israel getting points on the board. In the third game of the WBC, Israel was eliminated in a 10-1 loss to the Dominican Republic.
Seattle Mariners right-handed pitcher Dane Dunning joins South Korea in this year’s tournament, qualifying for the team through his mother’s heritage. He was selected in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals after playing at Florida for three seasons.
South Korea has advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in 17 years after defeating Australia at the Tokyo Dome with a 7-2 victory on Monday.
The bullpen coach of Team USA, David Ross is a former Gator, professional catcher and manager. He played in the MLB for 15 seasons and led the Chicago Cubs from 2020 to 2023. In the WBC, he is a part of a 10-man staff for the United States.
The tournament is in full swing and continues throughout the month. The country will be crowned in Miami on March 17.
Category: College Baseball, Former Gators, Gators Baseball, MLB
