Florida Baseball is set to take the diamond in three weeks, and the Gators are coming into the year hoping to rebound from a topsy-turvy 2025 season. There are enough pieces on the roster in place for Florida to make another run to Omaha and beyond, and no one would be shocked if Kevin O’Sullivan turns the ship around in 2026.
But while a couple of initial rankings have placed Florida in a solid spot to begin the season, the Baseball America preseason isn’t buying what O’Sullivan is selling ahead of 2026.
Florida ranked No. 22 by Baseball America
Baseball America has ranked Florida No. 22 in its preseason poll. That is a massive drop from where Perfect Game and D1Baseball had the Gators (12th and 13th, respectively).
While the low ranking seems harsh, it’s also not unfair given recent history. In 2024 and 2025, the Gators benefited from lofty preseason rankings, only to have massively disappointing regular seasons. 2024 was salvaged by a magical postseason run, while 2025 started to recover before faceplanting in the postseason.
Florida finished No. 23 in Baseball America’s postseason rankings last year.
Heading into 2026, the 1-2 punch of Liam Peterson and Aidan King on the mound is the headliner for Florida, but the Gators will still need an established third arm to emerge. Likewise, their lineup will lean on Brendan Lawson and a hopefully healthy Cade Kurland. Transfers Karson Bowen, Ethan Surowiec, and Sam Miller will hopefully give a boost to a Florida lineup that was 70th in batting average in 2025 and 67th in on-base percentage.
The biggest thing Florida is going to have to showcase early on in 2026 to get their ranking to rise from No. 22 is whether they can pull off fundamental baseball. There were times during Florida’s slump in 2025 that the Gators looked like a bad travel baseball team that had zero clue what to do.
Florida opens its season on February 13 at home against UAB.