Florida Gators News: Jac Caglianone flashes the glove, Micah Handlogten impresses, more

We know that former Gator Jac Caglianone can swing the bat as well as anyone in baseball when his swing is on, but one of the aspects of his game that has gone somewhat overlooked in 2026 has been his play on defense. Caglianone has split time this season with the Kansas City Royals between first base and right field, and even though he didn’t play in the outfield while at Florida, he has looked very comfortable out there when the Royals have placed him there.

He was at it again on Friday night as the Royals took on the San Diego Padres to resume the season after the All-Star Break. Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. got a hold of a pitch in the 1st inning towards right field that looked like it could sneak over the wall for a solo home run, but Caglianone was able to track it and, without much effort, made a leap to rob the home run.

It ended up being a big moment, too, as Kansas City would go on to win the game in extra innings.

Micah Handlogten impresses with limited Summer League minutes

Former Gator Micah Handlogten entered the transfer portal after the 2025/26 season but ultimately signed with the Utah Jazz as an undrafted free agent. He is currently on an Exhibit 10 deal, which is a non-guaranteed training camp deal that enables him to partake in the NBA Summer League with the primary goal of eventually sticking with their G-League affiliate.

Handlogten didn’t get a ton of minutes on Friday night, but he made the most of the minutes he did get. He played for just 11 minutes off the bench against Portland, but he had nine rebounds in that time span, along with four points and an assist. He finished the game with a plus/minus of +11.

His highlight moment came on a put-back jam over multiple Portland players.

Ghost of Florida’s past gets first MLB hit

One of the great what-ifs in recent Florida history is game one of the 2023 College World Series against LSU. The Gators lost in 11 innings, but had their chances, including a ball roped by Wyatt Langford that would have won the game in the 10th inning if not hit straight towards the LSU left fielder.

Prior to that, Florida had a lead in the 8th inning, but a solo home run from LSU’s Tommy White tied the game to set the stage for extras. Given that Florida smoked LSU in game two, one can’t help but think how close the Gators were to winning the title in 2023.

White was drafted in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Athletics, and he made his MLB debut on Friday night. Sure enough, White also got a hit in his debut.

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