Nine-time Olympic champion and coach for the Florida Gators Swim team, Katie Ledecky kicked off the 2025 TYR Pro Series in historic fashion on Wednesday night. The most decorated female swimmer in Olympic history swam the second fastest 1500m freestyle, finishing in 15:25.51. This was her fastest 1500 free since she set the world record in 2018.
Ledecky was pretty stoked about the swim. “I’m pretty fired up. I’ve been training really well and feeling good going into this meet, but you never know. It’s not like it’s the biggest meet of the year or anything, I just wanted (my time) to be a season best, which would have been 15:36. I’m pretty ecstatic,” she said.
As TYR Pro Series weekend continues, Ledecky will swim the 800m, 400, and 200m free, along with the 400m individual medley. She is the current reigning Olympic champion and world record holder in the 800m as well and won a bronze medal in the 400m IM.
Ledecky trains in Gainesville and frequently reps a Florida Gators swim cap.
UF Softball Set to Open Home Series against No. 1 Oklahoma
The No.9 ranked Florida Gators softball team is set to open a 3-game series in Gainesville against the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners. The 2024 semifinals rematch begins Thursday night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in Florida.
First pitch is at 6 PM.
This will be the second time in UF program history that the Gators have hosted Oklahoma. Florida will be looking to turn the script as they are currently 2-8 against Oklahoma, with Oklahoma defeating Florida 6-5 the last time the two schools faced each other in the 2024 world series semifinals.
This series will close out the 2025 regular season before the college softball playoffs begin next week.
Lacrosse Set to Take on UC Davis in Big 12 Tournament Thursday
The No. 1 seed Florida Gators on Thursday will take on the No. 4 seed UC Davis in the semifinals of the Big-12 Tournament. The Gators are coming off a 17-5 win over Arizona State last Saturday that gave them the Big 12 Regular Season Championship, while UC Davis is coming off a 13-11 win over San Diego State.
The Gators play in the Big 12 for lacrosse due to the SEC not having the sport as an official championship.
This matchup will mark the third time the Gators have faced off against UC Davis. The Gators have won all three of those matchups.
Florida is undefeated in Big 12 play this year, going 5-0 and winning each of those games with an average of 10.6 goals per game. In conference play they averaged 17.8 goals per game.
Florida is also undefeated in first round play of conference tournaments (14-0). They will look to keep their streak alive as they take on UC Davis on Thursday.
Golf Headed to Bremerton Regional
The NCAA announced on Wednesday that the SEC-Champion Florida Men’s Golf Team will head to the Bremerton Regional as the No. 2 seed. When regional play begins on May 12, this will be the 35th time the Gators have appeared at regionals and the seventh time under head coach J.C. Deacon. Florida has gone in as a top-3 seed eight times and a top-2 seed five times.
The tournament will be a three-day event with 18 holes each day. Florida must finish as one of the top five teams to advance as a team to the NCAA Championships later this month.
Two Gators Selected to USA Volleyball U-21 National Team
When the USA Volleyball U-21 team opens training in June, two Gators will be on the roster. Jaela Auguste and Taylor Perks are two of 18 players selected to train with the team and will represent the United States from July 20-28 at the 2025 NORCECA U21 Pan American Cup in San Jose, Costa Rica.