![Florida center Rueben Chinyelu (9) talks with Florida head coach Todd Golden as he comes off court during the second half of a NCAA mens basketball game against South Carolina at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_168,w_2491,h_1401/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01khtyn40h0n1wwv254c.jpg "Florida center Rueben Chinyelu (9) talks with Florida head coach Todd Golden as he comes off court during the second half of a NCAA mens basketball game against South Carolina at Steven C. O'Connell Center Exactek arena in Gainesville, FL on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]")
Florida hasn’t won the regular-season SEC title since 2014. Todd Golden fell just short of the regular season crown last year, but finds themselves firmly in the driver’s seat to win the league in 2026. Without even playing, the Gators took one step closer to claiming the SEC on Wednesday night.
Arkansas lost to Alabama in double overtime. That dropped the Razorbacks to 9-4 within the SEC, tied for second with Alabama and Tennessee. At 11-2, Florida now has a two-game lead on Arkansas with five games to play and essentially a three-game lead on Alabama and Tennessee thanks to their earlier head-to-head wins.
If Florida beats Ole Miss and Texas in its next two games, the Gators can wrap up the SEC with a win over Arkansas next Saturday at home.
Florida Baseball finds a new stud
Anytime a player transfers in from a D2 school, there is going to be a seed of doubt on whether or not that player can translate to the SEC. And while Florida has yet to face any of their SEC foes, it might have found a new power arm out of its bullpen for 2026.
Ernesto Lugo-Canchola transferred in from D2 school Northwest Nazarene out of Utah, where he was named the D2 Pitcher of the Year, and through two appearances with Florida out of the bullpen, he has looked dynamic. During last night’s 9-3 win over Stetson to move Florida Baseball to 4-1 on the season, Lugo-Canchola came out of the bullpen and went 3.0 innings with no hits and five strikeouts. Throw in the 2.2 innings he pitched in the opening series against UAB, and Lugo-Canchola has faced 17 batters as a Gator and has yet to allow a baserunner.
Florida Softball keeps it rolling
Florida Softball is now 14-0 on the season after making light work of UNF. The Gators won 10-0 in five innings.
Kenleigh Cahalan continued her hot start and was 3-4 with a home run. Jocelyn Erickson was 2-3 with two home runs. Kendell Grover and Ava Brown also had home runs as eight of Florida’s ten runs came via the long ball.
Florida will host the Florida Tournament this weekend, with Longwood, Middle Tennessee, and Lindenwood coming to town.