Jac Caglianone leaves Florida Baseball as one of the greatest ever Gators

In reality, Jac Caglianone was never supposed to make it to Gainesville to play for Florida Baseball. He was a potential first round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, but Tommy John surgery in high school axed that plan and instead he went through with becoming a Gator.

Three years later, Caglianone is set to leave Gainesville and become a top five pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. His time in between will be remembered as nothing short of legendary as he will go down as one of the greatest to ever wear the Orange and Blue.

Florida Baseball: Every New Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

During his freshman campaign in 2022, Caglianone wasn't seen on the field until late April. Still recovering from Tommy John, he settled in as Florida's DH and had a nice run hitting seven home runs in 27 games with a .288 average.

But even that preview couldn't have prepared the college baseball world for what would come next. After failing to get a home run in the opening series of the 2023 campaign, Caglianone formally announced himself to Gator Nation with home runs in seven of the next nine games, including three against Cincinnati and two against Miami.

And oh yeah he could pitch too.

With that, the legend of Jac Caglianone started to build as he finished the 2023 season with 33 home runs off a .323 batting average. The chatter throughout the off-season was whether or not he could catch the all-time Florida home run record held by Matt LaPorta.

It felt like a tall task coming into the season, given Caglianone was going to need 35 home runs to break the record. Then once the season began, it was evident that beyond Caglianone the Gators didn't have a deep lineup able to give Caglianone protection.

But as the losses started to mount and the season looked like it was in real danger, it was Caglianone who acted as the spark to keep the ship afloat. And even as he started to get the Barry Bonds treatment, the ball kept flying out of the park. When Caglianone let it fly against Kentucky for home run 35 on the season, it gave him 75 for his career and the sole spot on Florida's all-time list.

Last year, Caglianone didn't have the greatest of postseasons and his batting averaged dropped 20 points throughout the course of the NCAA Tournament. This year he entered the tournament with a batting average of .416 and his average went up by the time it was all over.

Even though he could come back for one more year, Caglianone will be a top five draft pick in the upcoming draft and is bound to ride off onto his next journey.

Though while his time in Gainesville has come to an end, his time won't soon be forgotten.