Softball season is officially upon us and the Florida Gators are set to open the season this weekend in Tampa as part of the USF-Rawlings Invitational. Florida will face Illinois State, Michigan, Bethune-Cookman, Kansas, and USF from Friday through Sunday. Florida went 5-0 in this invitational last year, run ruling three of their five opponents. They parlayed the 5-0 weekend into a season that ended with a trip to the Women’s College World Series.
But 2026 brings a new cast of characters to merge with some familiar faces. These are the three storylines we will be watching this weekend in Tampa.
How deep is Florida’s pitching staff in 2026?
Last year, the major narrative that followed the Gators was the health of Keagan Rothrock. The star pitcher had to be shut down for over a month before she eventually regained form during the NCAA Tournament.
But with the backdrop of Rothrock’s health, Florida will get to use this weekend to also trot out returners Ava Brown, Katelynn Oxley, Olivia Miller, and transfer Allison Sparkman. Beyond how many runs any one pitcher gives up, the single biggest thing to watch for is their respective strikeout to walk ratios and see who is commanding the zone and who struggles to find the zone.
Will Kendall Grover immediately introduce herself to Gator Nation?
Tim Walton went out and added five new players from the transfer portal this offseason. Perhaps the most notable is infielder Kendall Grover from Eastern Illinois. The Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2024 and 2025 hit .416 last year, and Walton told WRUF the plan starting out is to have Grover hit in the cleanup spot.
Grover probably won’t hit .416 once in SEC play, but she did hit two doubles in an NCAA Tournament game against Texas and hit another double against UCF.
This weekend feels ripe for Grover to ease into her Florida career.
Will Taylor Shumaker make an out this weekend?
Obviously, it is hyperbole to think Taylor Shumaker is going to be perfect on the weekend, but it is not crazy to think she could hit for over .400 this season and hit 25+ HRs for an encore performance for 2026.
Last year, over the five games in Tampa, which was essentially her college softball debut, Shumaker was 8-15 with four walks, four homers, two doubles, and eight RBIs.