GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 2026 Florida Gators baseball team has arrived on UF campus and will officially begin the fall practice season on Monday, Oct. 6 at Condron Family Ballpark with the gates open to all fans.
Highlighting the Gators’ 2025 fall slate are two exhibition games, beginning with a Halloween night matchup against Jacksonville University at Vystar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. Thereafter, Florida will host Georgia State at Condron Family Ballpark on Sunday, Nov. 9. Start times for both games as well as ticketing information for Florida-JU will be announced at a later date.
All of Florida’s practices and intrasquad scrimmages will once again be open to the public for the duration of the fall. Each week, an updated weekly schedule will be posted to FloridaGators.com and @GatorsBB social channels, including approximate practice and scrimmage start times.
Additionally, Athletics Director Scott Stricklin announced a three-game suspension to open the season for Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan as a result of his actions stemming from the 2025 NCAA Conway Regional.
“The suspension announced today reinforces Florida Athletics’ commitment to our standards, with Coach O’Sullivan accepting full responsibility for his behavior,” Stricklin said. “Sully has vowed to learn from the experience and serve as a better leader moving forward.”
Coach O’Sullivan’s suspension during Opening Weekend is scheduled for Feb. 13-15, 2026 against UAB.
Important Fall Dates
Monday, Oct. 6
First Day of Fall Practice (Time TBD)
Friday, Oct. 31
Florida vs. Jacksonville (Vystar Ballpark in Jacksonville)
Sunday, Nov. 9
Florida vs. Georgia State (Gainesville, Fla.)
Florida returns 22 total players from last year’s NCAA Regional squad, featuring five positional starters in first baseman Brendan Lawson, second baseman Cade Kurland, left fielder Blake Cyr, center fielder Justin Nadeau and right fielder Hayden Yost. Regular contributors Ashton Wilson and Landon Stripling are also back as is rising junior outfielder Kyle Jones, who missed the majority of last season due to injury.
The Gators used the transfer portal to fortify that group, bringing in Second Team All-Big 12 catcher Karson Bowen (TCU), 2025 Ivy League Player of the Year Sam Miller (Columbia), 2025 Northwoods League MVP Ethan Surowiec (Ole Miss) and outfielder Jaden Bastian (Jacksonville). Catchers Cole Stanford (Lenoir-Rhyne) and AJ Malzone (Wabash Valley College) also bring their talents to the Orange & Blue.
However, the key strength of the 2026 Florida roster will be the one-two punch atop the starting rotation in presumed staff ace Liam Peterson and Freshman All-American Aidan King. Those two will head one of the nation’s most-feared starting staffs, followed by key returners in right-handers Jackson Barberi, Billy Barlow, Matthew Jenkins, Caden McDonald, Luke McNeillie, Christian Rodriguez and Blaine Rowland in addition to southpaw McCall Biemiller. Rising redshirt freshmen Schuyler Sandford and Joshua Whritenour are also back in the fold after missing the 2025 campaign to injuries.
Further deepening the pitching corps is a unique collection of blue-chip transfers: Division II First Team All-American left-hander Ernesto Lugo-Canchola (Northwest Nazarene), 2025 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year Cooper Walls (Hawaii), right-hander Russell Sandefer (UCF) and righty Ricky Reeth (Notre Dame).
Nine true freshmen complete Florida’s contingent of 19 newcomers – which can be found below.
The 2026 campaign will mark O’Sullivan’s 19th at the helm of the Gators, during which Florida has posted a 756-371 overall record (.671) while going 305-204 (.599) in SEC play.
2025-26 Florida Baseball Newcomers
# Player Pos. B/T Class Hometown / High School / Previous School
0 Jaden Bastian OF R/R JR Winter Garden, Fla. / The First Academy / Jacksonville
34 Eli Blair LHP L/L FR Panama City Beach, Fla. / J.R. Arnold
14 Karson Bowen C R/R SR Anaheim Hills, Calif. / Orange Lutheran / TCU
35 Jackson Hoyt LHP L/L FR Brooksville, Fla. / Nature Coast Technical
43 Jacob Kendall OF L/R FR St. Augustine, Fla. / A3 Academy
32 Rivers Kurland LHP R/L FR Tampa, Fla. / Berkely Prep
44 Ernesto Lugo-Canchola LHP L/L GR Pleasant Grove, Utah / Pleasant Grove / Utah / Northwest Nazarene
28 AJ Malzone C L/R JR Manteno, Ill. / St. Rita of Cascia / Wabash Valley College
2 Sam Miller INF R/R SR McMurray, Pa. / Peters Township / Columbia
18 Cooper Moss RHP R/R FR Panama City Beach, Fla. / J.R. Arnold
6 Nic Partridge INF L/R FR Lakeland, Fla. / Mulberry Senior
31 Ricky Reeth RHP L/R RS SR Windermere, Fla. / West Orange / Notre Dame
17 Russell Sandefer RHP R/R JR Tampa, Fla. / Robinson / Saint Leo / UCF
49 Colton Schwarz INF R/R FR Jupiter, Fla. / Jupiter
45 Minjae Seo RHP R/R FR Carrollton, Tex. / Hebron
29 Cole Stanford C R/R GR Ellerslie, Ga. / Harris County / Lenoir-Rhyne
26 Cash Strayer OF L/R FR Tampa, Fla. / Plant
10 Ethan Surowiec INF R/R SO Gulfport, Miss. / Gulfport / Ole Miss
38 Cooper Walls RHP R/R SO Carlsbad, Calif. / La Costa Canyon HS / Hawaii
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