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The Florida Gators begin play at the 2023 College World Series on Friday night when they take on Virginia (7 pm, ESPN). Florida is seeded No. 2, grouped in a bracket with the 7 seed Cavaliers, TCU and Oral Roberts. The Gators avoided the “Group of Death” that is Bracket 2, including 1 seed Wake Forest, 5 seed LSU, 8 seed Stanford, and a hot Tennessee team. But Florida’s contest against Virginia is a testy opener, and staying in the winner’s bracket early in Omaha is vital if Florida hopes to capture its second college baseball national championship.
Florida is perhaps the most complete team at a star-studded College World Series which will feature as many as 6 of the top 10 picks in next month’s Major League Baseball amateur draft. The Gators have the pitching, the depth, and the star power to make a deep run and challenge for the championship.
Should Florida capture the national championship, they will become the first school in NCAA history to win multiple national championships in the “big three” revenue sports of football, men’s basketball and baseball.
To make good on that promise and make history, here are five things that need to go right for the Gators in Omaha, beginning Friday night against the Cavaliers.
A great final week as a Gator for Brandon Sproat
Brandon Sproat turned down 3rd-round money from the New York Mets to return to Florida to chase a SEC and national championship. The decision has paid off, as Sproat is projected to be selected in the 1st or 2nd round of the draft next month, improving his draft stock, and he’s helped guide Florida to a SEC championship and the program’s first trip to Omaha since 2018 in the process.
Sproat has had a marvelous season, tossing 2 complete games, ranking first among Gators’ starters in innings pitched, complete games (2), WHIP (1.21), and strikeout to walk ratio (3:1). What he hasn’t had, at least yet, is a dominant NCAA Tournament start. Sproat has delivered 2 quality starts, with 6 innings pitched and with 3 earned runs allowed in each start. Sproat is 1-1 in those starts, having lost to Texas Tech but recovered from a rocky first 2 innings (3 runs allowed) in the Super Regionals to beat South Carolina.
Sproat will now face Virginia, the best hitting team remaining in the tournament (.333 average). Containing them will require the Sproat who closed the South Carolina start with 4 scoreless innings, not the one who was hit hard by Texas Tech (9 hits) or gave up 3 runs in the opening 2 frames against the Gamecocks.
Sproat entices MLB scouts due to a 4-pitch repertoire, any of which can get college hitters out. When he gets in trouble, it’s because his fastball, which ranges from 94-97 mph, is too flat. He commands his braking balls well, too, throwing a curve consistently for strikes and using a high 80s slider to get batters out. Pay special attention to his fastball: if he’s throwing it for strikes to set up the slider and the changeup, he’ll be in business, and so will the Gators.
No more 0-fors from Wyatt Langford
One of the most impressive things about Florida’s Super Regional sweep of South Carolina is that the Gators accomplished the feat without a single hit from All-American Wyatt Langford. The Gators’ star outfielder was 0-8 in the Super Regionals. Langford’s slump extends throughout Florida’s current 5-game NCAA Tournament winning streak: he’s just 2-20 in those contests, despite the Gators winning them all.
Florida’s ability to win despite Langford’s struggles should portend big things for the Gators if the junior gets hot in Omaha. Expected to be drafted anywhere from No. 1 to No. 3 overall in the MLB Draft (depending on the Mock Draft you choose), Langford is “the closest thing we’ve had to Mike Trout in college baseball,” according to Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin, who lauded the Florida star for his “six tools,” noting that “the IQ for him is a tool.”
LSU and Wake Forest have gotten a ton of the pretournament love and hype, and for good reason, given LSU’s talent riches and Wake Forest’s dominant season. But Florida, the SEC Champion, has reached Omaha getting next to nothing from a guy who is batting .373 with a 1.267 OPS. If Langford hits in Omaha, Florida should advance to the Championship series.
The Legend of Jactani grows on the mound, too
Jac Caglianone is going to hit.
The man they call Jactani has 31 home runs this season, which leads the country, and his 85 RBIs are tied with Preston Tucker (2009) for a school record.
The key to Florida’s Omaha success, however, may lie in Caglianone’s left arm. Caglianone has filthy stuff, with a fastball that touches 98 miles per hour and a big sweeping breaking ball that is a genuine out pitch. Opponents hit just .184 against him this season, the 3rd-lowest figure of any starting pitcher left in the field (Sean Sullivan of Wake Forest, Paul Skenes of LSU). Caglianone gets in trouble when he loses his control — his 49 walks led Florida starters despite coming in just 69 innings, the fewest among Florida starters.
When his control is good, as he was in 7 scoreless innings against Kentucky to lift Florida to the SEC title last month, or in 6 one-run innings against a power Miami Hurricanes offense early in the season, he’s almost unhittable. But Florida can’t have the Caglianone who was lost the plate against Tennessee (2/3 innings, 6 walks, 3 earned runs) or gave up 5 runs in 5 innings to Alabama, if they want to play deep in Omaha.
Josh Rivera makes this team go, and he has to keep playing well
Every championship caliber team has a “glue guy,” the steady as she goes player who doesn’t necessarily command the spotlight but makes all the little plays, at the plate and in the field, that impact winning.
For Florida, that guy is shortstop Josh Rivera. He was justifiably recognized as an All-American this week, and he’s been playing his best baseball over the last month, hitting over .375 since May 1 and playing slick defense. It was Rivera’s big bomb that evened Game 1 of the Super Regional against South Carolina, and his 17 home runs this year are more than he’d hit in his career entering the season.
JOSH RIVERA RESPONDS WITH A 2 RUN BOMB OF HIS OWN ‼️
Everyone in the ballpark, including the announcer, knew it was gone off the bat ? pic.twitter.com/st7GnVqHep
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) June 10, 2023
A finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which is given to the nation’s top shortstop, Rivera has also played stellar defense for the Gators, with a fielding percentage of .964, which ranked second among SEC shortstops.
Florida’s pitching depth continues to be its secret weapon
Florida’s team ERA since NCAA Tournament play began on June 2 is 1.74, the best among the 8 teams in the College World Series. While Sproat, who starts Friday’s opener, will be critical, the Gators have an electric No. 2 in Hurston Waldrep, who has given up just 1 run in 15 innings of NCAA Tournament play with 25 strikeouts in the process. Another key arm, freshman Cade Fisher, has been spectacular, tossing 9 innings of 1 run baseball without issuing a single walk.
Florida’s team ERA and pitching depth was perhaps this team’s largest Achilles heel entering NCAA Tournament play, but those concerns have been alleviated over the past month. In fact, since Florida swept Vanderbilt from May 12-14, the Gators team era is 2.03, and Florida is 13-3 as a team in that span.
Florida has an All-American closer in Brandon Neely as well, and if the Gators get a game to Fisher and Neely, they should be able to put things to bed.
Final thoughts
Florida, Wake Forest, and LSU have been the best baseball teams in the country since conference play began, and they are far and away the most talented teams in a star-studded Omaha field. Florida won 50 games, but is less talked about as a future champion than either the Tigers (who did not win a SEC that included Florida), or Wake Forest. The Gators got here without getting much from their best player, Wyatt Langford. It’s difficult to imagine Langford having a third consecutive off-weekend. If he gets going, the Gators lifting a second national championship trophy shouldn’t surprise anyone paying close attention.
Neil Blackmon covers Florida football and the SEC for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.
