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Florida baseball reveals weekend rotation ahead of 2025 opening series
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Florida has a new-look rotation for the 2025 season. Ahead of Opening Day, the Gators announced that Liam Peterson, Jake Clemente and Pierce Coppola will get the 3 starts against Air Force.
All 3 pitchers return from the 2024 squad that made an improbable run to Omaha. Last year, Florida spent much of conference play on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Kevin O’Sullivan’s team had to close strong to finish above .500 for postseason eligibility. In the tourney, Florida battled out of the loser’s bracket to defeat host Oklahoma State in the Stillwater Regional and then won the Clemson Super Regional in walk-off fashion to reach the College World Series.
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Last year, Florida dealt with pitching inconsistency. Peterson had his ups and downs as a true freshman. Both Cade Fisher (now at Auburn) and Brandon Neely (drafted by the Boston Red Sox), bounced between the starting rotation and bullpen. Superstar slugger Jac Caglianone (No. 6 overall 2024 MLB Draft pick) was also part of the rotation, but far from a dominant starter.
The Florida staff flipped a switch for the postseason run. Peterson, Clemente and Coppola all delivered key innings.
Peterson, a 6-5 right-hander, was 3-6 in 2024, posting a 6.43 ERA over 63 innings in 18 appearances (16 starts). He made the 2024 SEC All-Freshman Team. In the NCAA Tournament, Peterson had a 5.1 IP outing against Nebraska, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits with 3 walks, striking out 7 Huskers.
Clemente, a 6-3 right-hander, is in his 3rd year with the program, taking a redshirt in 2023 due to injury. He made 2 starts in the 2024 campaign, though his season-high in innings was just 3.1 innings against Oklahoma State on June 3 in a must-win game. Clemente threw 3.1 IP in the College World Series, allowing just 1 earned run.
Coppola, a 6-8 lefty and former top-50 recruit by Perfect Game, is in Year 4 with the program but has only thrown 28 innings, as an injury sidelined him for all of 2023 and limited him to just 1 appearance in 2022. Last season, Coppola made 8 weekend starts. He picked up his first-career win with a career-high 9 strikeouts vs. Kentucky at the College World Series on June 19, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings.
First pitch for Florida vs. Air Force is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday. Saturday is set for 4 p.m. ET, with Sunday’s series finale scheduled for noon. All 3 games will stream on SEC Network+.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
