Gator Baseball 2024 OFFICIAL ROSTER/Transfer Tracker/Lineup???

D1 Baseball early 2024 predictions were released......every one of their 'experts' predict Florida to be in the CWS again.
I still believe we aren't done yet with the portal. One hitter and one pitcher should be in our future.

 

I'm waiting to see how the roster shakes out after the MLB draft, the Portal closes and who shows up on campus this fall. But from my perspective, it is a very tall order to fill the shoes of Langford, Rivera, Sproat and Waldrep- all extraordinary talents. We were fortunate they came together at the right time and gave us a season to remember.
You can never have enough quality pitching and losing Waldrep and Sproat will hurt so I'm hoping we can add one more quality arm via the Portal and that 1-2 freshmen can help right away as Fisher did this year. Not sure what to expect from Coppola and Clemente after injury but hope Cags can find more strike-throwing consistency and Abner makes the jump to fully reliable closer. We'll see.

 

I agree. Next year will be tall task to try and get back. However, I think Heyman is going to be a stud for us. We will need at least one if not two more solid hitters and one more solid pitcher.

 

jd—

I like your descriptive of “solid hitters” and you are absolutely right.
Replacing Langford and Rivera’s bats will be a huge task to say the least.

Kurland, Evans, and Robinson’s bats are going to have to come to life and become every day reliable. I think all of them can accomplish that with hard work (but that can’t be shied away from).

I think with Kurland he showed the ability and talent is there—I just think the length of the season and caliber of pitching he faced (in the SEC season as well as the playoffs) as a true freshman was a little overwhelming for him. I really expect him to come back a stronger more mature hitter in our lineup.

My hope for Evans is that he learns to immediately recognize the spin on the slider and just completely lay off of it unless it’s a hanger. That in itself will more than cut his strikeouts in half IMHO.

I would like to see Robinson’s approach become cut the plate in half—middle/away drive the ball oppo and middle/in drive the ball up the middle or pull. Either way, drive the ball. He doesn’t need to give his AB’s away for lazy fly balls. His speed can create so much pressure on the defense plus it gives us so many more scoring opportunities.

 

I think it is possible that guys like Heyman, Kurland, Evans, have a “Cags-like” jump from this year to next year. I’m not predicting 33 HRs but more predictable high-end performance.

 

And learn to bunt!

 

Good comment in the most recent posts about the challenges for next season, but the very enjoyable thing about Sully's tenure has been his ability to meet those challenges. I agree that players like Kurland, Evans and Heyman may breakout, but I'm certain there will be someone unexpected who will be a new fan favorite, maybe even two or three newbies. Same is true with pitchers. A frosh or transfer will get hot and someone who has been on the roster will mature physically and mentally. It makes college baseball fun and Gator baseball among the very most fun.

 

LOL, goes without saying @ocalaman — We don’t necessarily need to get @shane4three’s blood pressure up in the offseason.

 

I posted this link on the 2023 MLB Draft thread, but felt it was relevant hear as well in helping understand who may or may not end up on the 2024 roster.
https://247sports.com/college/flori...ord-hurston-waldrep-first--212322971/#2191850

 

Echevarria, Abner, and Austin being out-of-state & on the "maybe stay, maybe go" list puts a lot of pressure on Sully/etc. in planning on how to count to 11.7. Out-of-state players usually eat up a bigger fraction of a scholarship, because they aren't eligible for Bright Futures -- about a 0.28-per-player "freebie" that doesn't count to the 11.7. (EDIT: the last few tenths might be enough to switch a transfer player role-player or two for next year. But if those guys drag their feet, all Sully will be able to do is plus-up second-string scholarships, which doesn't do much for the team.)

 

When does portal window close? I believe very soon but not sure.

 

July 28.

 

I know he can do it but man oh man does Sully have a lot of work to do in the next two weeks.
Needs
Possible Ss
A big stick in outfield
2 pitchers.
With possibly losing Slater in draft and injuries gotta pick up 2 pitchers and that’s not counting high school kids we could lose in the draft

 

We have to work NIL hard.

 

Any player who can play baseball counts to baseball roster limit (35, 37, 40 -- whatever it is next year). (Max Brown wouldn't count against 11.7 BB-scholarships; would replace a walk-on slot.)

Is 37 the hard limit for 2024? Pre-COVID was 35, 2023 was 40, and my google search gets me to this paywalled link: NCAA Approves Waivers To Increase Roster Size, Scholarship Flexibility • D1Baseball

 

That link from last March summarized the issue, saying the NCAA Oversight Committee approved a one-year waiver for Division I Baseball programs to have a roster size of 40 players, while also allowing them to spread 11.7 scholarships over 32 players instead of the 27-counter cap that used to be in place. The article quoted a couple of coaches with very different opinions. The FAU head coach looked at it from the perspective of benefitting players, since more players can get scholarship money. An anonymous assistant was more concerned with its impact on his job, saying big programs will be better able to stockpile players who might otherwise help lower level programs improve. In other words, Florida can grab players who might help his team. One part of the proposal package requires NCCA legislation to be changed. A current rule sets the minimum partial scholarship at 25%, which was news to me. I thought a player could get a much smaller amount than that.

I agree with a couple of posts in this thread that a huge issue in this discussion is NIL. That allows top level HS players to play college ball with good NIL money, rather than than take minor league bus rides for much less $$$. The Gator Dugout Club is looking into using its fund raising efforts for NIL spread among all players in a way that even guys without a sports scholarship have some cash. It's up to people who make big donations to help lure the top prospects away from minor league drudgery, but UF has some baseball supporters who will do just that. Sully has been able to attract some very good players whose families can afford college expenses, but NIL can make the same difference for players from less affluent families.