Florida No. 2 in D1 Preseason Top 25

Thanks for posting this, Hank. The SEC is strong again this year with 6 teams in the top 10. That's crazy.

I remember teams from out west (some from California) used to have teams in the top ten... Seems like their players are no longer staying home for baseball.

 

D1's
TOP 25 TRANSFER CLASSES
1 Wake Forest
2 LSU
3 Tennessee
4 Texas A&M
5 Florida State
6 Arkansas
7 Ole Miss
8 Alabama
9 Kansas
10 TCU
11 Florida
12 NC State
13 Georgia
14 Auburn
15 Coastal Carolina
16 Oklahoma
17 Troy
18 Georgia Tech
19 Oregon State
20 North Carolina
21 Clemson
22 Houston
23 Louisiana
24 Mississippi State
25 Arizona State

 

We have lot of talent but no longer have Langford. That is a huge loss. And while we have arms I don't think we have a dominant starting rotation unless Coppola bounces back. He can be a difference maker.

 

Just because your post is smart, factual and good analysis, doesn't mean I agree, ask anyone who ever has been married to me. Yes, a healthy Coppola would make a huge difference, but my observation is that these frosh may be the best pitching class since the Singer/Kowar class. If I'm wrong feel free to remind me after the 2026 season.

 

The pitching rotation doesn’t feel elite to me, but I probably just need experienced arms to feel secure at this point. It is true that while our national title squad had some experienced arms, it was a gem by a freshman that actually clinched the title.

 

Are you a regular out at practice? I'm not trying to stir up trouble but wondering what you are basing your reply. Boss has seen the freshman more than most of us. I agree with his comment that these freshmen might be the best frosh since Singer/Kowar class. Boss isn't saying anything about the rotation, only commenting on the freshman he has seen at practice. Sure practice/scrimmage is much different than live action but from we sit today, these freshman arms are looking really good. I'm only trying to support Boss here to get the word out to anyone who can't be at practice very often that these kids can handle themselves on the mound much better than most. If you are a regular at practice I'm always interested to hear other peoples view of what they think we should expect.

 

I am not.

And it appears I may have worded my post poorly, as I did not intend to second guess Boss at all. I am sorry if it came off as a disagreement. Instead, my post was meant more as an analysis of my personal biases. I chose the words “feel to me” in an apparently poor attempt to convey a lack of rational founding, further suggesting that I will from now on likely only feel good when we have returning arms. I then tried to evidence the absurdity of such an intuition by referencing the Herculean feats of Dyson. I’m thankful for Boss’ and everyone’s reports, and I’ll try to word my banter better if posting again in future.

 

Dang there Rade, call me impressed my good sir. I appreciate your candid response and holding yourself to a reasonable reaction, instead of going into attack mode like others on GC. I enjoy having reflective analysis with all here at GC in a positive manner that understands the value of improving everyone's opinion. You just raised the bar of my appreciation for you and many others going into the season. I look forward to reading many more of your posts and hope I may be of help in any way.

 

What a gracious response Matherly. My value on GC threads is usually limited to offering corny jokes in exchange for gaining from the knowledge of others. I’m particularly excited about this season, as my 10 year old son has recently come to love baseball out of the blue. So this season is a chance to bring him into the Gator baseball tradition. Looking forward to enjoying it on here, and maybe I’ll even be able to get him up for a game in person.

 

I resemble that remark.
Glad to hear you are raising him up right.
Be sure to let us know when you are coming up. Always good to put a face to someone on here. May your baseball hero head home with a game ball and smile on his face.

 

That would be great to meet up with you guys. I’ll let you know if/when we can swing it.

 

Good for the kid. The ballpark is a great place for sons and daughters, including Gator, HS and youth rec ballparks. Gator baseball and softball can get them excited, but playing is even better. Getting them to practices and games can be a chore for parents, but in 20-30 years, they'll express their gratitude. I enjoyed youth soccer, too, even though I never played the game, but it's great for fitness, in general, and benefits their performance in other sports. While I'm on a roll, I'll mention that I could tell which soccer players also played baseball. Every soccer match generates a number of long, high balls. Baseball players- especially outfielders- generally could position themselves to receive the ball under control, while non-baseballers tended to turn in circles like a dog preparing to lie down for a nap and still watched the ball fly over their heads.

Bring the guy out to some games, let him chase foul balls and be prepared to want to come to more and more games. It's addicting. That addiction- plus retirement- is what gets me out to practices.

 

This makes me remember Alan’s earlier years—the soccer coaches asked me if Alan could play soccer. I said if he wants to sure. I’m thinking about all the running just prior to the start of baseball so this will be good. Naturally, they made him goalie…..

Much to my pleasant surprise (as Alan played first base on his non start days) playing goalie made him much more aggressive and comfortable to hard hit ground balls defensively at first base.

Everything has its place.

 

6 of top 9 from SEC - yowza. This season will be interesting.

I had wanted to argue that, after the championship appearance in 2011, we’ve underwhelmed under Sully when we come in very highly ranked (even, or especially, when due to returning talent). 2012 and 2018 were CWS seasons, but still underwhelming. 2021 was a bit of a disaster. But looking back over the records and rankings it doesn’t really hold up unless you constrain it by saying “pre-season 1 or 2”, which is a bit arbitrary.

 

Appreciate the thoughtful response Boss.

He is playing in a rec league. He just started in fall, not knowing anything. He showed up for evaluations in shorts and no hat. He definitely improved over time, and they even put him at pitcher for a few games. That made a big impact on his identity, you know. He was a pitcher. He’s pretty scrawny like me, so I’m not sure he’s going to have the body to ever be a higher lever player, but his coaches were right that he has a pretty live arm. Hopefully he will keep at it and have the kind of development and memories you are describing. That’s so great that you are still getting out there and keeping contact with the players and the game.

 

Rec league is a great level on its own and no kid should worry about whether he advances to some sort of higher level. Improve? Absolutely yes. I'm OK with all the club teams that now give more talented players opportunities to compete against other top athletes. Besides helping their development, it leaves the rec leagues to the kids who just want to have fun with the American Game. I was lucky to assist a guy for five years of rec ball who had the same attitude I did- every kid on the team should start as many games as possible, play as many innings as possible and have as much fun as possible. Those kids now are in their 40s and I hope they still love baseball and are raising their own kids to love it. We always were at the top of the rankings early because all of our guys enjoyed what they were doing. We generally faded late against the teams that had been able to limit the innings of weaker players or even drive off their less talented kids. When our kids reached 14, we gave up coaching and left it to dads who could actually develop the talents of older players. Kids almost always will enjoy playing baseball, as long as the adults don't screw things up.

 

Good perspective Boss. Sounds like you had a wonderful selfless and kid-centered approach for your teams, and your players were lucky to have you. I mostly try to keep my son focused on what he can control, his attitude and effort, but he of course wants to get hits and deliver strikeouts. He is so obsessed with the game now that he has set a goal to play in high school. I thought, that’s actually possible. I looked up our local high school, Alonso in Tampa, to find it is coached by Landy Faedo, and even I couldn’t help thinking how cool that would that be. But I’ll be proud if he can learn to bounce back from a bad at-bat or error in the field. Errors are always going to be a part of life.

 

The big thing is just keep playing. In TPA, there are opportunities to play nearly all year. Even if he doesn't have all star skills, he can develop his agility and speed and win positions with knowledge and experience. Having family support helps, if mom and dad can get encourage and facilitate, even throw soft toss and hit fungos, he'll be grateful for life. Ten is a great age to become a regular in a batting cage. Buy a bucket of practice baseballs and do batting drills a few days a week. My kid was involved in multiple sports that complemented each other with the skills they demanded and developed, but his baseball hitting faded in mid to upper teens because he went months at a time without taking batting practice. Played frosh and JV bsb and could cover a lot of ground in CF, but if you don't hit, you don't play. He played a couple of years of college soccer- and still plays- but he has said he always liked baseball best and missed it when he quit.

 

Agreed @TheBoss —

1) You’ve got to make it fun first.
2) Teach’em sound fundamentals.
3) Everything else is gravy.