2025 roster projection

I like your comments, but it's far too soon to leave anyone out of the position competition. I agree that Kurland, Shelton, Evans and Heyman already have shown they can win a position, but all four have performed relatively poorly at times. Jones does sound promising, but in the one scrimmage I've attended, I couldn't spot #3 in either dugout or in the post game huddle. Yost's brief spurt late last season certainly earned a shot when he returns. While Brookens looks super when he steps to the plate, his hitting was awful, but he had a couple of good swings Saturday, including a hard double to the wall.

I'm repeating my most common assertion from last year that most positions will be filled by guys who get hits. No one has secured a position yet. Even the best returnees will be sent to the bench if they don't hit. I'm blindly optimistic that the offense will improve next season. In 2024, there were several offensive failures from players with histories of decent hitting. Of the returnees in 2024, only Cags and Evans improved from past performance. I can't help feeling offense will be good in 2025.

It's too early to say much about pitching, other than there have been too many walks.

 

Not to pat myself on the back too much, but the lineup for game one aligned pretty perfectly with this. Well, I didn’t predict an 11-man lineup and three DHs, but still.

 

If Jones doesnt hit...maybe Cyr slides over or Nadeu plays CF allowing Ashton Wilson to get into the mix. Jones must hit. Period

 

You nailed that! But of course, it also applies to every other position player. Jones seems to have made good contact both in BP and scrimmages, but so far, but he has not yet won the job. Apparently, the workout time he missed early was due to a left wrist injury. The wrist has been taped since he's been on the field. I would love to see his hitting move from good to very good when preseason workouts start and the injury is behind him. His speed helps his offense and his threat to steal is a decent trade off for batting .250, but there will be alternatives sitting on the bench. Brookins (I've moved Jones ahead of him in my projected lineup), Wilson, Nadeau, Yost, Clayton and others will be waiting for an opportunity. I can see guys currently working in the infield being moved to OF if they hit better than others.

Evans, Heyman and Shelton can be first round picks if they keep ponding the ball as hard as they have done so far this fall. Cyr clearly is mature and skilled enough to win a position and even be a star. Kurland has hit above .300 at times and is the other vet who seems to have won a job again. The battle for positions has been fun to see. I'll be optimistic in the spring (I count February games as spring) because I've been optimistic every spring since Sully took control, but this group will be good. My few doubts are driven by the tough opponents they face.

BTW- I have not seen Lawson dressed out in over a week

 

D1Baseball has adopted the gimmick of creating lists and rankings, not just for traditional overall team performance ranking, but an array of individual rankings and other factors. For the most part, they are interesting, at a minimum for comparisons that include Gators. Today they started a series ranking the top 50 impact transfer hitters with #41-50. One Gator listed so far:

46. Bobby Boser, INF (South Florida to Florida) After two straight ultra-productive seasons with the Bulls, Boser is headed to the SEC to try his hand with the Gators. Boser, a 6-foot-1, 210-pounder, showed premium power and hit for a solid average the last two seasons. As a sophomore, he hit .323 with three triples, 15 homers and 41 RBIs, while last season, he hit .299 with five doubles, a triple, 12 homers and 32 RBIs. He also swiped six bases and finished the year with a 1.018 OPS.​

FWIW This assessment is consistent with his performance in the workouts I've seen. I see him at 3B on opening day, but other players with hot/cold bats might move him to any other IF position, or even OF. I anticipate Stripling being ranked 25-35 and Cyr top 15. Nadeau has shown promise, but I see him behind the others on this list.

 

Pretty much every player, especially with a deeper roster this year, must hit to stay in the starting line up.

Jones has been battling the injury and he will be fine come spring.

 

It would be great to see all of our outfielders as a group to commit to eliminating base runners from picking up the extra bases.

I think hustle and strong accurate throws to either cut off men or bases gets this done.

 

It seems I missed my guess about Stripling appearing on this list, but his fall performance makes him a near certain contributor and possible starter. I was right that Cyr would rank high. For now, he likely fits in with Waldrep and Riopelle as Sully's top transfers. but the season is yet to be played.

10. Blake Cyr, OF (Miami to Florida) The Gators picked up a productive and experienced offensive piece in the 5-foot-11, 190-pound, Hurricanes transfer. Cyr is coming off two straight productive seasons with the ‘Canes, hitting .305 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs as a freshman before hitting .284 last season with three doubles, seven home runs and 21 RBIs. He also swiped three bases. Cyr should make a very smooth transition to the Florida program and SEC.
Edit: D1Bsb listed Cyr at #11 when it released numbers 11-20, but moved him to #10 when they released their top 10 list.​

 

For me watching Cyr in practice, he usually makes good contact but doesn't get as many hits as you would think over the entire fall. I expect he will make improvements this spring but I'm not sure where he fits in the lineup yet.

 

One of my biggest gripes with baseball announcers is when a lollipop throw lucks out and gets a runner and they say it was a great throw. It isn't. It is a low percentage play. A great throw is a laser through the cut-off man to nail the base runner.

 

When I was still coaching our defensive days were geared towards the entire defense. If an outfielder missed a cutoff man everybody in the outfield dropped and gave 10 push-ups. Same thing for an errant throw in the infield.

The salvation was if the cutoff man “picked” and handled the throw as well as any infielder “picked” and saved the play-that nullified the push ups. TEAM effort is key.

Oh, and even if you’re less talented, you can hustle.

 

https://247sports.com/college/flori...shua-whritenour-tommy-john-surgery-240090613/

 

Boooooo.

 

B1Baseball has published their fall summary for the Gators. Part of the opening summary said:

For the 2025 season, Caglianone is gone, and that’s the biggest departure in all of college baseball, but there’s an argument to be made that Florida is otherwise more well-equipped to have a smoother regular season next spring.
Other than Cags, the lineup brings back most of its top hitters, many of whom seem due for better numbers this time around, and it’s a group that might be more dynamic in how it scores runs.

Other than Cags, the lineup brings back most of its top hitters, many of whom seem due for better numbers this time around, and it’s a group that might be more dynamic in how it scores runs.

And on the mound, the young pitchers the Gators will rely on are more likely to be sophomores than was the case last year, when there was a parade of freshmen expected to have prominent roles. This time around, another talented group of freshman pitchers will likely have the advantage of being used as garnishes on the pitching staff rather than having to be a big part of the main course.
And on the mound, the young pitchers the Gators will rely on are more likely to be sophomores than was the case last year, when there was a parade of freshmen expected to have prominent roles. This time around, another talented group of freshman pitchers will likely have the advantage of being used as garnishes on the pitching staff rather than having to be a big part of the main course. ​

The long article had good substance, especially with useful comments about nearly every player. The writer attended only the USF scrimmage for direct observation, but he clearly got details from Sully and others about how players are expected to be used. He incuded some informative minor details, for example Jones' injury that limited his work much of the fall was a hamate fracture from the summer that should be fully mended before spring; also Lawson's absence in mid-fall was due to a concussion. The comments about newcomers included good specifics about their strengths and the roles they are expected to fill.

I try to limit disclosing info from a pay site, but this seems to be an exceptionally informative article. In past years, I would only subscribe to D1Bsb for a few months at a time, but they have expanded their staff and have a good product. I like their Gator coverage.

 

If you don't mind, was there any discussion between Boser and Stripling? I still have them in a battle for third but wonder if Boser has a lead based on the graphic they put out a few days ago with Boser and Cyr on it.

 

Boser, Stripling and Nadeau- as well as most of the squad- had a full paragraph write-up. The reporter, Joe Healy, had knowledgable sources, but I hope they turn out to be reliable and accurate, too. He complemented all three Gator transfers.

Healy saw Boser as being very flexible in his position skills, but likely headed for 3B. He said Boser had good speed and power, but his defense is his strength. He predicted Stripling was more fit to be DH, but could play anywhere in the infield. He also guessed Nadeau would find playing time, since he hit .395 last year at JU. Frankly, when I reread the article, there was not a huge amount that was brand new information. What it did well was confirm some of my own observtions and add a little data to support his comments. I can't deny there is some confirmation bias on my part.

I tried hard to like the development of the 2024 team, but some of my quiet fears came true. Healy addressed one big point, Jac's great performance was the biggest thing that got the Gators through the regular season as the surrounding cast was inconsistently just good enough to make the post-season. He asserted the 2025 team doesn't have a Jac/Wyatt level superstar, but is more talented through the lineup.

Healy's pitching analysis was that 2024 pitching situations that depended on freshmen performing will now look at sophomores who are bigger, stronger and experienced from last season and from summer leagues.

 

D1Baseball loves lists. The newest is the Top 150 college draft prospects, which names six Gators:

63 Colby Shelton SS Florida SEC
79 Jake Clemente RHP Florida SEC
101 Pierce Coppola LHP Florida SEC
113 Blake Cyr UTL Florida SEC
125 Cade Kurland 2B Florida SEC ​

That ties Gators with Virginia behind LSU (9), Tennessee (8) and Arkansas, Oklahoma and Wake Forest (7 apiece). SEC leads the top ten, with five choices, ACC has three, plus a Big West guy and an indepentent from Oregon State.

 

Landon Russell was a 2024 guy I hoped would develop, but apparently, he was our trade to Stetson for Kyle Kones. D1Bsb reports:

Florida transfer Landon Russell is in center field, and he can also pitch out of the bullpen. In a sense, Russell changed places with the aforementioned Kyle Jones, who is now a Florida Gator. “Landon is arguably our fastest player, and he has the best outfield arm we’ve had in at least 10 years,” Trimper said. “He also has a little more pop than I thought. He could be our leadoff batter.”
​

Salvy Alvarez was a 2023 Gator C who never got into a game, but now has a shot at being a regular at Stetson.