Jun 19, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Florida Gators right fielder Ashton Wilson (30) throws after getting an out against the Kentucky Wildcats during the seventh inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Florida Baseball’s Biggest SEC Threats This Season

Hunter DeLauder February 13, 2025 Baseball, College Baseball, Gators Baseball, Gators Sports, NCAA, SEC 54 Views

The No.10 Florida Gators baseball team will face one of the toughest schedules in the SEC again this season. In conference play, the Gators will take on Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Mississippi State, Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas and Alabama.

At first glance, this looks like it’s going to be another long and grueling journey through the SEC. Florida has to play the defending champion No.4 Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville and host the No. 8 Georgia Bulldogs, who hosted a super regional and were a game away from Omaha last season. The Gators will also have to play six more teams that were in the NCAA tournament a year ago.

Zooming out and analyzing all of this, who are really the biggest threats on the schedule this year for Florida?

Tennessee

The Volunteers come into this season fresh off a national championship and are preseason ranked No.4. The Gators will open conference play this year with a road trip to Tennessee where they won two out of three the last time they made the trip up to Rocky Top. This will be a huge early-season benchmark for two teams that have huge goals again this season.

Tennessee lost many pieces from last year’s team and while they may not be as dominant this year, they still have plenty enough to have a solid season.

The Vols will be led by redshirt senior outfielder Hunter Ensley. Ensley will serve as the glue that keeps this team together and will man the skies from centerfield. He won’t overwhelm you at the plate but is certainly a threat with his athleticism in the outfield. That’s a big reason why he has been in the lineup since 2023.

Other guys to note are shortstop Dean Curley and transfer third baseman Andrew Fischer. Curley hit .285 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs as a freshman, while Fischer comes over from Ole Miss and might be a quiet candidate for player of the year in the conference. His 20 homers and 57 RBIs last season at a bigger ballpark might double at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Georgia

It was a crazy year for Georgia last season. The Bulldogs were preseason picked to finish second to last in the conference after a 29-27 record in 2023. But in coach Wes Johnson’s first year, all they did was go 43-17, saw their star 3B/OF Charlie Condon win the Golden Spike Award and host a super-regional for the first time since 2008.

But after falling one game short of Omaha last year, Georgia comes into this season believing they have all the pieces needed to make it to the College World Series.

It was pitching depth that plagued this team last year. Johnson sent a lot of young and inexperienced arms out on the mound a year ago. But that means that all these guys are back, making this one of the better rotations in the conference. Junior RHP Kolten Smith will lead the troops out there as the ace.  Smith will enter the 2025 campaign on the preseason Golden Spikes Award watch list after a strong 9-3 record last year, where he posted 105 strikeouts and just 20 walks.

Georgia addressed that depth problem through the portal by bringing in a bunch of flamethrowers. JT Quinn transferred in from Ole Miss to help boost the rotation and has been seen hitting mid-90s with his fastball.

In the bullpen, Georgia got Alabama and VCU’s closers to transfer. Alton Davis II comes in as the likely setup guy for preseason All-American closer Brian Curley. Curley maxed out at 98mph last season and posted a 6-0 record with the Rams. He finally brings Georgia the sought-after closer they were looking for.

Arkansas

“Shocking” is probably the best word to describe how most felt when Arkansas was eliminated in its home ballpark after going 1-2 in the Fayetteville regional. Ultimately, it was once again the lack of production from an up-and-down lineup that doomed the Razorbacks.

To address those needs, coach Dave Van Horn went out and got third baseman Brent Iredale. The transfer from New Mexico JC might quietly be someone to keep on your radar for SEC Player of the Year. As a sophomore, Iredale hit .441 with 22 home runs and 78 RBIs. He’s already been getting high praise after a strong fall and should be one of the best bats in the lineup.

The pitching should be lights out again this year for Arkansas. They brought in Gabe Gaeckle, a transfer from East Carolina, who has asserted himself as the Friday night guy. With a fastball that pushes 100 mph and a deadly slider, change-up mix, he’s got everything you’re looking for in an ace.

Mississippi State

After a dreadful 2023, the Bulldogs rebounded nicely in 2024. Posting a 40-23 record and coming up just short in the Charlottesville regional. As we look to this season, it will be one centered around who can step up for Mississippi State.

After losing stars like Dakota Jordan in the lineup and Jurrangelo Cijntje and Khal Stephen in the rotation, there is no game-changer or “star” on this roster. That doesn’t mean Mississippi State will be bad, though. Far from it, as offensively, the Bulldogs get senior first baseman Hunter Hines back in the lineup. Sophomores Dylan Cupp and Nolan Stevens have huge star potential returning for their second year.

They also used the portal to bring in studs like Ace Reece from Houston and Noah Sullivan from USC-Upstate. Both will be instant upgrades to an already solid lineup.

The pitching staff all returns from last season but is inexperienced. That leaves plenty of opportunity for LHP Pico Kohn and RHP Karson Ligon who have the potential to be that potent one-two combination the Bulldogs are looking for. They just have to go out there and prove they can go the distance in their outings. Neither one of them reached 30 innings pitched last season.

South Carolina

It’s a new era of South Carolina baseball, as longtime coach Paul Mainieri begins his first season in Columbia, South Carolina.

The Gamecocks lost two of their best hitters from last season but return All-American Ethan Petry for his junior season. Petry has done nothing but mash the baseball since arriving in 2023. Through just two seasons, Petry has 44 career home runs and a .341 batting average.

It’s a pitching staff that is raw and talented but has some doubts. LHP Jake McCoy can be as good as anyone in the country, with his electric fastball touching 96 mph, along with a filthy mid-80s slider that gets a lot of swing-and-misses. For McCoy, it’s going to be about putting it all together. An ERA over seven like the one he posted last season will not get it done.

Another name to watch out for on the mound is RHP Dylan Eskew, who might be the day-one guy when it’s all said and done. Eskew posted a 4.60 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 62 2/3 innings pitched last season.

Texas

This will be the first season of SEC play for the Texas Longhorns. And while some may think that might lead to a setback of a season, think again. The Longhorns are poised to be one of the most dangerous teams in the conference. Just like in South Carolina, there’s a new sheriff in town and his name is Jim Schlossnagle.

Max Belyeu leads this vaunted Texas lineup, as he looks to follow up a solid 2024 campaign where he hit .329 with 18 homers. Jalin Flores is another name to keep tabs on. Like Belyeu, Flores knocked 18 homes and finished with a .340 batting average.

The biggest concern with Texas will be if Jared Spencer can be that lights-out Friday night starter they hope he can be. Spencer, a transfer from Indiana State, has all the tools needed to be the “guy”. But can he learn how to be that guy when the competition level is significantly raised from where he was a year ago? His performance this year will be an indicator of how the rest of the pitching staff follows.

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