The Gator Baseball team will start their season in February of 2010 with a 3 game series against USF here in Gainesville at McKethan Stadium.  Last year, Florida was able to snag the SEC East title but fell short of the big one and looks to carry over it’s successes and build on them this year.

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Finding and signing Florida’s Class of 2009 baseball class had been one of the goals of head coach Kevin O’Sullivan and his staff since they arrived in Gainesville during the summer of 2007.

Now that they know one of the top-ranked recruiting classes in the country will show up on campus with minimal harm from the Major League Baseball Draft in June, it’s hard for the coaches to hide their excitement.

Full article at Gator Country for insiders.

The Gators might be able to consider themselves lucky with how well they came out after this last draft season.  Yeah we lost the supposed phenom left hander due to weird circumstances.  Kevin O’Sullivan considers himself lucky:

“Any time you get a lot of good players, you inevitably going to lose some,” O’Sullivan said. “I thought we came out pretty well. The guys who are coming to school are all really excited. They all really want to win a national championship. They’re certainly talented enough, but they’ve all got good work ethics. We’re all excited about their physical abilities, but I like the mental makeup of this group.”

I don’t know if the first year we should be aimed for a National Championship.  If we can make a run to Omaha, I’m all for it but I wouldn’t be disappointed if we fell short this year.  But I am really excited for what could be of this team in the 2nd and 3rd years of these young player’s college careers.

The building up for this class wasn’t something that started this year.  It began all the way back in 2007.  So coaches have seen these players develop over the past couple years and the anticipation is very high to see what these players do:

“I remember our first Labor Day camp, we had Brian Johnson coming to it,” O’Sullivan said.” We’ve been on these guys for a long, long time. That’s the thing with baseball recruiting. You get on them early, they commit, then sign in November. But you’ve got to keep recruiting them until they decide to come to campus or not. We got to know all of these kids real well.”

The talent that was in the class for the Gators was enough to rank it #1 in Baseball America’s eyes.  The predictions of these prospects signing with teams that selected the players were very high.  Most of the lower round picks chose to continue on with school first which could yield bigger bucks in the future for them.  I’m always for a kid finishing their education before going off to make money.

It looked all set for the Gators to have Schuster playing with the Gators this spring but Arizona caved in to his demands and gave $450,000 for Schuster.  The $450,000 apparently wasn’t the only reason that Schuster decided to pack up and leave.  Schuster was taking summer school here in Gainesville and was appalled at the way he was treated.

In an interview with the Arizona Republic he stated:

“I got there and, you know what, I don’t like being treated like I’m stupid. I went to a good university, a good teaching institution, and they treated me like a dumb jock. I didn’t appreciate it. I didn’t like it. As soon as I got the phone call that said they (the Diamondbacks) got me my money, I packed up and left as soon as they told me. I was ready to go on Thursday and ready to come here.”

Well to you Patrick Schuster I say “Good Day!”  Your attitude is not something we need infecting the other players on campus.  A bad attitude is much more contagious than a good one.  If Arizona wouldn’t have sacked up the cash for Schuster, he would be speaking highly of Florida right now I bet.

It is a loss of talent but the harmful effects he could have had on the team could have been much more devastating than his talent could have accounted for.

With the Sunshine State loaded with baseball prospects last season, there wasn’t much of a need for Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan to leave the state to complete his recruiting class.

But when O’Sullivan went into Georgia and inked Dunwoody High School right-handed pitcher Hudson Randall, he knew the pitcher would be a big piece in the future of the Gators’ baseball program.

“I narrowed down all the offers I had to Florida or Georgia so I could stay close to home,” Randall said. “I like the SEC. I met Sully and the rest of the coaching staff and they’re all nice, good guys. Sully being the pitching coach and the head coach was a big bonus. He did really good work at Clemson as the pitching coach.”

Full story at Gator Country

This could be what we need to get back to the College World Series.    Hudson Randall will be competing for playing time as a Freshman with his next visit to UF Campus.

Right-hander Billy Bullock (Balm, Fla.), left-hander Tony Davis (Cooper City, Fla.) and catcher Buddy Munroe (Miami, Fla.) recently signed professional baseball contracts with the Minnesota Twins and will forego their senior seasons at the University of Florida. In addition, three Gators who completed their eligibility also inked deals: outfielderAvery Barnes (High Springs, Fla.) (Colorado Rockies), righty Patrick Keating (Harrisburg, Ill.) (Kansas City Royals) and lefty Stephen Locke (Tampa, Fla.) (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim).

Full story at Gator Zone

Billy Bullock Bio

BULLOCK’S CAREER HIGHS
Innings (Starter): 8.0 vs. Ole Miss (3/21/08)
Innings (Reliever): 6.0 vs. Siena (2/22/08)
Strikeouts: 7, 2x, last vs. South Carolina (5/2/08)
Hits Allowed: 12 vs. Georgia (4/25/08)
Runs: 8 vs. Vanderbilt (4/29/07)
Earned Runs: 7, 3x, last vs. Georgia (4/25/08)
Walks: 5 vs. Kentucky (4/18/08)

Tony Davis Bio

DAVIS‘ CAREER HIGHS
Innings (Starter): 5.1 vs. Georgia (3/31/07)
Innings (Reliever): 2.2 vs. Bethune-Cookman (3/27/07)
Strikeouts: 3, 2x, last vs. LSU (3/30/08)
Hits Allowed: 5 vs. Georgia (3/31/07)
Runs: 5 vs. Arkansas (4/14/07)
Earned Runs: 5 vs. Arkansas (4/14/07)
Walks: 5 vs. South Carolina (4/7/07)

Buddy Monroe Bio

MUNROE’S CAREER HIGHS
At Bats: 4, 9x, last vs. Florida State (5/31/08)
Runs Scored: 2, 3x, last vs. South Carolina (5/2/08)
Hits: 2, 3x, last vs. South Carolina (5/2/08)
RBI: 3, 2x, last vs. LSU (3/28/08)
Doubles: 2 vs. Auburn (3/15/08)
Triples: None
Home Runs: 1, 3x, last vs. Alabama (5/9/08)
Walks: 1, 6x, last vs. Vanderbilt (5/21/08)
Stolen Bases: 1 vs. South Carolina (5/4/08)
Hit Streak: 4 games (3/18-3/26/08)

Avery Barnes Bio

BARNES’ CAREER HIGHS
At Bats: 6, 2x, last vs. Kentucky (4/19/08)
Runs Scored: 4, 4x, last vs. Campbell (3/4/08)
Hits: 5 vs. Kentucky (4/19/08)
RBI: 10 vs. Tennessee (5/18/07)
Doubles: 2 vs. Brown-1 (3/8/08)
Triples: 1, 6x, last vs. USF (5/13/08)
Home Runs: 2 vs. Tennessee (5/18/07)
Walks: 3, 2x, last vs. Brown (3/9/08)
Stolen Bases: 2, 4x, last vs. Alabama (5/9/08)
Hit Streak: 14 games (3/1-3/26/08)

Patrick Keating Bio

KEATING’S CAREER HIGHS
Innings (Starter): 9.0 vs. LSU (3/29/08)
Innings (Reliever): 4.1 vs. Tennessee (5/19/07)
Strikeouts: 6, 2x, last vs. Georgia (4/27/08)
Hits Allowed: 10 vs. Florida State (5/31/08)
Runs: 8 vs. Florida State (5/31/08).
Earned Runs: 8 vs. Florida State (5/31/08)
Walks: 3, 2x, last vs. Vanderbilt (5/21/08)

Stephen Locke Bio

LOCKE’S CAREER HIGHS
Innings (Starter): 9.0, 2x, last vs. Alabama (5/10/08)
Innings (Reliever): 3.2 vs. Ole Miss (3/19/05)
Strikeouts: 8 vs. Kentucky (4/20/08)
Hits Allowed: 10, 2x, last vs. Tulane (5/30/08)
Runs: 6 vs. Mississippi State (3/17/07)
Earned Runs: 6 vs. Mississippi State (3/17/07)
Walks: 3 vs. Florida State (5/3/05)

GSN: What were your fondest memories at UF?

TF: The bond I had with all the guys, all the different guys I became close with, I still talk to a lot of the older guys. Anytime we beat Miami or FSU was always a good memory haha, the walk off hit this year against Bethune will always stay with me.

GSN: Did anybody ever give you any nicknames while at UF?

TF: Some of the fans call me wheels because I was 4-4 at stolen bases last year and 3-4 this year.

GSN: What was the point behind your intro/walk up song?

TF: I didn’t think I was going to play much last year, so I picked a song I thought would be funny if I actually got up to bat a lot, and sure enough I played a lot last year so i just kept it for this year. I actually changed it the last series of the year (Kentucky) and I got booed my first at bat, haha. I was shocked when I came up my 2nd at bat with the new walk out song I got booed again I hit a HR my first at bat with the new song.

GSN: How did it feel reaching the super regionals this year?

TF: Obviously that was a great accomplishment, not having done that since my freshman year, but we still feel like we let a golden opportunity go. we got outplayed, no doubt about it.

GSN: What do you plan on doing now since you graduated from UF?

TF: I enrolled in grad school this past spring and i’ll finish that up next summer and then look to get into baseball somehow, either working for a MLB club or coaching or something.

GSN: Who was the most influential person in your life?

TF: Gotta be my parents, they supported me in baseball and paid for travel/AAU ball, made it easy for me to be successful.

But then he started to fall in the draft, slipping all the way to the 37th round where he was picked by the Tampa Bay Rays. How could a catcher with that much talent fall so far? That had everything to do with signability issues. Maddox let it be known before the draft that it would take a good amount of money to keep him away from his long time dream of playing baseball for the University of Florida.

Maddox wasn’t the least bit fazed by his freefall through the draft. Instead of worrying about what might have been, he was simply happy to be a Gator.

“I’m excited to come down and play for Florida,” Maddox said. “I’m not too worried about the draft. It’s going to be fun.”

Full story on Gator Country

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award has grown into the nation’s premier tribute to college seniors. The award identifies personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete, with criteria including excellence in the classroom, character and community, as well as competition on the field.

“When my phone rang letting me know that I had won the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, I couldn’t even finish my meal because I was very excited,” McArthur said. “This is an honor that I would have never expected entering the season. Having so many people support me throughout my career at the University of Florida, this recognition will be a great source of pride for them too. Knowing what the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award represents, it is an honor for me to be the recipient, especially knowing that the other nine finalists were all deserving candidates who easily could have won.”

Full story at GatorZone

Bullock made 34 appearances for second-year head coach Kevin O’Sullivan and was 3-3 with a 2.64 earned run average. The righty collected 11 saves, third in the SEC, and tied for the fourth-most in a single-season by a Florida hurler. Over 47.2 innings, Bullock registered 50 strikeouts, issued 22 walks and limited opponents to a .231 batting average.

He was voted as one of the two relievers on the All-SEC team after collecting seven saves during conference activity. Bullock had a 1-2 league ledger with a 2.29 ERA in 15 appearances, with 22 K in 19.2 innings. The right-hander was the first Gator reliever to earn All-SEC since Connor Falkenbach in 2005.

Full story at Gator Zone