Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The trips to Omaha have become so common – a school-record four years in a row and seven times in the past nine seasons – that when the Gators baseball team opens the season, "Omaha" is mentioned almost as much as when Peyton Manning stepped to the line of scrimmage.

Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan and his staff know where all the city's best restaurants are, they know all the quirks of TD Ameritrade Park, and they definitely understand how difficult it is to win once you unpack. Florida finally won it all in 2017, the program's first national championship.

Tyler Dyson started Game 3 of the College World Series that year against LSU and earned the victory in the biggest win in school history.
 

Coming to check out the #Gators this weekend? Our guys give you a look at what to expect in 2019.

WEEKEND PREVIEW: https://t.co/pvrfyrhrY1 pic.twitter.com/a4MLUIRMqw

— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) February 14, 2019

"I was blessed enough to win the national title as a freshman and we made it back last year and lost,'' Dyson said in a recent interview. "We're not trying to get back to Omaha. We're trying to win it again. That's why you go through the workouts, you go through the late practices, is to end up dog-piling in Omaha."

As the Gators prepare to open O'Sullivan's 12th season at the helm on Friday night against Long Beach State, the optimism is more measured than in recent years. How could it not be considering what the Gators lost a year ago?

The departures of starting pitchers Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar, closer Michael Byrne and third baseman Jonathan India would topple some programs from the national rankings to open the next season. Not so for the Gators, who open 2019 ranked in the top 10 by all six polls recognized in the college game.

"There's a lot to like,'' O'Sullivan said. "There will be some ups and downs. In the end, if these young players progress like a lot of the young players have before them and we can stay healthy, we've got a chance to be really good by year's end."

In other words, perhaps back in Omaha.

There is way too much to learn about these Gators over the next four months to make any conclusive statements on Feb. 15. Still, starting tonight at McKethan Stadium, the games begin. As O'Sullivan said -- he considers this his youngest team since 2010 when Florida surprised many by making to to Omaha for the first time under O'Sullivan -- expect some growing pains and shining moments.

For now, here is a look at five key storylines for Florida this season:
 

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BULLPEN ROLES
 
Byrne's emergence as the closer and Florida's all-time career saves leader happened almost by accident. The role looked like it fit following Byrne's audition against Tennessee three years ago and O'Sullivan stuck with it to great success. With Byrne gone, O'Sullivan could turn to 5-foot-9, 175-pound freshman right-hander Nolan Crisp on the back end up the bullpen. Crisp's approach is "it's not how big you are, it's how big you play." According to O'Sullivan, Crisp, an early enrollee in January, "has done nothing but get people out" in preseason camp. Sophomore left-hander Jordan Butler (6-2, 4.10 ERA, 60 SO in 52 2/3 IP) is the only experienced lefty in the bullpen, a concern for O'Sullivan to start the season. Look for lots of mixing and matching to define roles among newcomers and veterans in the early part of the season. "We've got a lot of things to overcome early in the spring here to kind of see what we have in the bullpen probably most importantly because we're so young there,'' O'Sullivan said. "Certainly talented enough, we just don't know how all the pieces are going to be put together."
 
DEFENSE, DEFENSE
 
The Gators have an entirely new look defensively at the corners and up the middle other than second baseman Blake Reese. Veterans JJ Schwarz (catcher/first base), India (third base), Deacon Liput (shortstop), Keenan Bell (first base) and Nick Horvath (center field) have moved on, leaving three true freshmen – third baseman Cory Acton, first baseman Kendrick Calilao and center fielder Jud Fabian – as projected everyday starters. Brady McConnell takes over at short and Brady Smith behind the plate. O'Sullivan said the group has made significant progress defensively since the start of fall camp. McConnell, a talented prospect who homered in his first start a year ago, played in only nine games prior to being shut down with an injury. For a program that has been consistently strong up the middle, if McConnell and Fabian show their promise, that can only help the others as they get accustomed to prominent roles.
 
STARTING TRIO
 
Florida's starting rotation has pumped pitchers into the MLB draft under O'Sullivan and this year's rotation has the potential to do the same in coming years. Dyson is the most intriguing question mark in a trio that includes sophomore right-handers Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich. Following a breakout freshman season, Dyson was hindered by a nagging shoulder injury as a sophomore that impacted his control. By all accounts, he has returned to form and opens as Florida's Friday-night starter. If Dyson can pitch the way Singer, Alex Faedo, Logan Shore and Hudson Randall have on Friday nights this decade, O'Sullivan's job in series' openers won't be nearly as stressful. Meanwhile, Mace and Leftwich showed improvement as their freshman seasons progressed and appear more than capable to continue Florida's dominance on the mound if they stay healthy. "I like our starting pitching,'' said O'Sullivan. "I think anybody would welcome a Tyler Dyson or a Tommy Mace or Jack Leftwich to their starting rotation. I think the starting pitching is going to be fine."
 
DALTON'S BIG BAT
 
In his first season on campus, junior-college transfer Wil Dalton benefited from having two of the best veteran hitters in the country – Schwarz and India – in the same lineup. Dalton ripped 19 homers and drove in a team-high 60 runs to earn All-SEC second-team honors. The everyday right fielder, Dalton is projected to hit cleanup a lot of nights with fellow outfielders Austin Langworthy and Nelson Maldonado hitting at the top of the order. Dalton's fiery approach to the game provides much-needed leadership on a team that features 15 newcomers. If Dalton can come close to matching his production from a year ago, that likely means Langworthy, Maldonado and some of the new faces are doing their part to help in a best-case scenario for the Gators.
 
COACHING ACUMEN
 
The Gators open the season ranked third in the country according to the USA Today Coaches Poll, a sign of the respect coaches around the country have for O'Sullivan and his veteran staff of Craig Bell, Brad Weitzel and Lars Davis. The other polls have the Gators ranked fourth, sixth and ninth. O'Sullivan has shown a masterful touch at developing pitchers, Weitzel is a grinder who adds an old-school approach and enormous knowledge, Bell mixes in a modern-day approach with sound principles, and Davis serves as instructor and player liaison. Those ingredients have been a winning one for the Gators and while this team is not as polished or experiences as the four in a row to make it to Omaha, whatever happens this season, you can almost certainly, if the Gators stay healthy, they will improve as the season progresses to make it interesting by the time April and May come around.