The second Hunter Barco will encounter a plethora of new faces this season as he scans the Florida pitching team.
Twelve pitchers that entered the 2021 season with the Gators are not returning this spring, and nine newbies will enter their first season in orange and blue.
With the exception of Barco, Florida’s extreme roster change this off-season has shrouded the pitching staff in uncertainty.
Florida’s highly acclaimed newbies could still bring Florida back to the national championship talk despite the team’s lack of proven star power. How that talent develops will likely determine how Florida performs in the postseason.
In Florida’s brief appearance in the 2021 postseason, manager Kevin O’Sullivan sent nine players up the hill through four games in the SEC tournament and two in the NCAA Regional in Gainesville. Only two of those pitchers are making a return this season: a preseason All-American selection by Perfect Game in Barco and fellow student Brandon Sproat.
Program greats like Tommy Mace, Jack Leftwich, Christian Scott and Franco Aleman have left the team and have become professionals. While last season’s pitching team weren’t always elite, posting a low ERA of 4.38, the lead these veterans have provided is sorely missed this season.
The 2022 group will consist of just two high school students: PhD student Garrett Milchin and Redshirt junior Hunter McMullen. The rest of the pitching team is made up of sophomores or younger, although some players are starting their third year at UF, including Barco and Sproat – as 2020 didn’t count towards their eligibility.
As O’Sullivan seeks to determine his starters and bullpen make-up, he will be relying on the performances he saw in fall training as many players will make their college debut this season. The only player the skipper can rely on the most is Barco. The Jacksonville native is entering his third season in Gainesville and is looking to build on an outstanding breakout season.
After entering the program as number 14 in the country according to Perfect Game, Barco made a name for himself as the Gator in his first full season. The southpaw has delivered over 10 strikeouts per nine innings while leading the team with ten wins and a .239 BAA.
His last start of the season was forgotten as he gave up two five-bat runs to open the finals in South Alabama before being drawn, but his last full start was a season highlight. In the fight against eventual national champions Mississippi State Bulldogs in the SEC tournament, the left-hander pitched all seven innings.
Barco gave up just one run and four hits, dampening the Dogs while the Bats lifted the score to an eventual 13-1 win.
That performance against the Mississippi State 2021 squad’s elite offensive, which averaged seven runs per game last season, is a hopeful sign of the season ahead. No matter where the rest of the K’s come from this season, O’Sullivan has his ace.
Sproat, the other pitcher returning from last year’s postseason, is likely to serve as another starter for the Gators. The Florida native made two starts in his first season.
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The first came on his debut for Florida when he fell 6-1 against the Stetson Hatters. Despite the score, Sproat delivered four shutout innings and only allowed one hit. On his second start, however, he did poorly, allowing three runs and five hits in 3.2 innings against Tennessee in the SEC tournament.
Sproat may not have the level of experience Barco has against top talent, but his experience as one of the senior pitchers on the team will likely get him more starts this season.
The rest of the lineup is largely unclear. O’Sullivan could choose to draw on more experience with sophomore Timmy Manning, who earned four starts last season, or delve into the loaded recruiting class that the Gators will be welcoming.
Florida adds three top 75 pitching candidates this spring according to the Perfect Game rankings: newbies Jac Caglianone (No. 31), Pierce Coppola (No. 50) and Philip Abner (No. 67). Caglianone, a Tampa native of Plant High School, was named Gatorade Player of the Year in high school. Coppola, a native of Verona, New Jersey, threw 88 strikeouts in 42.1 innings on his way to an invitation to the Perfect Game All-American Classic.
Abner, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was a senior state champion while earning an ERA of 0.70. While the trio of freshmen all showed top talent at their respective high schools, only time will tell how far that talent can be carried over directly to the college game.
For now, the newcomers will be in the mix with the rest of the line-up, who are fighting for free places in the starter group. The pitching team’s talent is evident – six former top 100 prospects are still on the list. The production of this collection of talent, much of whom are still teenagers, at the top level of college baseball will likely determine how far these Gators can go. O’Sullivan has some important decisions to make.
Contact Carson Cashion at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @carsoncashion
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