Florida’s Once-Promising Season Comes To Disappointing End

Image credit: (Photo courtesy of Florida/Evan Lepak)

The 2021 season began with immense potential for Florida, as it was ranked No. 1 in the Preseason Top 25 for the fifth time in 11 years. The Gators went 16-1 in the abbreviated 2020 season – running off 16 straight wins to open the season – and brought back nearly the entire team for 2021, adding another top-five recruiting class for good measure. They also opened a brand new $65 million ballpark, a stadium befitting their stature as one of the sport’s powerhouses.

After such promise in February, Florida’s season came to an end Saturday not with a bang, but a whimper.

Florida lost Friday to South Florida, 5-3, in the opening game of the Gainesville Regional. Saturday afternoon, the Gators were routed, 19-1, in an elimination game.

Nothing went right Saturday for Florida. Lefthander Hunter Barco, the team’s best starter, was knocked out in the first inning after facing just five batters. The Jaguars collected two hits, drew a walk and a hit batter in addition to a groundball out, leading coach Kevin O’Sullivan to quickly go to the bullpen.

Righthander Jack Leftwich threw 2.2 solid innings to quell the early storm, but the Jaguars offense cranked back up when righthander Franco Aleman took over in the fourth. They scored twice in the fifth and then blew the game wide open in the sixth inning. After a bad timeout call from the third base umpire allowed South Alabama to extend the inning, the Jaguars ran off 10 straight two-out hits and put 10 runs on the scoreboard. The Jaguars weren’t yet done, as they started the seventh with back-to-back home runs and scored five runs in the inning.

For a team that came into the year with plenty of promise on the mound and a program that was built on its pitching, Saturday’s loss was especially difficult. But, then, little this season has gone as expected for the Gators.

Florida was expected to have the deepest pitching staff in the country, thanks in part to Leftwich and Tommy Mace unexpectedly returning after the 2020 draft was shortened to five rounds. But injuries chipped away at that depth, forcing O’Sullivan to reshape the pitching staff midway through the year. While moving Leftwich from the rotation to the back of the bullpen, among other changes, settled the staff, the Gators never emerged as the elite pitching unit that was anticipated in February.

The Gators are also typically one of the best defensive teams in the country. This year, however, Florida ranked last in the SEC with a .969 fielding percentage. Offensively, Florida was solid much of the year, but again did not reach its ceiling.

The end result for Florida was an inconsistent, roller-coaster season. The Gators started well, beating Miami on Opening Day, 7-5, breaking in Florida Ballpark with a win. But they went on to lose the series to the Hurricanes for the first time since 2014. The rest of their non-conference slate went better, and they opened SEC play with a sweep of Texas A&M. But then Florida was swept at South Carolina and the shakeup of the pitching staff followed. The very next week, the Gators won a home series against Mississippi, only to follow it up with a series loss at Tennessee.

And so, it went all season long. There were more highs – a series win against Vanderbilt – and lows – a sweep at Arkansas to finish the regular season. In the end, it was enough to host a regional as the No. 15 national seed with a draw that looked favorable. South Florida needed to win the American Athletic Conference Tournament to reach regionals, while Miami and South Alabama had struggled with inconsistencies themselves.

But the 2021 Florida roller coaster had one more steep hill in it. Florida lost a home regional for the first time since 2014, when it also went 0-2. Its 19-1 loss to South Alabama was the program’s worst in postseason history.

Now, Florida enters an uncertain offseason. Louisiana State has reportedly made O’Sullivan its top target to replace Paul Mainieri, who is retiring at the end of the season. O’Sullivan has denied interest in the job, and he signed a 10-year, $12.5 million contract after similar reports when Texas in 2016 was looking for a coach to replace Augie Garrido.

Florida is also expected to lose several players in next month’s draft. Leftwich and Mace this year will likely be selected. Center fielder Jud Fabian, who hit .249/.364/.560 with 20 home runs, is a likely top-50 pick. Several other veterans are expected to be selected.

All is not lost for Florida, however. Barco will return to lead the rotation in 2022 and projects to be the next Florida ace drafted in the first round. The Gators return young position players like catcher Mac Guscette, infielder Colby Halter, shortstop Josh Rivera and outfielder Sterlin Thompson. They in November signed the top-ranked recruiting class in the country, which will provide immediate impact.

None of that is likely to provide much solace in the immediate aftermath of the 2021 season for the Gators. They will first have to contend with the bitter disappointment that remains after the end of such a challenging season.