Every summer, Florida gathers its incoming freshmen on campus for a session of summer school. The summer serves several purposes, as the players get an early start on college classes, acclimate to being on campus and work out together.

Perhaps most important, it is during this time that the incoming class begins to bond. Most of the older players on the team are away from campus, playing summer ball or resting after an arduous spring, so it is up to the freshmen to figure things out together.

During the summer of 2013, the Gators’ latest recruiting class arrived in Gainesville, Fla. It was the top-ranked class in the country, featuring five players ranked in the BA 500 and eight who were drafted that June, the most in school history. Florida’s 2009 recruiting class, its last top-ranked class, had just completed a sterling run that included three straight trips to the College World Series and produced five players who were drafted in the first three rounds. But with that group moving on, it would be up to the newcomers to carry on Florida’s success.

So far, they have proved to be up to the challenge. With members of the 2013 recruiting class such as lefthander A.J. Puk, center fielder Buddy Reed and righthander Logan Shore playing key roles, Florida won the Southeastern Conference in 2014, and then won the SEC Tournament and reached the College World Series last year. This year, the Gators enter the season ranked No. 1 and the trio of Puk, Reed and Shore are first-team Preseason All-Americans.

Now juniors, the class remains tightly bonded, a result of the time they spent together when they first got to college.

“It all started in the summer before we were even considered freshmen,” Reed said. “We came in and worked out together and bonded that way. We love each other.

“It’s been a great two and a half years with these guys. Not only have we been the core of the team, but we bonded with our other teammates and have been building a family with each other.”

Coach Kevin O’Sullivan and recruiting coordinator Craig Bell cast a wide net for the 2013 recruiting class and brought in players from across the eastern half of the country. Puk (Iowa), Shore (Minnesota) and Reed (Rhode Island) all went to high school in northern states, far from Gainesville.

Shore said he didn’t have any friends at Florida when he arrived. That would change quickly.

“Coming from Minnesota, I didn’t know anybody,” Shore said. “I knew A.J. a little bit from Area Code Games. This is the closest group of guys I’ve ever been a part of. The juniors, they’re my best friends.”

Puk, who has roomed with Shore throughout college, said the closeness of the class made it easy for him to transition to Florida.

“Our class is a very close class,” Puk said. “Personally, it wasn’t too difficult. I just missed my mom’s home-cooked meals.”

Puk, Reed and Shore even stuck together last summer, joining USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team following Florida’s season. Sophomore catcher J.J. Schwarz came with them, giving Team USA a strong Florida presence. Having four players from the same college on Team USA had only happened twice before in the last 25 years (Georgia Tech in 2003 and Vanderbilt in 2014).
In just a few months, the upperclassmen will scatter. As projected first-round picks, Puk, Reed and Shore will likely leave Florida after this season. Several of their classmates will have a chance to join them in pro ball.

But before they leave Gainesville, the Gators want to add to their legacy with a national championship, something that has eluded the Florida baseball program.

“If I have success and keep myself accountable for everything,” Reed said, “and if each of us does that and does our individual job, we’ll got to Omaha and win the championship and the draft will take care of itself as well.”

An already challenging task, winning the national championship with a team full of well-regarded juniors can be even tougher. The draft can hang over a team with so many projected high-round picks, providing another potential distraction.

O’Sullivan said he hopes this year’s juniors are able to understand that the team’s success remains paramount.

“First and foremost, I want to see our juniors be able to deal with the expectations and to the best of their ability understand that the team comes first,” O’Sullivan said. “If the team is successful, they’ll have successful seasons.”

Pair Of Aces

O’Sullivan was an all-Atlantic Coast Conference catcher at Virginia, and has built his reputation as a coach for his ability to develop pitchers. In 19 years of coaching at Virginia, Clemson and Florida, he has coached 74 pitchers who have went on to play professionally, including big leaguers such as Anthony DeSclafani, Brian Johnson and Daniel Moskos. So it is no surprise that he has two elite arms leading the team that has a chance to be the best he’s ever coached.

Puk is the superior professional prospect, owing to his power stuff and his imposing 6-foot-7, 230-pound frame. That combination gives him a chance to be the No. 1 overall pick in June, but Shore has been the more consistent pitcher in college, anchoring Florida’s rotation as its Friday night starter nearly from the start of his career.

With Shore and Puk pitching on Friday and Saturday nights, and sophomore righthander Alex Faedo ready to reprise his role as Sunday starter, Florida has perhaps the best rotation in college baseball. But O’Sullivan knows his pitchers will have to be ready for some tough competition.
“They have important innings under their belt and have got some experience,” O’Sullivan said.

“But other teams in this league have experience as well. They’ve got some challenges ahead of them. It’s not going to be easy. They have experience and they’re both very talented. But there’s going to be some tough games in there.”

Shore knows how rigorous Florida’s schedule can be. In the last two years he has faced off against elite pitchers such as Tyler Beede, Carson Fulmer, Nathan Kirby and Andrew Suarez. But he has handled the assignments with aplomb, and has gone 18-10, 2.47 in 35 games for the Gators. He was named SEC freshman of the year in 2014, becoming the first Gators pitcher to win the award.
Shore said the experience he has of pitching on Friday nights in the SEC is invaluable.

“I was thrown into the spot my freshman year, which doesn’t happen often, especially in the SEC,” Shore said. “Usually a sophomore or a junior is already established in that role. I was lucky to start off there right away. The experience of it is something that helps me a lot.”

Listed at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, Shore is built like a workhorse starter and attacks hitters with a solid three-pitch mix. He gets good life on his low-90s fastball and locates it well in the strike zone.

His changeup is his best offering and he isn’t afraid to throw it in any count, while also mixing in a slider.

Puk said the key to Shore’s success is his attitude on the mound.

“He’s a competitor,” Puk said. “He never backs down when he’s in a tough situation and works to get out of it. He comes in every day ready to compete and gives his best.”

While Shore has been a consistent contributor since the beginning of his freshman season, it took Puk a little longer to break out. The big lefthander arrived at Florida as a two-way player and spent his freshman season both pitching and playing first base. But with his professional future on the mound, he largely stopped hitting last season.

Puk didn’t really put it all together until after he was arrested for criminal trespass April 12 last year when he and reliever Kirby Snead climbed a crane in a construction zone. Puk was suspended for a week, and then came back better than ever. He went 3-1, 1.82 and struck out 59 batters in 39 ²/3 innings in his final seven starts.

Puk said he learned from the incident.

“It helped me grow up,” Puk said. “It helped me mature a lot more and focus more on what I can do to help the team.”
Puk has also been growing as a pitcher under O’Sullivan’s tutelage. He has worked hard to harness his delivery. He has spent the offseason working to improve his changeup, which would give him a third weapon to go with a fastball that reaches the upper 90s and a solid slider.

Puk does a good job of using his height to his advantage, both by throwing from a steep downhill angle that helps him create lots of groundball outs and to create deception in his delivery.

“We’ve been throwing partners for over a year now and just playing catch with him, the ball comes off his hand different,” Shore said. “It’s hard for hitters to see. It’s definitely hard to pick that up. Him being able to throw that hard and pitch that way with his slider and changeup make him virtually unhittable.”

Reed, who sometimes has the misfortune of having to face Puk and Shore in intersquad games, can attest to that.

“A lot of them throw hard and they’ve got sink on the ball,” Reed said. “Teams should be wary because we’ve got one of the top rotations in the country.”

Most Improved

At halftime of Florida’s men’s basketball game Jan. 9 against Louisiana State, Reed, first baseman Peter Alonso and catcher Mike Fahrman trotted onto the court at the O’Connell Center, followed by the Dazzlers, the Gators’ dance team. Reed high-fived the dancers before getting into position to perform a minute-long routine set to Tech N9ne’s “Hood Go Crazy” with the team, capped by the three baseball players flipping off their sunglasses and taking home run swings. E
valuations of the performance were varied.

“It’s a good thing he’s good at baseball,” O’Sullivan said.

“They did better than I thought,” Shore said. “Buddy was fine. Pete and Mike did better than I expected.”

“I thought I did pretty good,” Reed said. “I was in rhythm, in step. Hopefully I can do it again some time. I think people liked it.”

While the dance performance was a fun diversion and a way to drum up some interest in the baseball team, it was also representative of Reed’s personality on the team. Reed is a key influence in Florida’s clubhouse, quick to keep things light, but also capable of providing needed leadership.

Reed said he worked hard on the halftime performance.

“I practiced a lot even when I wasn’t with the team,” he said. “I practiced in my room and stuff. Like anything I do, I try to get it as best as I can.”

Reed has applied similar determination to getting better on the baseball field. He was a three-sport star in high school and initially wanted to play hockey in college. He said he didn’t really take baseball seriously until the summer before his junior year of high school.

Reed has come a long way since then and now is in the conversation to be the first college position player drafted in June. O’Sullivan said Reed’s growth as a baseball player has been impressive to watch.

“Quite honestly, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a player grow and improve as much as I have with Buddy,” O’Sullivan said. “The next closest comparison is (righthander) Jonathon Crawford, (a 2013 first-round pick) who just came on gangbusters in his sophomore year and just got better and better. I think Buddy is in a similar situation.

“The thing with Buddy is he has a very, very good resume and he’s improved so much between his freshman and sophomore year. He hasn’t really been through a situation where he’s had expectations on him. I’m confident that he’ll be able to put those other things behind him and concentrate on getting better.”

Reed saw time at all three outfield positions as a freshman and hit .244/.314/.285 in 60 games. As a sophomore, however, he wrested the starting center field job from Harrison Bader (who shifted to left field and was still a third-round pick) and blossomed into a star. Reed hit .305/.367/.433 with four home runs and 18 stolen bases, all while playing exceptional defense.

Reed still has room for improvement. He is rawer than most high-end college position players due to his late dedication to the sport. The switch-hitter is working to improve his approach at the plate and more consistently tap into his power, and needs game time to improve his instincts. Reed has five-tool potential, and understands that the Gators are counting on him impacting the game in many ways this spring.

“In order to do my job, I have to be a great defender, I have to drive in runs, get on base and cut down on my strikeouts,” Reed said. “That’s probably the biggest thing I have to work on—and I have been working on staying short to the ball—and my focus. I can’t overthink things, especially at the plate.”

In addition to his on-field attributes, Reed also has an infectious personality that helps Florida remain at ease during tough moments in a long season.

“He’s one of those unique guys,” O’Sullivan said. “We’ve got 31 players on the team. He’s got the ability to bring 30 other players to another level in a positive way. Not every player has that ability. He’s one of the rare ones to take the entire team to another level.”

Finishing The Job

Florida’s lofty ambitions will rest on more than its trio of first-team Preseason All-Americans. Alonso and Schwarz also landed on Preseason All-America teams, and much is expected of another highly touted freshman class that ranked No. 2 in the country. The Gators will be replacing Bader and shortstop Richie Martin, a first-rounder, as well as several key relievers.

The Gators will have to manage the weight of expectations, as well as the challenge of getting every team’s best shot.

“We always have a bull’s-eye on our back,” Reed said. “You see Florida on opposing teams’ schedules and they have an edge, they want to beat us. We’re definitely going to put our best foot forward as well.”

Florida is also eager to put last season’s disappointing finish behind it. After winning the SEC Tournament, the Gators carried momentum into the NCAA Tournament and swept both regionals and super regionals. But in Omaha, Florida could not get past Virginia, the eventual national champions. The Gators won three games in the College World Series, scoring at least 10 runs in all three victories, but a pair of one-run losses to the Cavaliers knocked them out.

The Gators say they have left last year’s disappointment in the past, but they have not forgotten it.

“We lost to a team that played better, it’s that simple,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s not a failure, it’s not the end of the world. It’s disappointing, yes. Can we learn from it? Yes. Can we do things a little differently? Yes. But for me Virginia just played better. You can’t beat yourself up over it.”

The Gators are moving forward, and the junior class is ready and focused on the business at hand this year, not last year’s finish. They understand they have one more chance to cement their legacy and accomplish what they set out to do when they came together in Gainesville in the summer of 2013.

“We’re trying to win a national championship here, and that’s something never been done,” Shore said. “That’s something we as a group would like to come out of here with.”