Perfect Game Honors Three Gators in Preseason Awards
Tuesday, January 9, 2018 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Perfect Game released its annual Preseason All-America teams on Monday and three returning Gators were among the selections.
Juniors Michael Byrne and Brady Singer were named to the Preseason All-America First Team while classmate Jackson Kowar was selected to the Third Team.
Here's what the Perfect Game staff had to say about the Gators' first team selections:
Last season, Florida won the first national title in program history with a 52-19 record. The Gators have reached the College World Series for the six times in the past eight years under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan. UF is the only program in the country to earn a top-eight national seed for NCAA play for the eighth time in the last nine years.
The Gators open the 2018 season on Feb. 16 against Siena at McKethan Stadium. Season tickets and Flex Passes for the 2018 Gator Baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased online through FloridaGators.com or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on to FloridaGators.com or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorsBB.
Juniors Michael Byrne and Brady Singer were named to the Preseason All-America First Team while classmate Jackson Kowar was selected to the Third Team.
Here's what the Perfect Game staff had to say about the Gators' first team selections:
- Starting Pitcher: Brady Singer, Florida
Singer's former teammate, Alex Faedo, might have been the Most Oustanding Player of the 2017 College World Series but Singer was just as impressive in Omaha, striking out nine Louisville Cardinals in seven innings of a 5-1 win and another 12 Tigers in the team's 4-3 win over LSU in Game 1 of the CWS Finals. Singer is now poised to lead the Gators in 2018 as the team's staff ace, with a still-projectable 6-foot-5 frame and the stuff to match both his stature and his results. Armed with a low- to mid-90s fastball, the command and late movement on Singer's fastball are more impressive than its velocity, and he also fires both a breaking ball and a changeup that continue to improve. He enters the 2018 season as one of the favorites for national pitcher of the year honors after striking out 129 in 126 innings as a sophomore. - Relief Pitcher: Michael Byrne, Florida
Byrne has a starter's repertoire, with the ability to throw four pitches for strikes, including a low-90s fastball that he does well to spot at the knees on a consistent basis. That allows Byrne to throw more than just a single frame to close out a game as he finished fourth on the team with 75 2/3 innings. He also set a Florida single season record with 19 saves, with the final three of those coming in Omaha, an especially impressive feat considering he hadn't even taken over as the team's closer until their series against Tennessee in early April. Even then the early results weren't promising, as he went 0-2 with a save in the three games against the Volunteers, but from that point forward Byrne, and the rest of the Gators, started to click on all cylinders, going 19-4 the rest of the way leading up to the postseason.
Last season, Florida won the first national title in program history with a 52-19 record. The Gators have reached the College World Series for the six times in the past eight years under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan. UF is the only program in the country to earn a top-eight national seed for NCAA play for the eighth time in the last nine years.
The Gators open the 2018 season on Feb. 16 against Siena at McKethan Stadium. Season tickets and Flex Passes for the 2018 Gator Baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased online through FloridaGators.com or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on to FloridaGators.com or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorsBB.
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