Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Brandon Sproat did what he needed to elevate his draft stock in the second half of last season. A powerful 6-foot-3 right-hander, Sproat went 5-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his final six starts, helping the Gators get hot down the stretch and host a NCAA Regional.

After the season, the New York Mets made Sproat their third-round pick, the 90th overall player selected in the MLB amateur draft. But instead of signing and shipping off for some work at a far-flung minor-league post, Sproat opted to return for his fourth-year junior season.
 

Chalk up a win for the Gators, who open the season a week from today with Sproat expected to take the mound. Sproat finished 9-4 with a 3.41 ERA and a team-high 89 1/3 innings in 2022.

"Oftentimes, your best recruits are guys you get back,'' UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said this week. "We spent a lot of time on the phone this summer going through that process with him. Getting back Brandon totally changes the look of our rotation."

Sproat's return instantly boosted the Gators' prospects heading in 2023, O'Sullivan's 16th season in the UF dugout. Florida is ranked third in the Baseball America Preseason Poll, and seventh by D1Baseball.com.

Sproat's return and the addition of Southern Mississippi right-hander Hurston Waldrep provides the Gators with a pair of veteran right-handers that should help them win a lot of series. The emergence of Sproat following the loss of injured lefty Hunter Barco a season ago proved critical.

Sproat flashed supreme arm talent from the start, but it took a while for the Pace, Fla., native to harness it on the mound. And equally important, solve some issues between the ears.

"I mean, where he was last year [at this time], he wasn't even in the weekend rotation, and now to see how he is performing, how he is handling failure, it's like night and day,'' O'Sullivan said.
  WYATT'S WORLD

He went from bullpen catcher as a freshman to one of the most feared hitters in the country as a sophomore. What will Wyatt Langford do as a junior?

Florida's starting left fielder is ranked the No. 3 draft prospect in the country by MLB.com's Pipeline. The reason is easy for anyone to find: .355 batting average, 26 home runs and 63 RBI in 2022.

"It's one of those stories you can tell for the rest of your career,'' O'Sullivan said. "Guy has four or five at-bats his freshman year, all of the sudden he hits 26 homers, plays for the USA Team." For the record, Langford was 1-for-4 as a freshman, with all four plate appearances coming as a pinch-hitter. But once he got an opportunity in the everyday lineup, Langford came out swinging.

Langford's 26 homers matched the single-season school record set by Matt LaPorta in 2005, and he was named All-SEC for his breakout season.

"You go back to his freshman year, he could have been discouraged with the lack of playing time," O'Sullivan said. "But he went off to the Valley League and changed his body. When he came back, I remember I was just amazed at how committed he was to changing his body. He went from an average runner to an above-average runner, which is really hard to do."
  CHECKING ON COPPOLA

Six-foot-8 left-hander Pierce Coppola teased Gators fans in his one outing last season. Coppola struck out seven batters in 4 2/3 innings in a Feb. 20 start against Liberty. However, the rest of Coppola's freshman season was spent sidelined by a back injury.

Coppola did not pitch over the summer and his use was limited in the fall. The goal according to O'Sullivan is to have Coppola, a candidate to start on Sundays, fully healthy by the start of the Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule.

"We're just bringing Pierce along slowly,'' O'Sullivan said. Coppola is from Verona, N.J., where he struck out 216 in 121 career innings at Verona High to rank among the top pitching prospects in the 2022 recruiting class.

With Coppola still on the mend, O'Sullivan said sophomore lefty Jac Caglianone and right-hander Brandon Neely are the top candidates to serve as the No. 3 starter. He said that competition will be evaluated closely the final week of the preseason.
  QUOTE OF NOTE
"My decision to come back was because I didn't want to play pro ball anymore. And really, for my career after baseball, I had an internship [over the summer] with a financial firm down in St. Pete. It was a great experience. I learned a lot, and a lot that I could take from that industry into baseball and leadership skills." – Gators fifth-year senior catcher BT Riopelle on returning for a final season

QUOTE OF NOTE II
"Last year's season was one of the most enjoyable seasons I've had, even though we fell short in the regional. I know our ultimate goal is to get back to the World Series and play for a national championship, but to be sitting there at 6-12 in the league and to see the maturation of all those young players was a really, really cool experience for me and, obviously, the other coaches." UF head coach Kevin O'Sullivan
  EXTRA BASES

INF Tyler Shelnut adds power to the roster. Shelnut tied Santa Fe College's school record with 19 home runs in 2022 … O'Sullivan said to look for Caglianone, the 6-foot-5, 245-pound slugger who delivered 13 extra-base hits (seven homers) after cracking the lineup late in the season, to bat in the heart of the order … O'Sullivan praised right-hander Ryan Slater for his offseason work. Slater went 6-4 with six saves and a 5.34 ERA as a redshirt freshman and looks like a different pitcher according to O'Sullivan … Outfielder Michael Robertson, who did not play last season due to a hamstring injury, is the favorite to replace Jud Fabian in center field.