The Florida dugout celebrates during the Gators' game against the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday, May 12, 2024 at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Fla.
Top 10 Countdown: 2024 Baseball Season
Friday, August 23, 2024 | Baseball
The 2024 Florida Gators baseball season was one to remember, most notably for the improbable run by a regional three-seed to the Men's College World Series.
Here, we relive the 2024 campaign through its greatest moments – all the records broken, saves secured, leads changed and tickets punched to Omaha.
The Gators entered the rubber match of the series in Athens just one game over .500 at 27-26. Florida needed to win in order to maintain a winning record and keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
After quickly falling behind 3-0 with some timely hitting by the Bulldogs, the Gator bats went red-hot, erupting for a 12-run fourth inning that included seven extra-base hits. The outburst marked Florida's most runs in one inning since Feb. 27, 2002 vs. Siena (15). Catcher Luke Heyman led the way with four RBI in the fourth, including a bases-clearing, three-run double in his second at bat of the inning.
The then-No. 6 Gators went to Baton Rouge for their first SEC road trip, looking for some revenge for the 2023 MCWS Finals. After a dominant performance in game one by LSU starter Luke Holman, the Gators needed some clutch performances in game two to have a chance at their long-awaited payback.
Ty Evans gave Florida new life in the ninth with a two-out RBI single to tie the game at four apiece.
After the Tigers escaped a jam in the top of the tenth, the top of the 11th saw Caglianone smack his 10th home run of the year to give the Gators a 6-4 lead.
Ryan Slater, who entered in the tenth, slammed the door in the bottom of the inning to seal the Gators win. The next day, the Gators rode the previous night's momentum to a 12-2 run-rule victory, and left Alex Box Stadium as series winners.
Freshman right-hander Luke McNiellie, who had stumbled to a 17.28 ERA to that point in his young career, was called on to close out the eventual national runners-up. McNeillie retired Jace Laviolette, induced a fielder's choice from Braden Montgomery and retired Ted Burton to swiftly sit down the 2-3-4 hitters of one of the nation's most-potent offenses.
After a clutch first-career pinch-hit in the Kentucky series and a few key knocks in the aforementioned rout of Georgia, Ashton Wilson entered the Stillwater Regional still largely unknown to Gator Nation. In his NCAA Tournament debut, the sophomore introduced himself in style.
Wilson collected three doubles in his first three trips to the dish and mashed a long home run off his own name on the left-field scoreboard in the ninth. Wilson went on to dominate the event, taking home Regional MVP honors for his efforts. In one game a postseason hero was born, and he was here to stay.
The Gators faced elimination in their third game in Omaha and stared down Kentucky, the SEC Co-Regular Season Champs. The Wildcats bested the Gators in Gainesville earlier in the year, with Kentucky winning two extra-inning nail-biters in heartbreaking fashion. This time around, the Gators were not interested in a close contest.
Jac Caglianone, leading off for the first time in his Gators career, started the carousel with a single. Kurland reached via a hit-by-pitch and after a Shelnut strikeout, the train left the station.
Shelton knocked in Caglianone, Heyman cleared the bases with another double, before Wilson and Thomas reached to load them up for Brody Donay…
Restitution for the heartbreak in Gainesville, and an insurmountable lead in an elimination game. It doesn't get much sweeter than that.
Jac's lucky 13th homer of the year won the series for Florida, marking their third-straight to start the conference slate.
That is just what Caglianone did on April 19 in Nashville, when he became just the second player in NCAA Division 1 history to reach nine games, joining Tyler Bosetti of Nevada in 2021. The feat has never been accomplished at the Major League or Minor League levels of professional baseball.
The feat was impressive, but perhaps the most eye-popping part of his historic streak was the projected 516-foot jaw-dropper that he launched in the seventh game of the stretch.
After nearly being shut out by Brian Holliday in their first contest with the Cowboys, the Gators faced elimination in the nightcap of a doubleheader in the Stillwater regional. The Orange and Blue trailed, 2-1, in the sixth inning when Colby Shelton stepped to the dish and did this…
Suddenly, the game was flipped on its head. Florida needed to find a way to close it out, but they had already used nine pitchers between the day's two games, and called on closer Brandon Neely to escape a jam in the fourth inning.
Florida needed outs. Neely made sure no one else touched the ball for the rest of the contest.
He collected 17 of the most important outs of the season for the Gators, 11 via strikeout, on 104 masterful pitches.
Caglianone became one of the most tantalizing talents in the history of college baseball in his three-year career with the Gators. He hit 75 home runs in just 165 career games, topping Matt LaPorta's 74 home runs in 215 career games over four seasons. With a career that no Gators fan will soon forget, it was only fitting that he ended it standing alone at the top.
The Gators needed one win to complete their improbable run to college baseball's promised land, but no one knew that the best game of the college baseball calendar was about to occur in Clemson, S.C.
The game opened as many did for the Gators this season, with an early lead courtesy of Caglianone.
That was the first spark of what would become a five-alarm fire. Cags soon became (if he wasn't already) public enemy number one in Clemson, as he and Tiger designated hitter Nolan Nawrocki collided and shared pleasantries on the first base line. With the crowd growing anxious, Blake Wright nearly brought Doug Kingsmore Stadium to the ground with this go-ahead, three-run bomb.
Shelton came through with a game-tying and a go-ahead single in back-to-back at-bats in the third and fifth innings, and Donay gave Florida a three-run advantage with this addition to the home run party.
A Wilson homer in the bottom of the eighth seemed to finally seal it for Florida. Neely, the postseason ace, was in to close it out. Just a few more minutes and the Gators were bound for Omaha, until…
A brand-new ballgame. Neely stayed in, kept the score tied and even tossed a perfect tenth inning. In the bottom of the tenth, with a chance to win it for the Gators yet again, Wilson sent a ball to the deepest part of the park only to have center fielder Cam Cannarella steal the show for the second time in one inning with this legendary catch.
The 11th and 12th innings held no more runs, but did feature two ejections from the Clemson bench which reinvigorated the emotionally exhausted Tiger faithful. In the top of the 13th, Alden Mathes gave Clemson their first lead in ten innings with a solo homer, seemingly putting the nail in the Gators' coffin.
In Florida's final half inning, Heyman led off with an infield single thanks to a collision between Clemson's middle infielders. Shelnut singled to left, and Thomas followed with a perfect bunt to put the tying and winning runs in scoring position.
And finally after five hours, seven home runs, 19 runs scored and four lead changes, the Gators were headed back to Omaha.
An instant classic.
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Here, we relive the 2024 campaign through its greatest moments – all the records broken, saves secured, leads changed and tickets punched to Omaha.
10. Trounced in the Trees
The Gators entered the rubber match of the series in Athens just one game over .500 at 27-26. Florida needed to win in order to maintain a winning record and keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.After quickly falling behind 3-0 with some timely hitting by the Bulldogs, the Gator bats went red-hot, erupting for a 12-run fourth inning that included seven extra-base hits. The outburst marked Florida's most runs in one inning since Feb. 27, 2002 vs. Siena (15). Catcher Luke Heyman led the way with four RBI in the fourth, including a bases-clearing, three-run double in his second at bat of the inning.
Hey, man, that's 3️⃣ more!#GoGators // 📺 SECN+ pic.twitter.com/JYk6yt7RAd
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 18, 2024
9. Box'd Out
The then-No. 6 Gators went to Baton Rouge for their first SEC road trip, looking for some revenge for the 2023 MCWS Finals. After a dominant performance in game one by LSU starter Luke Holman, the Gators needed some clutch performances in game two to have a chance at their long-awaited payback.Ty Evans gave Florida new life in the ninth with a two-out RBI single to tie the game at four apiece.
🥶 TYBOOOOOOOO 🥶#GoGators // 📺 SEC Network+ pic.twitter.com/Bini1Pzmz1
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 24, 2024
After the Tigers escaped a jam in the top of the tenth, the top of the 11th saw Caglianone smack his 10th home run of the year to give the Gators a 6-4 lead.
GO-AHEAD JAC JACK 🚀#GoGators // 📺 SEC Network+ pic.twitter.com/xOa7kJN5Yb
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 24, 2024
Ryan Slater, who entered in the tenth, slammed the door in the bottom of the inning to seal the Gators win. The next day, the Gators rode the previous night's momentum to a 12-2 run-rule victory, and left Alex Box Stadium as series winners.
8. Gig 'em Gators
The Gators and Texas A&M Aggies split the first two games of SEC Opening Weekend, and Sunday's game was yet another thriller, tied at 2-2 headed into the bottom of the eighth. With two outs and two strikes, Tyler Shelnut snuck a ball over the fence and after a review, the Gators took a 4-2 lead with just three outs left to get in the ninth.Freshman right-hander Luke McNiellie, who had stumbled to a 17.28 ERA to that point in his young career, was called on to close out the eventual national runners-up. McNeillie retired Jace Laviolette, induced a fielder's choice from Braden Montgomery and retired Ted Burton to swiftly sit down the 2-3-4 hitters of one of the nation's most-potent offenses.
McNEILLIE SHUTS THE DOOR 🚪#GoGators // 📺 SEC Network+ pic.twitter.com/oxdOV7FB8X
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 17, 2024
7. Welcome Wilson
After a clutch first-career pinch-hit in the Kentucky series and a few key knocks in the aforementioned rout of Georgia, Ashton Wilson entered the Stillwater Regional still largely unknown to Gator Nation. In his NCAA Tournament debut, the sophomore introduced himself in style.Wilson collected three doubles in his first three trips to the dish and mashed a long home run off his own name on the left-field scoreboard in the ninth. Wilson went on to dominate the event, taking home Regional MVP honors for his efforts. In one game a postseason hero was born, and he was here to stay.
All hail Ashton Wilson 👑#GoGators // 📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/zl7DOFO4Rn
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) May 31, 2024
6. Donay Calls Game… In the First Inning!
The Gators faced elimination in their third game in Omaha and stared down Kentucky, the SEC Co-Regular Season Champs. The Wildcats bested the Gators in Gainesville earlier in the year, with Kentucky winning two extra-inning nail-biters in heartbreaking fashion. This time around, the Gators were not interested in a close contest.Jac Caglianone, leading off for the first time in his Gators career, started the carousel with a single. Kurland reached via a hit-by-pitch and after a Shelnut strikeout, the train left the station.
Shelton knocked in Caglianone, Heyman cleared the bases with another double, before Wilson and Thomas reached to load them up for Brody Donay…
4-RUN BRO💣#GoGators // 📺ESPN pic.twitter.com/QlOGiOuOzo
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 19, 2024
Restitution for the heartbreak in Gainesville, and an insurmountable lead in an elimination game. It doesn't get much sweeter than that.
5. The Usual Suspect
Very little was predictable about the 2024 season, but when Caglianone stepped up with a man on and the Gators down a run in the bottom of the ninth against Mississippi State, anyone in Condron Family Ballpark could have told you what would happen next.The legend grows 💫 #GoGators pic.twitter.com/JHmEBHqgxo
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) March 31, 2024
Jac's lucky 13th homer of the year won the series for Florida, marking their third-straight to start the conference slate.
4. The Streak
Few players have put together as productive of a collegiate career as Caglianone, but even fewer players have ever hit a home run in nine-straight contests.That is just what Caglianone did on April 19 in Nashville, when he became just the second player in NCAA Division 1 history to reach nine games, joining Tyler Bosetti of Nevada in 2021. The feat has never been accomplished at the Major League or Minor League levels of professional baseball.
NINE-straight games with a homer! 🤯
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) April 20, 2024
Cags TIES the all-time NCAA record! #GoGators // 📺 ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/yFCRKsRD0C
The feat was impressive, but perhaps the most eye-popping part of his historic streak was the projected 516-foot jaw-dropper that he launched in the seventh game of the stretch.
JAC BASHES ONE OVER THE SCOREBOARD!
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) April 16, 2024
That one comes in at a projected 516 feet 🤯#GoGators // 📺 SECN+ pic.twitter.com/BLKMfy6uqN
3. Ain't No Love in Oklahoma
After nearly being shut out by Brian Holliday in their first contest with the Cowboys, the Gators faced elimination in the nightcap of a doubleheader in the Stillwater regional. The Orange and Blue trailed, 2-1, in the sixth inning when Colby Shelton stepped to the dish and did this…BELTIN' SHELTON FOR THE LEAD 🚀💥#GoGators // 📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/Shx0UB0Pfg
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 3, 2024
Suddenly, the game was flipped on its head. Florida needed to find a way to close it out, but they had already used nine pitchers between the day's two games, and called on closer Brandon Neely to escape a jam in the fourth inning.
Florida needed outs. Neely made sure no one else touched the ball for the rest of the contest.
A masterpiece from Neels. #GoGators pic.twitter.com/Cv4eDVebnp
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 3, 2024
He collected 17 of the most important outs of the season for the Gators, 11 via strikeout, on 104 masterful pitches.
2. Cagli-alone at the Top
There was no better place to crown Florida's home run king than Omaha.A cut above the rest. 💎#GoGators pic.twitter.com/cYmo7VILoa
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 19, 2024
Caglianone became one of the most tantalizing talents in the history of college baseball in his three-year career with the Gators. He hit 75 home runs in just 165 career games, topping Matt LaPorta's 74 home runs in 215 career games over four seasons. With a career that no Gators fan will soon forget, it was only fitting that he ended it standing alone at the top.
CAGS STANDS ALONE.
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 19, 2024
Jac sets a new program record with 75 career home runs! #GoGators pic.twitter.com/sAeU1J0Lra
1. The Game of the Year
The Gators needed one win to complete their improbable run to college baseball's promised land, but no one knew that the best game of the college baseball calendar was about to occur in Clemson, S.C.The game opened as many did for the Gators this season, with an early lead courtesy of Caglianone.
JAC'd over the batter's eye! 💣👋#GoGators // 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/MQiTePIEjx
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 9, 2024
That was the first spark of what would become a five-alarm fire. Cags soon became (if he wasn't already) public enemy number one in Clemson, as he and Tiger designated hitter Nolan Nawrocki collided and shared pleasantries on the first base line. With the crowd growing anxious, Blake Wright nearly brought Doug Kingsmore Stadium to the ground with this go-ahead, three-run bomb.
Blake Wright (@BlakeWr86324186) just blew the roof off of DKS!!!
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) June 9, 2024
🚀 405 ft
💨 104 mph
T3 || CU 3, FLA 2
🖥 https://t.co/ozP6rh44g0 pic.twitter.com/00txQHHSJy
Shelton came through with a game-tying and a go-ahead single in back-to-back at-bats in the third and fifth innings, and Donay gave Florida a three-run advantage with this addition to the home run party.
DONAY DINGER 🚀🚀#GoGators // 📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/WR4cROTfEB
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 9, 2024
A Wilson homer in the bottom of the eighth seemed to finally seal it for Florida. Neely, the postseason ace, was in to close it out. Just a few more minutes and the Gators were bound for Omaha, until…
CAM. CANNARELLA. NO. DOUBTER.
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) June 9, 2024
🚀 362 ft
💨 102 mph
T9 || CU 9, FLA 9
🖥 https://t.co/ozP6rh44g0 pic.twitter.com/dc0fjs1Y4o
A brand-new ballgame. Neely stayed in, kept the score tied and even tossed a perfect tenth inning. In the bottom of the tenth, with a chance to win it for the Gators yet again, Wilson sent a ball to the deepest part of the park only to have center fielder Cam Cannarella steal the show for the second time in one inning with this legendary catch.
PLAY OF THE YEAR BY @CAMCANNARELLA!!!!! ⚾️🗣️
— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) June 9, 2024
🖥 https://t.co/ozP6rh44g0 pic.twitter.com/9hvFE4gt3J
The 11th and 12th innings held no more runs, but did feature two ejections from the Clemson bench which reinvigorated the emotionally exhausted Tiger faithful. In the top of the 13th, Alden Mathes gave Clemson their first lead in ten innings with a solo homer, seemingly putting the nail in the Gators' coffin.
In Florida's final half inning, Heyman led off with an infield single thanks to a collision between Clemson's middle infielders. Shelnut singled to left, and Thomas followed with a perfect bunt to put the tying and winning runs in scoring position.
And finally after five hours, seven home runs, 19 runs scored and four lead changes, the Gators were headed back to Omaha.
An instant classic.
MICHAEL ROBERTSON. THE CARDIAC KID. 🥶#GoGators pic.twitter.com/PjdCj6j3Cs
— Florida Gators Baseball (@GatorsBB) June 9, 2024
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