Aidan King delivers a pitch during a fall intrasquad matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024 at Condron Ballpark in Gainesville, Fla.
Gators to Jumpstart Fall Baseball Practice on Oct. 6
Tuesday, September 2, 2025 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 2026 Florida Gators baseball team officially begins the fall practice season on Monday, Oct. 6 at Condron Family Ballpark with the gates open to all fans.
Highlighting the Gators' 2025 fall slate are two exhibition games, beginning with a Halloween night matchup against Jacksonville University at Vystar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. Thereafter, Florida will host Georgia Southern at Condron Family Ballpark on Sunday, Nov. 9. Start times for both games as well as ticketing information for Florida-JU will be announced at a later date.
All of Florida's practices and intrasquad scrimmages will once again be open to the public for the duration of the fall. Each week, an updated weekly schedule will be posted to FloridaGators.com and @GatorsBB social channels, including approximate practice and scrimmage start times.
Florida returns 22 total players from last year's NCAA Regional squad, featuring five positional starters in first baseman Brendan Lawson, second baseman Cade Kurland, left fielder Blake Cyr, center fielder Justin Nadeau and right fielder Hayden Yost. Regular contributors Ashton Wilson and Landon Stripling are also back as is rising junior outfielder Kyle Jones, who missed the majority of last season due to injury.
The Gators used the transfer portal to fortify that group, bringing in Second Team All-Big 12 catcher Karson Bowen (TCU), 2025 Ivy League Player of the Year Sam Miller (Columbia), 2025 Northwoods League MVP Ethan Surowiec (Ole Miss) and outfielder Jaden Bastian (Jacksonville). Catchers Cole Stanford (Lenoir-Rhyne) and AJ Malzone (Wabash Valley College) also bring their talents to the Orange & Blue.
However, the key strength of the 2026 Florida roster will be the one-two punch atop the starting rotation in presumed staff ace Liam Peterson and 2025 Freshman All-American Aidan King. Those two will head one of the nation's most-feared starting staffs, followed by key returners in right-handers Jackson Barberi, Billy Barlow, Matthew Jenkins, Caden McDonald, Luke McNeillie, Christian Rodriguez and Blaine Rowland in addition to southpaw McCall Biemiller. Rising redshirt freshmen Schuyler Sandford and Joshua Whritenour are also back in the fold after missing the 2024 campaign to injuries.
Further deepening the pitching corps is a unique collection of blue-chip transfers: Division II First Team All-American left-hander Ernesto Lugo-Canchola (Northwest Nazarene), 2025 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year Cooper Walls (Hawaii), right-hander Russell Sandefer (UCF) and righty Ricky Reeth (Notre Dame).
Nine true freshmen complete Florida's contingent of 19 newcomers, which can be found below.
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Highlighting the Gators' 2025 fall slate are two exhibition games, beginning with a Halloween night matchup against Jacksonville University at Vystar Ballpark in Jacksonville, Fla. Thereafter, Florida will host Georgia Southern at Condron Family Ballpark on Sunday, Nov. 9. Start times for both games as well as ticketing information for Florida-JU will be announced at a later date.
All of Florida's practices and intrasquad scrimmages will once again be open to the public for the duration of the fall. Each week, an updated weekly schedule will be posted to FloridaGators.com and @GatorsBB social channels, including approximate practice and scrimmage start times.
| Important Fall Dates | |
| Monday, Oct. 6 | First Day of Fall Practice (Time TBD) |
| Friday, Oct. 31 | Florida vs. Jacksonville (Vystar Ballpark in Jacksonville) |
| Sunday, Nov. 9 | Georgia Southern vs. Florida (Gainesville, Fla.) |
Florida returns 22 total players from last year's NCAA Regional squad, featuring five positional starters in first baseman Brendan Lawson, second baseman Cade Kurland, left fielder Blake Cyr, center fielder Justin Nadeau and right fielder Hayden Yost. Regular contributors Ashton Wilson and Landon Stripling are also back as is rising junior outfielder Kyle Jones, who missed the majority of last season due to injury.
The Gators used the transfer portal to fortify that group, bringing in Second Team All-Big 12 catcher Karson Bowen (TCU), 2025 Ivy League Player of the Year Sam Miller (Columbia), 2025 Northwoods League MVP Ethan Surowiec (Ole Miss) and outfielder Jaden Bastian (Jacksonville). Catchers Cole Stanford (Lenoir-Rhyne) and AJ Malzone (Wabash Valley College) also bring their talents to the Orange & Blue.
However, the key strength of the 2026 Florida roster will be the one-two punch atop the starting rotation in presumed staff ace Liam Peterson and 2025 Freshman All-American Aidan King. Those two will head one of the nation's most-feared starting staffs, followed by key returners in right-handers Jackson Barberi, Billy Barlow, Matthew Jenkins, Caden McDonald, Luke McNeillie, Christian Rodriguez and Blaine Rowland in addition to southpaw McCall Biemiller. Rising redshirt freshmen Schuyler Sandford and Joshua Whritenour are also back in the fold after missing the 2024 campaign to injuries.
Further deepening the pitching corps is a unique collection of blue-chip transfers: Division II First Team All-American left-hander Ernesto Lugo-Canchola (Northwest Nazarene), 2025 Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year Cooper Walls (Hawaii), right-hander Russell Sandefer (UCF) and righty Ricky Reeth (Notre Dame).
Nine true freshmen complete Florida's contingent of 19 newcomers, which can be found below.
| 2025-26 Florida Baseball Newcomers | |||||
| # | Player | Pos. | B/T | Class | Hometown / High School / Previous School |
| 0 | Jaden Bastian | OF | R/R | JR | Winter Garden, Fla. / The First Academy / Jacksonville |
| 34 | Eli Blair | LHP | L/L | FR | Panama City Beach, Fla. / J.R. Arnold |
| 14 | Karson Bowen | C | R/R | SR | Anaheim Hills, Calif. / Orange Lutheran / TCU |
| 35 | Jackson Hoyt | LHP | L/L | FR | Brooksville, Fla. / Nature Coast Technical |
| 43 | Jacob Kendall | OF | L/R | FR | St. Augustine, Fla. / A3 Academy |
| 32 | Rivers Kurland | LHP | R/L | FR | Tampa, Fla. / Berkeley Prep |
| 44 | Ernesto Lugo-Canchola | LHP | L/L | GR | Pleasant Grove, Utah / Pleasant Grove / Utah / Northwest Nazarene |
| 28 | AJ Malzone | C | L/R | JR | Manteno, Ill. / St. Rita of Cascia / Wabash Valley College |
| 2 | Sam Miller | INF | R/R | SR | McMurray, Pa. / Peters Township / Columbia |
| 18 | Cooper Moss | RHP | R/R | FR | Panama City Beach, Fla. / J.R. Arnold |
| 6 | Nic Partridge | INF | L/R | FR | Lakeland, Fla. / Mulberry Senior |
| 31 | Ricky Reeth | RHP | L/R | RS SR | Windermere, Fla. / West Orange / Notre Dame |
| 17 | Russell Sandefer | RHP | R/R | JR | Tampa, Fla. / Robinson / Saint Leo / UCF |
| 49 | Colton Schwarz | INF | R/R | FR | Jupiter, Fla. / Jupiter |
| 45 | Minjae Seo | RHP | R/R | FR | Carrollton, Tex. / Hebron |
| 29 | Cole Stanford | C | R/R | GR | Ellerslie, Ga. / Harris County / Lenoir-Rhyne |
| 26 | Cash Strayer | OF | L/R | FR | Tampa, Fla. / Plant |
| 10 | Ethan Surowiec | INF | R/R | SO | Gulfport, Miss. / Gulfport / Ole Miss |
| 38 | Cooper Walls | RHP | R/R | SO | Carlsbad, Calif. / La Costa Canyon HS / Hawaii |
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