Transfer Cooper Walls bounced back after a shaky first inning by retiring nine of the final 11 batters he faced in the Gators' win over Kennesaw State on Sunday at Condron Ballpark. (Photo: Jordan Perez/UAA Communications)
Forecast For Walls: A Constant Competitive Fire
Monday, February 23, 2026 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — On a gorgeous February 2025 evening at Les Murakami Stadium in Honolulu, anxious freshman Cooper Walls took the mound for his first college start. The weather report for the University of Hawaii's game against Wichita State was recorded as this: sun, blue skies & diamond head.
For Walls, that meant each time he turned toward right field to gather his thoughts, he could see the Diamond Head State Monument, the saucer-shaped volcano crater considered Hawaii's most recognized landmark. While located only about four miles from the Rainbow Warriors' home stadium, locals know that before planning a day hiking trip to the summit, you need to check the weather report, with the Pacific churning below and inclement weather a constant visitor.
Asked late Sunday afternoon what he recalled from his inaugural turn in the rotation, Walls came up blank other than the opponent.
"I don't really remember much," he said.
One year to the day since Walls tossed four innings against the Shockers, he was on the mound for the Gators on Sunday. The weather was sunny, the skies blue, but instead of diamond head listed among the conditions, it was 15-20 mph wind gusts sweeping across Condron Ballpark.
That didn't help Walls' cause in his second turn as UF's Sunday starter.
"It's just hard for pitchers to grip their breaking balls and stuff,'' Gators coach Kevin O'Sullivan said of the windy 3-hour, 38-minute contest won by UF. "It was really both teams."
Cooper Walls joined the Gators after spending his freshman season at the University of Hawaii. (Photo: Senay Kennon/UAA Communications)
For a moment, it looked as though Walls might not make it out of the first inning in the 12-9 win over Kennesaw State. Two batters into the game, he was down 1-0. By the end of the frame, Walls had allowed three runs on four hits, all while striking out the side.
But Walls refused to buckle.
"Giving up three runs in the first is not how you want to start your outing,'' he said. "After that, I feel like I competed. I gave the team what we needed to be successful in the game. But it didn't start off great. Not feeling too good about it."
Walls was not as sharp as the previous week when he allowed one run and four hits over 5 1/3 innings against UAB, earning his first victory with the Gators. Still, he responded by facing the minimum over the next three innings as the Gators took a 4-3 lead heading into the top of the fifth.
Walls' mental toughness helped him pitch well enough at Hawaii a season ago to be named Big West Conference Freshman Pitcher of the Year, going 3-3 with a 3.73 ERA over 60 1/3 innings. Walls caught O'Sullivan's attention when he entered the transfer portal last June, and not too long afterward, Walls signed with the Gators and made his case to be the No. 3 starter behind Liam Peterson and Aidan King with a strong fall season.
O'Sullivan didn't feel the need to say anything to Walls on Sunday after his shaky first inning.
"He was frustrated with himself by falling behind,'' O'Sullivan said. "He's a competitor. I've seen him so good during the preseason. Today was not indicative of what you are going to see, I think, moving forward."
A right-hander who grew up in Carlsbad, Calif., north of San Diego, Walls is a 6-foot-5, 225-pound presence on the mound who mixes a mid-90s fastball with a slider and curveball. He started out as a catcher at La Costa Canyon High School and played travel ball on a team headed by former major leaguer Hank Blalock, a San Diego native and two-time All-Star with the Texas Rangers.
Hawaii coach Rich Hill, the longtime University of San Diego coach before taking over the Rainbow Warriors, first noticed Walls by chance on a random visit with Blalock, whom he has known for many years. He saw a young catcher with a strong arm throwing to second base for Blalock's travel team.
Hill kept an eye on Walls and signed him out of high school. A week before moving him into the rotation last season, Hill trotted Walls out for a relief appearance against Marshall. On the first pitch of his college career, Walls plunked a batter. He then allowed three straight hits. But much like Walls' outing on Sunday against Kennesaw State, he battled back to go 3 2/3 innings.
"We see him as a future ace,'' Hill told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Walls improved as his rookie season progressed, and when it was time for Hill to name a starter for Hawaii's opener in the Big West Tournament, he turned to Walls to face UC Santa Barbara. Walls tossed four solid innings in the victory.
Cooper Walls was named Big West Conference Freshman Pitcher of the Year last season at Hawaii. (Photo: Courtesy of Walls' Instagram page)
Walls said he chose Hawaii out of high school because he "thought it would be a cool experience to go out there and play. It turned out pretty well for me."
For the Gators, too.
O'Sullivan understands the importance of a dependable third starter, never more than when Jackson Kowar filled that role in 2017 behind Alex Faedo and Brady Singer to help UF win the program's only national championship.
"Sully called me. Great program. Had never heard anything bad about it. So many obviously big names come out of there,'' Walls said of his decision. "I wanted to be part of this program that seemed special, and obviously, going to Omaha and winning a College World Series is my ultimate goal, and I felt I had a really good chance coming here."
The Gators expect those numbers to improve, given Walls' defining trait: his competitiveness.
"No matter what I do, I just want to go out there and give my best and win,'' he said. "I hate losing. It makes my blood boil to lose. I just want to win at everything."
Barberi got a glimpse of that fire on Sunday.
"We kind of got punched in the mouth early,'' said Barberi, who earned the win with 2 1/3 scoreless innings in relief. "To go back out in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings – after that long first inning didn't go the way he wanted it to go. His pitch count got a little bit up in the first inning, but after that really controlling the zone and making short work of those middle innings. It was really big getting to see he was able to bounce back like that."
The 19-year-old Walls, who turns 20 in late May, has adjusted to his long-distance move from Hawaii. He is eager for his first taste of the Florida-Miami rivalry next weekend in Coral Gables.
He has barely worked up a sweat with the Gators, but the poise he showed Sunday is part of his DNA. He chases substances over flash – one pitch at a time.
"You can't really drag your head,'' he said. "You've got to give the team what you can give them. I gave the team as much as I could give until Sully came and got me. I feel like I can give the team better."
Walls has gone from California to Hawaii to Florida. The sunny locales bring to mind his scouting report. He can't look out from the mound and see Diamond Head any longer, but the forecast for Walls is promising in his first season at UF.
"As a young freshman, I was kind of nervous,'' he said. "Now, here, I've got 20 starts under my belt, almost, so I've definitely got more confidence and more experience."
