Aidan King is pumped after his strikeout to finish the top of the eighth inning on Friday night at Condron Ballperk. (Photo: Senay Kennon/UAA Communications)
A King in Command
Saturday, April 25, 2026 | Baseball, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In a season of twists and turns, highs and lows, Aidan King has been the North Star for the UF baseball team.
On Friday night at Condron Ballpark, King delivered his brightest performance yet.
King pulled on his No. 47 jersey and took the mound against No. 8-ranked Texas A&M to start another important late-season Southeastern Conference series. Three hours, eight innings and a career-high 121 pitches later, King made a statement finish as he charged off the field after striking out potential first-round pick Caden Sorrell to end the top of the eighth inning in Florida's 9-2 win.
Typically mild-mannered in street clothes, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound King unleashed the competitor inside with a wicked stare and screams toward the Aggies dugout. Meanwhile, as his teammates spilled from the dugout to greet King, fans chanted "Aid-an, Aid-an" in one of Florida's crispest wins of the season.
"AK brings some high intent, and as you saw tonight, he's not afraid to let it all hang out,'' said teammate Caden McDonald, Florida's hitting star on Friday. "Everyone gets fired up for him when he comes through like that."
King won his fourth consecutive start by limiting the Aggies to four hits and two runs over eight innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter. King's only blemish came in the third inning when he left a 1-1 pitch to Gavin Grahovac hanging. Grahovac turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 Texas A&M lead with a swing that deposited King's pitch over the left-field wall, only the second homer King has allowed in 60 2/3 innings this season.
The Gators responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, and stretched their lead to 4-2 on McDonald's solo shot in the sixth. They blew it open with four runs in the bottom of the eighth after King's memorable exit.
"He was just throwing strike after strike after strike,'' UF coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "He did a really nice job getting the leadoff hitter. I mean, their lineup is potent. It's as good of a lineup as there is in the entire country.
"I can't say too many great things about him because it was just an awesome performance."
Gators right-hander Aidan King dominated in his win over Texas A&M on Friday night, allowing only five of 29 batters faced to reach base. (Photo: Senay Kennon/UAA Communications)
A sophomore from Jacksonville, King began to make his presence known late last season when the Gators turned their season around to make the NCAA Tournament. The sophomore jinx is a stranger to him.
O'Sullivan moved him into the Friday night slot ahead of Liam Peterson earlier this month in a three-game series at Georgia, and King answered with 7 2/3 strong innings. He beat Auburn a week ago and followed that performance with arguably the best outing of his career against the dangerous Aggies.
King (7-2, 1.78 ERA) has been so good that his ERA actually increased slightly despite retiring 16 of the final 17 batters he faced.
"It's been fun,'' King said. "I go out there and get outs, go six to seven innings and set the tone for the team."
In a season in which the Gators have been at their best against ranked teams and an offense that has struggled against SEC competition, King has been as steady as Florida sunshine.
He quickly regrouped after Grahovac's homer on Friday.
"I just went back out there and didn't let that affect me on the mound,'' he said.
King's adrenaline was evident as he battled Sorrell. He continued to hit 94 mph on the speed gun in only his second outing of the season with more than 100 pitches.
O'Sullivan had the bullpen ready to start the inning, but with King pitching like an old-school ace, he sent him out to face Boston Kellner, Grahovac and Sorrell.
"He gets upset with me every time I take him out," O'Sullivan said. "It was just a gut feel. I was watching. Usually, you can tell when he starts getting tired; he falls behind in the count a little bit. He didn't fall behind in the seventh, and he did not have any drop in his velo."
King didn't blink.
"I felt good, and I wanted to keep going to save the bullpen,'' he said. "Arm felt good. I didn't try and do anything different than what I've done all season."
King allowed five baserunners among the 29 batters he faced, and one of those came in the fourth inning on shortstop Brendan Lawson's two-out error. He retired the Aggies 1-2-3 five times.
If King had any regrets, it was his outburst toward Texas A&M's dugout after his final pitch. He suggested the back-and-forth chatter during the game played a role.
"Sometimes I get pushed a little too far, and I take a stand for myself,'' he said. "If I could go back and change anything, I would direct it more toward our dugout and not toward them. Emotions got the best of me."
O'Sullivan shared the same sentiment. He embraces the fire, but seeks to contain the flames.
"We want to get that under control a little bit. I don't know the whole story. There's nothing wrong with having emotion, but it's got to be handled in a different way," O'Sullivan said. "The last thing you want to do is get the other team excited. I understand the emotion and that type of stuff, and you certainly would rather that than the other; it just needs to be done in a different way, maybe toward our team."
As the Gators battle for postseason positioning down the stretch, they can't afford to lose King. He has been their rock, and with the way he is pitching, the Gators know they can beat any team on any night.
McDonald had a first-row seat Friday night as the designated hitter. He watched a pitcher at the top of his game – and a competitor who refused to lose.
"I was all for it,'' McDonald said. "I was hoping he wasn't going to get ejected, that's the only thing that was in my mind because we're going to need him. That's just him. He's just a different animal out there. You piss him off a little bit, he's going to come at you."
The Aggies and their quiet bats discovered that Friday night.
