Brendan Lawson takes an at bat during the Gators' game against Auburn on Thursday, April 16, 2026 at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Fla. / UAA Communications photo by Jordan Perez
Baseball America Names Lawson, King and McDonald All-Americans
Friday, June 12, 2026 | Baseball
Brendan Lawson garnered his first-career All-America honor while Aidan King and Caden McDonald secured their fourth and third of the season, respectively.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida Gators shortstop Brendan Lawson, starting pitcher Aidan King and two-way player Caden McDonald were announced as Second Team All-Americans by Baseball America on Friday.
For Lawson, Friday's announcement represents the first All-America accolade of his career. McDonald earned his third-such nod, previously receiving Second Team recognition from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Perfect Game.
Baseball America becomes the fourth major publication to award King All-America honors, following the NCBWA (First Team), American Baseball Coaches Association (Second Team) and Perfect Game (Second Team). If King receives honors from D1Baseball as well, he will be crowned a 2026 Unanimous All-American.
The UF trio has now combined for eight total All-America honors this awards cycle. Below is a running list of all of Florida's All-America accolades from the 2026 season.
2026 Florida Baseball All-American Honors
Brendan Lawson, SS – Second Team (BA)
Aidan King, SP – First Team (NCBWA), Second Team (ABCA, BA, PG)
Caden McDonald, UT – Second Team (BA, NCBWA, PG)
As the aircraft carrier of the UF offense, Lawson started 51 of his 56 games at shortstop and paced Florida in OPS (1.210), on-base percentage (.511), slugging (.699), extra-base hits (32), home runs (19), runs scored (68), total bases (130), walks (53) and hit-by-pitches (24). Finishing with the sixth-best OBP in program history, the Canadian sophomore set career highs in nearly every offensive statistic. Lawson also tallied 58 hits, two triples and 48 RBI on the season. He homered in eight of the last 12 games of the campaign, slashing .409/.567/1.023 in that stretch with 45 total bases, 23 runs, 12 RBI and four steals. Lawson also improved defensively as the season progressed, committing just one error across 59 chances at shortstop in the final 14 contests for a .983 fielding percentage.
Becoming the first Gator underclassman to collect SEC Pitcher of the Year honors including the fourth in league history, King led Florida with eight wins, a 3.21 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 97.0 innings pitched while holding hitters to a .218 batting average. On the season, King fanned 92 batters against 19 free passes, equating to a 4.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In SEC action, he led all starters with a 0.89 WHIP, tied for the top spot in victories (six) and held hitters to a .184 batting average. As a true workhorse, King fired a team-high eight quality starts including six in SEC play – pitching into the seventh inning five times against SEC foes. His 62.0 SEC innings trailed only Alabama's Tyler Fay.
After being inserted into the starting lineup on April 24 vs. Texas A&M, McDonald emerged as one of the nation's premier two-way stars by reaching base in 18 of 20 games and popping a team-best nine home runs. Prior to the series at Oklahoma, only two players in UF history had recorded a home run, thrown three-plus scoreless innings and earned the win in the same game: Jac Caglianone and Brian Johnson. McDonald accomplished that feat twice in consecutive series against OU and UK, concluding the campaign with a .319/.379/.702 slash line and 18 extra-base hits in 21 starts while working to a 3.42 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and .222 batting average against over 20 relief appearances.
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For Lawson, Friday's announcement represents the first All-America accolade of his career. McDonald earned his third-such nod, previously receiving Second Team recognition from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Perfect Game.
Baseball America becomes the fourth major publication to award King All-America honors, following the NCBWA (First Team), American Baseball Coaches Association (Second Team) and Perfect Game (Second Team). If King receives honors from D1Baseball as well, he will be crowned a 2026 Unanimous All-American.
The UF trio has now combined for eight total All-America honors this awards cycle. Below is a running list of all of Florida's All-America accolades from the 2026 season.
2026 Florida Baseball All-American Honors
Brendan Lawson, SS – Second Team (BA)
Aidan King, SP – First Team (NCBWA), Second Team (ABCA, BA, PG)
Caden McDonald, UT – Second Team (BA, NCBWA, PG)
As the aircraft carrier of the UF offense, Lawson started 51 of his 56 games at shortstop and paced Florida in OPS (1.210), on-base percentage (.511), slugging (.699), extra-base hits (32), home runs (19), runs scored (68), total bases (130), walks (53) and hit-by-pitches (24). Finishing with the sixth-best OBP in program history, the Canadian sophomore set career highs in nearly every offensive statistic. Lawson also tallied 58 hits, two triples and 48 RBI on the season. He homered in eight of the last 12 games of the campaign, slashing .409/.567/1.023 in that stretch with 45 total bases, 23 runs, 12 RBI and four steals. Lawson also improved defensively as the season progressed, committing just one error across 59 chances at shortstop in the final 14 contests for a .983 fielding percentage.
Becoming the first Gator underclassman to collect SEC Pitcher of the Year honors including the fourth in league history, King led Florida with eight wins, a 3.21 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 97.0 innings pitched while holding hitters to a .218 batting average. On the season, King fanned 92 batters against 19 free passes, equating to a 4.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In SEC action, he led all starters with a 0.89 WHIP, tied for the top spot in victories (six) and held hitters to a .184 batting average. As a true workhorse, King fired a team-high eight quality starts including six in SEC play – pitching into the seventh inning five times against SEC foes. His 62.0 SEC innings trailed only Alabama's Tyler Fay.
After being inserted into the starting lineup on April 24 vs. Texas A&M, McDonald emerged as one of the nation's premier two-way stars by reaching base in 18 of 20 games and popping a team-best nine home runs. Prior to the series at Oklahoma, only two players in UF history had recorded a home run, thrown three-plus scoreless innings and earned the win in the same game: Jac Caglianone and Brian Johnson. McDonald accomplished that feat twice in consecutive series against OU and UK, concluding the campaign with a .319/.379/.702 slash line and 18 extra-base hits in 21 starts while working to a 3.42 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and .222 batting average against over 20 relief appearances.
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