Gainesville Regional: Florida Gators host first round of NCAA Tournament

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators are the No. 2 National seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host the Gainesville Regional. As the No. 2 seed, the Gators will have the opportunity to host a Super Regional is they advance past the Regional phase.

The 2023 campaign represents the 19th time that Florida has hosted an NCAA Regional, including the team’s third-consecutive bid after hosting in the inaugural season of Condron Family Ballpark in 2021.
 
This is the Gators’ 15th-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth under Kevin O’Sullivan, which is the second-longest streak in the country. Florida has hosted an NCAA Regional (Gainesville Regional) in 12 out of a possible 15 seasons under O’Sullivan. By earning the No. 2 overall seed, the Gators are a top-eight national seed for the 10th time out of a possible 15 in the O’Sullivan Era.

Gainesville Regional Schedule

Complete Schedule for the 2023 NCAA Gainesville Regional
Friday, June 2
Game One: 12 p.m. ET* – Texas Tech vs. UConn (ESPN+)
Game Two: 5:30 p.m. ET* – Florida A&M vs. Florida (ESPN+)

Saturday, June 3
Game Three: 12 p.m. ET* (elimination game) – UConn vs. FAMU
Game Four: 6 p.m. ET* – Texas Tech vs. Florida

Sunday, June 4
Game Five: 12 p.m. ET* (elimination game) – Loser Game Four vs. UConn
Game Six: 6 p.m. ET* – Winner Game Four vs. Winner Game Five

Monday, June 5
Game Seven (if necessary): TBA* – Winner Game Six vs. Loser Game Six
*All times subject to change based on TV

Team snapshots

1. Florida Gators
2. UConn Huskies
3. Texas Tech
4. Florida A&M

Florida Gators

Overall Record: 44-14

Conference Record: 20-10 (22-11 including SEC Tournament)

RPI: 4

Weekend Rotation:

RHP Brandon Sproat

RHP Hurston Waldrep

LHP Jac Caglianone

Notable bullpen pitchers: LHP Philip Abner, LHP Cade Fisher, RHP Ryan Slater, RHP Brandon Neely

Best Bats: OF Wyatt Langford, 1B Jac Caglianone, 2B Cade Kurland, SS Josh Rivera

Analysis: Florida finished the season with 44 wins and came a game shy of making it to the SEC Championship. The Gators have one of the most physical offenses in recent memory. Florida is slugging .557 as a team and has 117 home runs on the season. They’ll get to play all of their games at home where all three starting pitchers have had much more success than away from Condron Ballpark. The key for Florida will be winning its first two games here. It will be interesting to see if the Gators elect to save Brandon Sproat and Hurston Waldrep on Friday night. Jac Caglianone could throw on one day less rest and face a lineup that could help him build confidence while saving your 1a and 1b guys in Sproat and Waldrep for games two and three.

UConn Huskies

Overall Record: 43-15

Conference Record: 15-5

RPI: 22

Weekend Rotation: RHP Stephen Quigley, RHP Ian Cooke, RHP Jack Sullivan

Notable bullpen pitchers: LHP Zach Fogell, RHP Justin Willis

Best Bats: OF Korey Morton, 1B Ben Huber, INF Luke Broadhurst, OF Korey Morton

Analysis: The Huskies looked like they could be a Regional host for much of the season but failed to win the Big East. UConn has a .306 team batting average and an impressive 123 doubles this season. They won’t put the ball over the fence much. UConn’s pitching staff has a 4.86 ERA. They’ve also given up more than 60 home runs as a staff and opponents are hitting .267 against the (compared to UF’s opponent batting average of .237).

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Overall Record: 39-21

Conference Record: 12-12 (Big 12)

RPI: 41

Weekend Rotation: LHP Mason Molina, RHP Zane Petty

Notable bullpen pitchers: RHP Brandon Beckel, RHP Ethan Coombs, RHP Jase Lopez,

Best Bats: INF Gavin Kash, OF Nolan Hester, C/INF Hudson White

Analysis: The Red Raiders are a tough three-seed in the Gainesville Regional.. Texas Tech won nearly 40 games this season and have a team batting average of .309. While their power numbers can be a bit inflated playing in a smaller park and in West Texas where the ball traditionally flies, they’re a good-hitting club with 136 doubles on the season.

Texas Tech might not be the best team statistically but they have a clubhouse full of baseball players. They play hard, do the little things right, and they can swing the bats. Brandon Beckel has SEC stuff on the mound.

Florida A&M

Overall Record:

Conference Record:

RPI: 153

Weekend Rotation: RHP Hunter Viets, RHP Caleb Granger, RHP Zach Morea

Notable bullpen pitchers: RHP Raylan Wagner, RHP Grant Harrison, LHP Tre Simmons

Best Bats: OF Ty Jackson, OF Ty Hanchey, Sebastian Greico, INF Jared Weber

Analysis: The Rattlers come into the NCAA Tournament by way of winning the SWAC Tournament. FAMU played Florida earlier this season, a 17-7 victory in seven innings for the Gators.

This season marks the third time in program history that FAMU has made it to the NCAA Tournament. All three times have come under current skipper Jamey Shouppe. The Rattlers will be looking to win its first NCAA Tournament game in program history. FAMU went 0-2 in the Gainesville Regional in 2015 (UF, FAU) and 0-2 in the Atlanta Regional (Georgia Tech, Coastal Carolina).