Everything Kevin O'Sullivan Said After Gators' Season-Ending Loss to Troy in the Gainesville Regional

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators' 2026 season came to an end on Monday with a 10-2 loss to Troy in the Gainesville Regional Final, ending the team's season in regional play for the second straight season.

After the game, head coach Kevin O'Sullivan met with the media to discuss the loss. Here's everything he had to say.

On starting Cooper Walls:

"First of all, I want to congratulate Troy. They outplayed us in two games, and they deserved to move on. So, congratulations to them. I mean, there were some other options, but you know, Coop has started before for us. So, we kind of had it mapped out pitching-wise. When I left last night, Russ had said that he and Aidan were wanting to pitch today, and obviously a lot went into that discussion last night, making sure they talked to their parents and whoever else is involved in their circle, and then we just didn't get the start that we needed, obviously. It felt like we were chasing runs the whole last two days. Quite frankly, we didn't pitch well enough in this tournament."

On taking Caden McDonald out for Russell Sandefer:

"I mean, it's always easy to second guess, but here's the deal. I saw him in the dugout, and he looked gassed. I think the most number of pitches he's thrown this year is 52, and that was against Oklahoma, and he was at 48. We knew we were going to go to Russ, so he threw two breaking balls that backed up on him, and it was real hard contact to the shortstop. And I did not want to bring Russ in with runners on base because he has been starting, so he was going to start from the wind up. And, you know, it's a lot to ask somebody to be a two-way player, and I'm the one who sees him in the dugout. I could see him. He looked tired, and I didn't want to put him in a situation where he pitched so well. All we're looking for from Russ was to give us five outs, and unfortunately that didn't work out."

On if they considered starting McDonald:

"Yeah, that was a discussion, as well, but, like I said, all we were looking for out at Coop was like two innings, and then to get through the lineup one time, and then go to Caden. I know people second guess taking him out, but he pitched twice in this tournament, he's being asked to be a position player, as well, and, like I said, 50 pitches is about his max, and I made the decision, and unfortunately, it didn't work out, but I had all the trust in the world in Russ. I mean, he's coming off a great start on Friday night. Like I said, we're just looking for five outs, and it was easier for him to come in and start his outing in the wind up instead of coming in in a stretch where he's been starting most of the year. So I thought it was the right time and the right move to protect Caden and put him in the best position to be successful. I thought if we're going to use Russ on short rest, that was the best spot to do it bottom line."

On the offensive struggles tonight:

"I don't know. I think their left-hander just did a nice job."

On summarizing the season after the leave of absence, coaching change, ups and downs in the season:

"I haven't really had time to think about it. I've got a whole team that's upset in the dugout right now. It's a close-knit group, and it was a little inconsistent. I think the inconsistencies, whether it be offensively or pitching-wise, like this weekend, when you're inconsistent, it's very difficult to make consistent decisions. Let's just be honest. I mean, never in my wildest dreams would I think that Russ would come in and walk three and have the leadoff man one and two, you know? So I got all the trust in the world in him was fully convinced that he'd be able to give us five outs, and then he was gone, and then we'd go to Ernie for one inning, and then we'd have Whrit and Aidan if we needed him at the end. It just didn't work out that way."

On how surprising the pitching was this weekend:

"It's a bit surprising. And it was a little bit of everybody. It was the bullpen on Friday night. Obviously, we just got three innings out of Aidan on Saturday, which is abnormal. And then yesterday we got our number one going, and obviously that didn't work out, and then today, I made the decision, bringing Russ, and it doesn't work out. No one feels worse than he does, or me, for that matter. I mean, but at the same time, you know, Caden done his job, and, like I said, he looked tired in the dugout. So, that's that."

On the transfer portal opening:

"I'll be honest with you, we started recruiting today. The timing of it is kind of weird. Like, you're playing a regional final game, and the portal opens. So, we'll have to get together with all the players, we'll have to mix in exit meetings, and we'll have official visits starting tomorrow all week long. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and this weekend. So, there's not a whole lot of time to reflect. We got to get better. Certain areas we got to get better at. Obviously, the lineups that we faced in the regional here were not great matchups for us, because we are a little bit short-handed, left-handed pitching-wise. We have to go into the portal and get some left-handed arms, because the lineups were left-handed heavy for Miami and obviously for Troy."

On the emotions of a weekend like this:

“It’s hard to put into words, honestly. You go into these things feeling fully confident that you’re going to win, and when it doesn’t turn out that way, and the way the last two games have turned, it’s going to take a little while to digest it, but obviously it’s my responsibility to figure out where we need to improve. I know that’s coaches speak, but honestly we need to evaluate this because we have to be more consistent all the way around. Offensively, we went through some spurts this year where we were a little inconsistent. At this time of the year we should not be having these issues with the walks and that type of thing. The classic example. We started the game off with a leadoff walk, next thing you know we got two runners on and we missed a spot on the fastball and we got arguably their best hitter up and hits a double down the right field line and now we’re down 2-0 before we even get back in the dugout. Then we walk the leadoff man to start the second and we’re chasing. We just need to get better.”

Other than left handed pitching, what are some other needs you need to address through the portal:

“Obviously we need to sign a catcher, and just get some middle of the order bats. The pitching is really important. And we got to look at it, we have to figure out how many spots we actually have, we got to figure out who on our roster is going into the portal. I mean a lot goes into this.”

On how you’ve produced with the NIL you had, and how much more do you need to improve the roster:

“It’s hard for me to tell. I don’t really know the landscape yet, of what the going rate is for different players and that type of thing. Over the next couple days we’ll figure that out.”

Do you feel like you’ll have more resources this offseason:

“Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I think so, yeah.”

Do you feel confident on the nucleus of the team next season:

“Yeah, I do. We’ve got a really good nucleus. Aidan King is back. We got Lawson back. We got Jaden Bastian back, who’s been injured the entire year. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Cade Kurland, we will see with the draft. Ethan has a chance to be drafted, but who knows, hopefully he’s back. Strip is back. And there’s some other good players. Like Cash Strayer hasn’t played a whole lot. He’s a middle of the order bat. But to answer your question, I do feel good about it. We get Josh back on the mound, we get Barbs back on the mound.”

Would you like to see the transfer portal moved back so it’s not a distraction this weekend:

“Yeah. It would make life a whole lot easier. And it doesn’t coincide with the draft either, because you don’t know who you’re losing. The portal closes before the draft starts. So it would be nice to have those two things connected so you can figure out what your teams looks like after the draft.”

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