From Bottom Feeder to Contender, Gators on the Cusp of Hosting NCAA Regional

Six-straight series wins have put the Florida Gators back on the map as they look to contend for their third-straight College World Series appearance.

The Florida Gators have put themselves in a position to host an NCAA Regional after six-straight series wins. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- With six-straight series wins and a 15-15 finish in conference play, the Florida Gators have gone from a bottom feeder in college baseball to potentially hosting an NCAA Regional.

The turnaround, one of the greatest in program history, has caused Florida to be put back on the map for all the right reasons, and despite the season being far from over, Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan can't help but reflect even if he doesn't want to.

"I tend to hopefully wait to the end of the year to kind of (reflect on the season), but you can't help but just shake your head and say, 'How did this happen?'" O'Sullivan said after Saturday's 9-3 win over Alabama. "First, how did we get to be 1-11, but then, how do we get to this point with all the injuries and everything else? So, yeah, it's rewarding. It probably won't totally sink in until this whole thing is said and done, but it's a heck of a story, for sure."

The Gators finish the regular season 37-19 overall, already surpassing its win total from a year ago, and 15-15 in SEC play after going 14-4 over its last 18 conference games. Ranked No. 23 in the country, Florida is also coming off back-to-back series wins over ranked opponents with two wins on the road at then-No. 1 Texas and two wins at home over No. 18 Alabama to close the regular season.

As a result, the Gators are No. 12 nationally in RPI after trudging uphill through one of the nation's toughest schedules while battling injury after injury after injury.

"I told the team at the end, 'You probably need to take some time and reflect on the fact on what just happened," O'Sullivan said. "To be 1-11 and end up at 15 wins in the league, no one's ever done that since the league expanded in '92."

While hosting a regional isn't out of the question, it's not guaranteed. College baseball podcast 11.7 College Baseball lists Florida as one of nine teams in contention for three hosting spots in the NCAA Regionals.

Entering conference tournament week... the hosting bubble.

13 hosts are pretty safe... 3 still up for grabs pic.twitter.com/4W6HqhnbXK

— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) May 18, 2025

"It's a decision that's fully out of our hands," O'Sullivan said. "It's in the committee's hands. But, you know, probably a lot of people didn't think we would get to this point."

Now, the Gators won't dwell on any upcoming decision from the committee with the SEC Tournament set to start on Tuesday. Florida, the No. 10 seed, will face No. 15 South Carolina at 5:30 p.m. ET with the winner set to face No. 7 Ole Miss on Wednesday.

"We'll see what happens," O'Sullivan said, "but I can't say enough about this group."