Gators P Liam Peterson Makes Fall Debut, Looking to Build Off Strong Summer

In what could be his final season with the Florida Gators, junior Liam Peterson enters 2026 as one of the top arms in all of college baseball.

Florida pitcher Liam Peterson enters what could be his final season with the Gators. | Cyndi Chambers / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Ahead of what could be his final season with the Florida Gators, junior pitcher Liam Peterson on Tuesday made his fall ball debut, pitching one inning in the team's intrasquad scrimmage.

Peterson, holding the role of Florida's Friday starter for the second year in a row, recorded 13 pitches, forcing two ground outs and a flyout to centerfield, but gave up a home run to Brendan Lawson despite being up 0-2 in the count.

Nonetheless, what Peterson showed was impressive with a 98-mile-per-hour fastball and a nice slider and curveball. Peterson has also been working on adding a two-seam fastball and sinker.

He also looks stronger and more confident, the result of work with the USA Collegiate National Team this summer and work with UF.

"I think that was the first thing I was trying to do, is get my legs a little stronger," he said ahead of his first outing of fall. "Overall whole body, but mainly focus on my legs, and then mechanically, just find something that, once again, is more repeatable, same thing as last year. Just kind of keep refining that."

Liam Peterson made his fall debut today. @BaseballAmerica’s No. 1 college arm in ‘26 sat 97-99 with life at the top of the zone. SL and CB were reasonably sharp. CH had late fade. He added a two-seam this offseason but didn’t throw it today. Most importantly, he looks stronger. pic.twitter.com/NgrzD2htW7

— Jacob Rudner (@JacobRudner) October 14, 2025

Peterson is coming off a career-best 8-4 record last season with a 4.28 ERA. He also increased his strikeout total by 19, improving from a 77 mark as a freshman to 96 strikeouts as a junior. This included three outings of 11 strikeouts.

As a result of last season, he enters the upcoming 2026 season as one of the best pitchers in his draft class.

While he is embracing the pressure as one of college baseball's top arms, he is remaining focused on his development during the fall.

"It's definitely motivating," he said. "It's something that you want to see and be like, 'Wow, that's great to see,' but you also have to be where your feet are right now. I'm just in fall with the rest of my team, so I can't really think about too much about that or too much about the future. I just got to be where I am right now, which is just focusing on my mechanics and everything I'm working on in the fall."

Part of that is also building chemistry with Florida's new group of catches, which has three new faces following the departures of Luke Heyman and Brody Donay. As a result, Florida added a pair of transfers in Wabash College's AJ Malzone and TCU's Karson Bowen.

Liam Peterson celebrates after recording one of his record-tying 11 strikeouts in the Florida Gators' season-opening win over Air Force. As a whole, Florida pitchers combined for 47 strikeouts in three games against the Falcons. | Kyle Lander / Gators Illustrated

Peterson has worked with both, even though Bowen is not scrimmaging this fall. While the chemistry is still building, Peterson is extremely confident in what the two will provide this season.

"I've only been here, obviously, these last two years, but this is probably the best overall group we've had. I like throwing all of them. I think they're all really good catchers," he said.

While the fall slate is still beginning, Peterson is setting himself up for a strong third season with the Gators, hoping to lead the team back to the College World Series for the first time since his freshman campaign.

"I'm still a long ways from where I want to be, but I can definitely feel it - not maybe command - but for me, I think I just am less sore after outings," he said. "I feel like I can repeat it a lot easier. You know, obviously, I haven't got off against hitters yet, got off the mountain in that aspect, but with the intensity I'm at right now, I feel like everything is just falling a lot easier."

Florida continues its fall ball slate with a scrimmage on Friday at 11:30 a.m., a scrimmage on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and a scrimmage on Sunday at 3 p.m.