How to Watch, What to Know About Gators Baseball Series Against Stetson

Florida is set to play Stetson for a two-game, home-and-home series on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Florida Gators outfielder Kyle Jones will look to build off his seven-hit series against UAB as he takes on his former team, Stetson. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

The Florida Gators on Tuesday begin a two-game, home-and-home series against Stetson with a trip to DeLand on Tuesday before returning to Gainesville on Wednesday.

Here's everything you need to know about the Gators' midweek series against the Hatters.

No. 12 Florida Gators (2-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. Stetson (0-3, 0-0 ASUN): The Rundown

	Tuesday, Feb. 17	Wednesday, Feb. 18
Where	Melching Field at Conrad Park, DeLand, Fla.	Condron Family Ballpark, Gainesville, Fla.
When	6:30 p.m.	6 p.m.
Watch	ESPN+ (Streaming only)	SEC Network+ (Streaming only)
Radio	Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD	Gator Sports Network from LEARFIELD
Pitching Matchups	UF: RHP Billy Barlow (0-0, 0.00 ERA) UAB: RHP Zane Coppersmith (0-0, 0.00 ERA)	UF: TBA UAB: TBD

Kevin O'Sullivan Makes 2026 Debut

After serving his three-game suspension against UAB, an effect of last season's outbursts during the Conway Regional, head coach Kevin O'Sullivan is now set to begin his 19th season with the Gators. His debut also comes after an offseason that saw him take a leave of absence to attend to personal matters.

While he did not go into detail about his leave of absence, O'Sullivan detailed in the preseason how reenergized he felt going into the season.

"I think last fall at the end was probably one of the most hardest things I've had to do, other than lose my parents or other family members, for that matter, but it ended up being the best thing that could have happened," O'Sullivan said. "I feel rejuvenated. I feel great. I feel much, much more at peace.”

Florida Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan enters his 19th season with the program. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

Now, O'Sullivan, the third-longest-tenured head coach currently at Florida behind track and field's Mike Holloway and softball's Tim Walton, is looking to lead the program to its 14th College World Series appearance and second national title. While doing so, he'll look to keep this new version of himself at the forefront.

“I think maybe at the end of the year, we’ll see how many wins we have. That's ultimately what we're going to talk about, right?" O'Sullivan said. "But I just think I have a better understanding of things, and I'm trying to look at things in a different perspective.”

Billy Ball for Game One

Senior righty Billy Barlow is set to make his first appearance of 2026, getting the start for Tuesday's series-opener. Barlow will look to bounce back after an up-and-down 2025 campaign that saw him finish with a 1-4 record and 6.26 ERA across 22 appearances (46 innings). While allowing a .296 average, he struck out 46 batters.

Billy Barlow is set to make his 2026 debut on Tuesday. | Kyle Lander / Gators Illusrated

O'Sullivan detailed to Florida Gators on SI that while Barlow has value as a relief pitcher, he also has value as a midweek pitcher to give other arms a rest.

"Billy's great. He's funny, humorous. He's had a good preseason, too," he said. "... You start mentioning names, you inevitably are going to miss a guy or two, but he's certainly valuable as heck... I mean, if you're playing a midweek game and you want to give your closer that you extended on a weekend (a break), and you got to close the game on Tuesday, I have no problem with Billy right now to do that on a Tuesday to fill in, to give somebody a rest."

Florida has not announced Wednesday's starter.

Kyle Jones Returns to Stetson

After a seven-hit series against UAB, which surpassed his hit total from last year after multiple injuries limited him to just four games, outfielder Kyle Jones is set to return to Stetson after transferring from the program ahead of the 2025 season.

It won't be his first game against the Hatters, though. Jones was 1-for-5 with an RBI against Stetson last season on Feb. 25 before a season-ending injury three days later.

“I love getting to go back there,” Jones said about the return to his former team. “I spent a lot of time there. I love being able to get back to DeLand every now and then.”

Kyle Jones had a leadoff double in all three of the Gators' games against UAB. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

Jones had already made the most of his 2026 season since recovering from a shoulder injury. His seven hits lead the team, while his five hits in Saturday's doubleheader tied freshman Cash Strayer for the team-high. He has also recorded a leadoff double in all three games to start the season.

“Kyle is doing a great job for us in that lead-off hole. Anytime he can get on base, especially with (Brendan Lawson) hitting behind him. I mean, that's just, that's just outstanding,” associate head coach Tom Slater said. 

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