Initial 2027 Roster Outlook for Gators Baseball

Another season has come and gone for the Florida Gators baseball team, finishing the 2026 campaign disappointingly in the NCAA Tournament. Now that the season is in the past for the Gators, here is an early preview of where things stand for the 2027 roster heading into this offseason.

On the Mound

Florida had 21 pitchers on the roster this season. That number has already dropped a few spots and could fall further in the coming weeks.

Three pitchers have entered the transfer portal, with freshman RHP Cooper Moss, junior RHP Matthew Jenkins and LHP McCall Biemiller announcing their decisions. These will likely not be the last to enter.

Three others have closed their collegiate careers, exhausting their final season of eligibility. RHP Billy Barlow and RHP Ricky Reeth were redshirt seniors, while southpaw Ernesto Lugo-Canchola was a grad-transfer.

Additionally, RHP Liam Peterson, RHP Russell Sandefer and RHP Luke McNeillie are all juniors, making them draft eligible this summer. RHP/1B Caden McDonald is also draft eligible, having just completed his redshirt sophomore season.

Junior Liam Peterson is Florida's usual Game One starter for weekends. — Liam Peterson is expected to leave Florida for the MLB Draft. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

That leaves 11 other names on Florida's pitching staff. The most notable are sophomore RHP Aidan King, redshirt freshman RHP Joshua Whritenour, sophomore RHP Jackson Barberi, redshirt freshman RHP Schuyler Sandford and sophomore RHP Cooper Walls.

The other six remaining pitchers who barely featured or did not appear at all are redshirt sophomore RHP Christian Rodriguez, sophomore RHP Blaine Rowland, freshman RHP Minjae Seo, freshman LHP Jackson Hoyt, freshman LHP Eli Blair and freshman LHP Rivers Kurland.

As for the Gators' 2026 recruiting class, there are three right-handed pitchers and three left-handed pitchers incoming. The only recruit among MLB.com's top 200 prospects is North Palm Beach (Fla.) American Heritage Plantation right-handed pitcher Brady Snow. He ranks as the No. 168 overall draft prospect.

Florida will likely need to replace one weekend starter, with Peterson touted as a top draft pick in the 2026 MLB Draft. It could be looking for another as well, depending on how high teams value Sandefer.

Furthermore, Gators head coach Kevin O'Sullivan has already singled out one position of need this summer: left-handed pitchers.

2026 Roster

GR: LHP Ernesto Lugo-Canchola
SR: RHP Billy Barlow, RHP Ricky Reeth
JR: RHP Liam Peterson, RHP Russell Sandefer, RHP Luke McNeillie
SO: RHP Aidan King, RHP Jackson Barberi, RHP/1B Caden McDonald RHP Cooper Walls, RHP Christian Rodriguez, RHP Blaine Rowland
FR: RHP Joshua Whritenour, RHP Schuyler Sandford, RHP Minjae Seo, LHP Jackson Hoyt, LHP Eli Blair, LHP Rivers Kurland

Positional Players

That leaves 20 other positional players who make up the Gators 2026 roster. Eight were primary infielders, six were primary outfielders, three were catchers and three had infielder and outfielder flexibility.

None of the 20 have entered their names into the transfer portal yet, but six are out of eligibility. Those six are senior OF/INF Blake Cyr, senior OF/INF Ashton Wilson, senior INF/OF Justin Nadeau, senior INF Sam Miller, senior C Karson Bowen and graduate student C Cole Stanford.

Three could depart for pro opportunities this summer. Redshirt junior INF Cade Kurland, redshirt sophomore OF Kyle Jones and sophomore INF Ethan Surowiec all could hear their names called in the upcoming MLB draft.

Cade Kurland has hit four home runs over the last three games. — Cade Kurland announced he was going to explore pro ball opportunities. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

The 11 other positional players for the Gators are junior C AJ Malzone, junior INF Landon Stripling, junior OF Jaden Bastian, junior OF Hayden Yost, junior OF Blake Brookins, sophomore INF Brendan Lawson, redshirt freshman INF Kolt Myers, freshman INF Colton Schwarz, freshman INF Nic Partridge, freshman OF Jacob Kendall and freshman OF Cash Strayer.

O'Sullivan also mentioned after the loss to Troy in the regional finale that the Gators are emphasizing catcher and middle-of-the-order bats.

Lastly, seven 2026 prospects in the Gators class are positional players, with two in MLB.com's top 200 prospects. OF Kevin Roberts Jr. and OF Brady Harris, Florida's top two signees, rank as the No. 128 and No. 160 prospects, respectively.

2026 Roster

GR: C Cole Stanford
SR: OF/INF Blake Cyr, OF/INF Ashton Wilson, INF/OF Justin Nadeau, INF Sam Miller, C Karson Bowen
JR: INF Cade Kurland, INF Landon Stripling, OF Jaden Bastian, OF Hayden Yost, OF Blake Brookins, C AJ Malzone
SO: OF Kyle Jones, INF Ethan Surowiec, INF Brendan Lawson
FR: INF Kolt Myers, INF Colton Schwarz, INF Nic Partridge, OF Jacob Kendall, OF Cash Strayer

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