Why Kevin O'Sullivan Pulled P Caden McDonald for Russell Sandefer in Gators' Loss to Troy

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators' pitching woes proved to be costly in the Gainesville Regional, while one decision from head coach Kevin O'Sullivan may have been the difference-maker between a regional title and its season ending.

Two decisions, actually, that go directly hand-in-hand with each other.

Facing Troy in a regional final on Monday, and with a pieced-together bullpen after other pitching issues throughout the weekend, O'Sullivan turned to Cooper Walls to start the game over reliever Caden McDonald, who has quickly emerged as one of Florida's top arms this season.

Walls struggled, lasting just one inning with two earned runs off of two hits and two walks against two strikeouts. He was replaced by McDonald, who settled things with just two hits allowed against three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball.

With Florida trailing 2-1 in the sixth inning, O'Sullivan elected to take McDonald off the mound for usual starter Russell Sandefer, and the decision backfired as Sandefer, who walked three batters, and Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, who gave up three hits, combined to give up five runs. Florida went on to lose, 10-2.

Outsiders largely criticized O'Sullivan for the decision to pull McDonald, who doubles as Florida's designated hitter. He detailed his thought process after the loss.

"It's always easy to second-guess, but here's the deal. I saw (McDonald) in the dugout, and he looked gassed," he explained. "I think the most number of pitches he's thrown this year is 52, and that was against Oklahoma, and he was at 48... 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."

Florida fell to Troy, 10-2, to end the 2026 season. — Kevin O'Sullivan pulled Caden McDonald off the mound in the middle of Florida's loss to Troy. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

O'Sullivan added they did not want Sandefer, who became Florida's Game Three starter midway through the season and who recorded 87 pitches on Friday against Rider, to enter the game with runners on base due to him being used to starting games with the bases empty. The plan was to use him for the rest of the sixth and all of the seventh inning.

"I had all the trust in the world in Russ," O'Sullivan said. "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.

"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."

O'Sullivan also added that starting McDonald, who finished the season with a 3.42 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings, was an option, but they elected to go with Walls due to having more experience as a starter. Walls, the original Game Three starter before Sandefer, made 10 starts this season as a weekend option and a midweek contributor.

He finished the season with a 7.17 ERA across 37 2/3 innings pitched (17 apperances).

"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," O'Sullivan said. "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."

Florida's pitching as a staff has largely been criticized for its performance over the weekend, which included blowing a lead late against Rider and giving up double-digit runs in the win over Miami and the losses to Troy. As a staff, Florida's pitchers averaged 10.75 earned runs per game, while giving up 10 home runs.

"It's a bit surprising. And it was a little bit of everybody," O'Sullivan said. "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 (Liam Peterson) going, and obviously that didn't work out, and then today, I made the decision to bring in Russ, and it doesn't work out.

"No one feels worse than he does, or me, for that matter. But at the same time, Caden did his job, and, like I said, he looked tired in the dugout. So, that's that."

Russell Sandefer walked all three batters faced after replacing McDonald. | Kyle Lander / Florida Gators on SI

Now, Florida turns its attention to the NCAA Transfer Portal to rebuild its staff. The Gators saw three reserves in junior righty Matthew Jenkins, sophomore lefty McCall Biemiller and freshman righty Cooper Moss all enter the portal and will lose seniors Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, Billy Barlow and Ricky Reeth. Florida is also expected to lose Peterson to the 2026 MLB Draft.

O'Sullivan said that adding lefty arms will be the priority and that they will begin hosting transfer targets for official visits this week.

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