Florida baseball is expected to hire Oklahoma assistant coach Todd Butler, according to multiple reports.
A source confirmed to the Gainesville Sun that UF is targeting Butler, but the deal has not been finalized.
Butler, who served as the Sooners’ recruiting coordinator, spent three seasons on the staff and most recently helped Oklahoma win its first national championship since 1994.
Butler has over 30 years of coaching experience and has served as a head coach at McNeese State from 2001-03 and Wichita State from 2014-19. In total, Butler owns a career record of 259-263, going 169-180-1 at Wichita State and 90-83 at McNeese, where he led the Cowboys to the NCAA tournament in 2003.
Butler, 59, had previous assistant stints at McNeese State, Alabama, Arkansas and Missouri. Notably, prior to joining Oklahoma, he spent three years as a senior associate athletic director at McNeese.
Butler replaces Taylor Black, who spent four seasons as an assistant at Florida. Black joined the NC State staff, where he previously served from 2014 to 2017.
The move should fill out Florida’s coaching staff. The Gators also changed pitching coaches this offseason after parting ways with David Kopp and hiring Oregon State’s Rich Dorman.
Dorman has been with the Beavers since 2019 and developed one of the top pitching staffs in the country. Oregon State’s pitching finished the 2026 season ranked first in ERA (3.22), total strikeouts (699), WHIP (1.14), hits allowed per nine innings (6.94) and walks and hits per inning while finishing second in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.55).
This story was updated.
Reach Florida Gators writer Andrew Abadie at AAbadie@usatodayco.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @AndrewAbadie. You can also find him on Facebook at Andrew Abadie Sports Reporter or on Instagram @andrewabadie_sports.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida baseball expected to hire away Oklahoma assistant coach
Reporting by Andrew Abadie, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Andrew Abadie, Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY Network
