Florida baseball’s Aidan King has been named the 2026 SEC Pitcher of the Year, the league announced on Monday, May 18.King is the fourth Gator to earn the honor all-time and the first since Brady Singer in 2018.
The Jacksonville, Fla., native is the only Florida underclassman to earn the accolade, as Justin Hoyman (2004), Logan Shore (2016) and Singer were all named Pitcher of the Year in their junior seasons.
Florida is now tied with LSU for the most SEC Pitcher of the Year recipients (four) since the award was established in 2003. Notably, Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan has produced three SEC Pitchers of the Year in the last 10 postseason cycles.Along with claiming SEC Pitcher of the Year status, King was also selected to the All-SEC First Team as a starting pitcher, which comes four days after he was named Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist.In 14 starts, the right-hander led the SEC with a 0.93 WHIP, while his 2.50 ERA was second in the conference.
King allowed a .199 batting average against hitters, while sitting third in the SEC in walks per nine (1.82), fifth in hits allowed per nine (6.58) and seventh in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.25).The sophomore totaled 84 strikeouts and 16 walks in 79.1 innings of work.Across his last 19 starts dating back to the 2025 season, King is 12-3 with a 1.91 ERA and a 112-to-26 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 118 innings pitched.
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: Aidan King becomes Florida baseball’s first SEC Pitcher of the Year winner since 2018
Reporting by Andrew Abadie, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
