Florida Victorious announced the re-signing of Gators right-handed pitchers Aidan King, Jackson Barberi and Joshua Whritenour over the weekend. Shortstop Brendan Lawson is also set to return to Florida for the 2027 season.
While the expectation was to retain all four of these players, the transfer portal makes things hard. Florida came up short of the super regional for a second straight season and the coaching staff has seen a lot of turnover in the past year. Other SEC teams make a run at these kinds of players, so it’s a good sign to see them all staying put.
King and Lawson are the cornerstones of the organization. Both are expected to be first-round draft picks following next season and are among the top players at their respective positions.
Lawson led the Gators in several offensive categories, including home runs (19), total bases (130), OPS (1.210), on-base percentage (.511) and slugging percentage (.699).
King moved into the Friday night spot of the starting rotation and became the first Florida underclassman to win SEC Pitcher of the Year. He had eight wins, a 3.21 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP over 97 innings, and opposing batters hit just .218 against him. King struck out 92 batters and walked 19, giving him a 4.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He also had eight quality starts, including six in SEC play.
Barberi and Whritenour were two of the top arms in Florida’s bullpen this year.
Barberi missed some time with an oblique issue, but he was put into high-leverage situations before and after without hesitation from Kevin O’Sullivan. He can run it up to triple digits, and held a 3.13 ERA over 37 1/3 innings. Opponents held a .156 batting average against him, and he struck out 55 to just 17 walks.
Whritenour became the closer early on in the season. He converted seven of those opportunities and flashed triple digits along with a slider that reached up to 94 mph. Hitters jumped on his fastball later in the season, leading to eight home runs allowed and a 5.40 ERA at season’s end, but he remains one of the key pieces of Florida’s bullpen. Whritenour was invited to the Team USA training camp this summer along with Barberi and King.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Four Florida baseball stars re-sign NIL agreements
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By David Rosenberg, Gators Wire | USA TODAY Network
