Kevin O’Sullivan addressed the elephant in the room after Florida’s regional final loss to Troy on Monday: The Gators didn’t pitch well enough when they needed to.
O’Sullivan was nearly at a loss for words on the total collapse of what was considered one of the best pitching staffs in college baseball. He and most of Gator Nation couldn’t picture a world where Aidan King only gives three innings in a clinching game, or that Russell Sandefer would walk three straight in a final that was still within range.
But it happened, and now the 2026 Florida baseball season has come to an end. With that, O’Sullivan has to turn the page to 2027, and the team has already started recruiting with the transfer portal starting on Monday.
O’Sullivan likes the core of returners he has but admits that there are a few must-haves in the transfer cycle: left-handed pitching, middle-of-the-order bats and a catcher. There are some uncertainties with the roster for next season, but the rest of college baseball is dealing with the same thing.
Here’s everything Kevin O’Sullivan said after Florida’s season came to an end.
On Cooper Walls getting the start, performance
“First of all, I want to congratulate Troy. They outplayed us in two games, and they deserved to move on. So, congratulations to them. I mean, there were some other options, but you know, Coop has started before for us. So, we kind of had it mapped out pitching-wise.
“When I left last night, (Russell Sandefer) had said that he and Aidan (King) were wanting to pitch today, and obviously a lot went into that discussion last night, making sure they talked to their parents and whoever else is involved in their circle, and then we just didn’t get the start that we needed, obviously. It felt like we were chasing runs the whole last two days. Quite frankly, we didn’t pitch well enough in this tournament.”
On taking Caden McDonald out of the game
”I mean, it’s always easy to second-guess, but here’s the deal: I saw him in the dugout, and he looked gassed. I think the most number of pitches he’s thrown this year is 52, and that was against Oklahoma, and he was at 48.
“We knew we were going to go to Russ, so he threw two breaking balls that backed up on him, and it was real hard contact to the shortstop. I did not want to bring Russ in with runners on base because he has been starting, so he was going to start from the windup.
“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, and I didn’t want to put him in a situation where he pitched so well. All we’re looking for from Russ was to give us five outs, and unfortunately, that didn’t work out.”
On consideration of starting McDonald
“Yeah, that was a discussion, as well, but, like I said, all we were looking for out of Coop was like two innings, and then to get through the lineup one time, and then go to Caden.
“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.
“But I had all the trust in the world in Russ. 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 windup instead of coming in in the stretch where he’s been starting most of the year. So 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.”
On lack of offense in regional final
“I don’t know. I think their left-hander just did a nice job.”
On 2026 season
“I haven’t really had time to think about it. I’ve got a whole team that’s upset in the dugout right now. It’s a close-knit group.
“It was a little inconsistent. I think the inconsistencies — whether it be offensively or pitching-wise, like this weekend — when you’re inconsistent, it’s very difficult to make consistent decisions. Let’s just be honest. Never in my wildest dreams would I think that Russ would come in and walk three and have the leadoff man 1-2.
“So I got all the trust in the world in him, and I was fully convinced that he’d be able to give us five outs, and then he was gone. Then we’d go to Ernie for one inning, and then we’d have Whrit and Aidan if we needed him at the end. It just didn’t work out that way.”
On pitching issues in the regional
“It’s a bit surprising, and it was a little bit of everybody. 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 our number one going, and obviously that didn’t work out. Then today, I made the decision to bring Russ, and it doesn’t work out. No one feels worse than he does, or me, for that matter.
“At the same time Caden had done his job, and, like I said, he looked tired in the dugout. So, that’s that.”
On transfer portal opening up
“I’ll be honest with you, we started recruiting today. The timing of it is kind of weird. Like, you’re playing a regional final game, and the portal opens. So, we’ll have to get together with all the players, we’ll have to mix in exit meetings, and we’ll have official visits starting tomorrow all week long. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and this weekend.
“So, there’s not a whole lot of time to reflect. We’ve got to get better. Certain areas we’ve got to get better at. Obviously, the lineups that we faced in the regional here were not great matchups for us, because we are a little bit short-handed, left-handed pitching-wise.
“We have to go into the portal and get some left-handed arms, because the lineups were left-handed heavy for Miami and obviously for Troy.”
On team emotions through regionals
“It’s hard to put into words, honestly. You go into these things feeling fully confident that you’re going to win, and when it doesn’t turn out that way, and the way the last two games have turned, it’s going to take a little while to digest it, but obviously it’s my responsibility to figure out where we need to improve.
“I know that’s coach speak, but honestly, we need to evaluate this because we have to be more consistent all the way around. Offensively, we went through some spurts this year where we were a little inconsistent. At this time of the year, we should not be having these issues with the walks and that type of thing.
“The classic example. We started the game off with a leadoff walk, next thing you know, we got two runners on, and we missed a spot on the fastball. We got arguably their best hitter up and he hits a double down the right field line, and now we’re down 2-0 before we even get back in the dugout.
“Then we walk the leadoff man to start the second, and we’re chasing. We just need to get better.”
On transfer portal priority
“Obviously we need to sign a catcher, and just get some middle-of-the-order bats. But, the pitching is really important, and we got to look at it. We have to figure out how many spots we actually have; we have to figure out who on our roster is going into the portal. I mean, a lot goes into this.”
On NIL needed to improve roster
“It’s hard for me to tell. I don’t really know the landscape yet, of what the going rate is for different players and that type of thing. Over the next couple days we’ll figure that out.”
On confidence in returning players for 2027
“We’ve got a really good nucleus. Aidan King is back. We got (Brendan) Lawson back. We got Jaden Bastian back, who’s been injured the whole year. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Cade Kurland; we will see with the draft.
“Ethan (Surowiec) has a chance to be drafted, but who knows, hopefully he’s back. Strip is back, and there are some other good players. Like Cash Strayer hasn’t played a whole lot, but I think he’s a middle-of-the-order bat.
“You start mentioning names and you start missing some people, but to answer your question, I do feel good about it. We get Josh back on the mound, we get (Jackson Barberi) back on the mound. So, yeah, I like the nucleus.”
On the timing of the transfer portal
“Yeah. (Moving it) would make life a whole lot easier. It doesn’t coincide with the draft either, because you don’t know who you’re losing. The portal closes before the draft starts. So it would be nice to have those two things connected so you can figure out what your team looks like after the draft.”
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: O’Sullivan breaks down Florida’s regional woes, plan for offseason
Reporting by David Rosenberg, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
