Florida baseball has a trio of right-handed pitchers who have been invited to the 2026 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp: redshirt freshman Joshua Whritenour and sophomores Aidan King and Jackson Barberi.
Barberi and Whritenour are both first-time invitees, while King earned his second invite. All three Gators are looking to make their debuts on the official roster, which will be named on July 5 following the conclusion of the national team’s training camp.
King became the first Gator underclassman to collect SEC Pitcher of the Year honors — the fourth in league history — after making all 16 of his scheduled starts in 2026. The Jacksonville, Florida, native led his team with eight wins, a 3.21 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 97 innings pitched while holding hitters to a .218 batting average, while striking out 92 batters against 19 walks for a 4.84 strikeout-to-walk ratio, en route to being named a National Pitcher of the Year finalist.
Barberi dominated in his second collegiate campaign, amassing a 5-2 record, .156 batting average against, 55-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 1.02 WHIP, 3.13 ERA and two saves over 19 outings spanning 37 1/3 frames. The Snellville, Georgia, native pitched in five of Florida’s seven shutouts with 11 scoreless appearances — 10 being for four outs or more — while boasting 13.3 strikeouts per nine and 5.1 hits allowed per nine.
Whritenour made his college debut as a redshirt freshman and led the Gators with seven saves as the primary closer with a total of 25 appearances out of the bullpen. The Tampa, Florida, native held opposing hitters to a .223 batting average while delivering a 1.23 WHIP, racking up 49 strikeouts against 14 free passes in 36 2/3 frames for a 3.5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The trio brings Florida’s total to 30 invitations between 25 players since head coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s arrival in Gainesville. Of those, 19 different Gators have made the official roster — most recently, right-handed pitcher Liam Peterson in 2025.
2026 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp
The Collegiate National Team Training Camp begins with three days of doubleheaders for a combined six games between June 27 and 29, with players split between the Stars and Stripes teams. Both squads will play three games apiece in Burlington, North Carolina, Danville, Virginia, and Cary, North Carolina.
After those exhibition games, the annual Stars vs. Stripes series will begin on June 30 at Segra Stadium in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The three contests following that will be held at the National Training Complex in Cary from July 1-3, and the series will return to Segra Stadium on July 4 for the finale.
Once the official roster is set, the Collegiate National Team will compete in the inaugural World Collegiate Baseball Championship in Taichung City, Taiwan, from July 11-15, in a four-team tournament including collegiate-level players from Taiwan, Japan and Korea. The tournament will be split into three stages: pool play from July 11-13, semifinals on July 14, and finals on July 15 with gold and bronze-medal games.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Trio of Gators earn invites to Collegiate National Team Training Camp
Reporting by Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire | USA TODAY Network
