2023 NCAA Tournament Gainesville Super Regional Preview — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

Image credit: Jac Caglianone (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Schedule

Friday, 6 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Saturday, 3 p.m. (ESPN2)
Sunday, TBD (If necessary)

Florida

Coach: Kevin O’Sullivan

Postseason history: 10th super regional (first since 2018). Seeking 13th trip to the College World Series and first since 2018.

Postseason route: No. 1 seed in Gainesville Regional. Went 4-1, defeating Texas Tech in regional final.

Scouting report (anonymous coach breaks down the Gators)

“They’re the most talented team in the country. They have three mid-90s guys on the mound, an impact closer, one of the better shortstops in all of college baseball. They’ve got complete players. In Wyatt Langford and Jac Caglianone, they’ve got two first-round picks and you could say Caglianone has a chance to be the first overall pick next year.

“(Langford) was on everything we threw him. You can’t be predictable. You’ve got to really move the ball around. You’ve got to pitch in, throw offspeed pitches in fastball counts. You’ve got to keep him guessing just like any great hitter that can get on any pitcher or tendency. There wasn’t a swing he took all weekend that felt like he was off the ball. I can’t tell you where the hole is.

“It’s not a secret (with Caglianone). He’s swinging. If you look at the amount of first pitches he swings at or the length of his at-bats, it’s short. He’s the biggest threat in America to hit the ball out of the park and the walks are not high. It’s a combination of elite hand-eye coordination and tremendous power. The guys that get him out are guys that can get the ball in his hands or they throw pitches that aren’t quite good enough to hit but get him to expand and attack.

“The rotation is a lot of talent. They have three guys that might throw the ball 98 mph in a weekend. They’ve got guys with a lot of experience. You can’t underestimate Brandon Sproat and shortstop Josh Rivera as fourth-year players in SEC, both of them turning down pro opportunities last year. Those guys are talented and experienced. Hurston Waldrep, when he gets that splitter or split-change going, he becomes devastating. (Closer) Brandon Neely has a ton of gamesmanship. If they can get there, you can see a path for them to win in Omaha. You can get four pitchers rolling in Omaha and end up winning the whole thing. Their top four is as good as anyone in the country.

“The only place that they’ve struggled at all is on the road. The only place they haven’t had great weekends is on the road. They haven’t lost at home; they have a lot of confidence. I think it means a lot (to be hosting) just because of their record at home. You play all year to try to be home these two weekends.”

Projected Lineup

C: BT Riopelle
1B: Jac Caglianone
2B: Cade Kurland
3B: Colby Halter
LF: Richie Schiekofer
CF: Wyatt Langford
RF: Tyler Shelnut
DH: Luke Heyman

SP: Brandon Sproat
SP: Hurston Waldrep
SP: Jac Caglianone
RP: Philip Abner
RP: Brandon Neely

South Carolina

Coach: Mark Kingston

Postseason history: 14th super regional (first since 2018). Seeking 12th trip to the College World Series and first since 2012.

Postseason route: No. 1 seed in Columbia Regional. Went 3-0, defeating Campbell in regional final.

Scouting report (anonymous coach breaks down the Gamecocks)

“They’ve got experience on the mound. When you start out with Will Sanders and some of the other guys, they’ve been there in the program for a while. They’ve got pitchability and savvy. I think that’s where it starts. They’re mature, they’ve got gamesmanship.

“(Catcher Cole) Messina could not have played better against us. (Shortstop Braylen) Wimmer is a great player. (Outfielder Ethan) Petry is one of the best freshmen in the country. There’s a lot of gamesmanship on the field, they’ve got real threats at the plate and pitchers that have been around the SEC.

“They were tough even when they were down a few guys. You can just imagine what they’re like at full strength.

“Getting Will McGillis and Wimmer back puts everybody in their proper place, like a No. 1 pitcher that sets the rotation. (Wimmer) runs the infield, he’s a great player. They’re a dangerous team. They were awesome early, had those injuries, hung together and now that they’ve got those guys back, they’re playing great and flying around. You can see them going a long time because they have the pieces again.

“Sweeping Florida earlier this season is huge. They’ve seen as much talent as they’re going to see, and they’ve beat it. That’s a big feather in the cap to South Carolina if they know they can sweep Florida.

“South Carolina’s most complete and best weekend was the Florida weekend. After that, they were dealing with some injuries. They had to navigate that and stay together and do everything that they did. Since then, you can argue regionals was their best weekend since the Florida series. So, now they’re back in the same place they were the first time they played Florida. The biggest difference is the venue and that is a big difference in college athletics because playing on the road is hard. Florida is in a good place; they’ve been good all year. South Carolina is back to where they were when they played the first time.”

Projected Lineup

C: Cole Messina
1B: Gavin Casas
2B: Michael Braswell
3B: Talmadge LeCroy
SS: Braylen Wimmer
LF: Dylan Brewer
CF: Will Tippett
RF: Ethan Petry
DH: Will McGillis