The Florida Gators will visit No.1 ranked Texas Longhorns for the first time in program history this weekend. Florida enters the three-game series having won 13 of their last 16 games while holding an active four-series winning streak. The three-game set at UFCU Disch-Falk Field opens Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Games two and three will be carried by SEC Network+ at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday.
These two storied programs have only ever met in the College World Series (twice in 2005, 2011 & 2018) with the series tied at 2-2. Florida has claimed each of the previous two meetings to enter with a two-game winning streak in the series, as Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan is 2-0 against Texas in his career. The UF skipper is fresh off his 750th-career win in the series finale at South Carolina on Sunday.
O’Sullivan and UT Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle have managed 13 games against one another as head coaches. O’Sullivan went 4-6 against Schlossnagle during his time at Texas A&M (2022-24) and was 2-1 vs. him in his TCU tenure (2004-21).
PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday: LHP Pierce Coppola (2-0, 1.32 ERA) vs RHP Ruger Rojas (8-2, 4.19 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Liam Peterson (8-2, 4.09 ERA) vs LHP Luke Harrison (4-1, 3.25 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Aidan King (4-2, 3.29 ERA) vs RHP Jason Flores (4-1, 2.40 ERA)
Florida was forced to shuffle their rotation around after a unique weekend vs South Carolina that resulted in two weather delays. LHP Pierce Coppola, who returned to action last weekend for the first time since March 1st vs Miami, will serve as Florida’s Friday night starter. However, it’s expected Coppola will be limited with his pitch count as he works his way back from an injury. It’s safe to assume Coppola will only throw two or three innings on Friday night, serving as an ‘opener’ for the series.
Scouting the Longhorns
You don’t get to a 39-8 (19-5 SEC) record and hold the No.1 ranking in the country without being insanely talented. The Longhorns have one of the best pitching staffs in the country, posting a team earned run average of 3.49 which ranks 7th in all of college baseball. However, a major part of their success on the mound was due to ace LHP Jared Spencer, who was recently ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury. This has put more stress on Texas as they’ve had to shuffle around the rotation and rely more on their bullpen. Texas’ pitching staff is lot like Florida’s in the fact that they aren’t very deep. Out of the bullpen, the Longhorns will primarily rely on a trio of arms in RHP Max Grubbs, LHP Dylan Volantis, and LHP Kade Bing, all of which have more than 37.0 innings pitched this year and a sub 2.9 ERA. Texas doesn’t walk very many batters and is capable of finding the swing and miss, but neither are earth shattering numbers relative to the best in the country. Overall, they are a sound group with a trio of bullpen arms that have proven to be some of the best relievers in the country.
Offensively is where Texas has run into some trouble, but it hasn’t really hurt them all that much as their pitching staff has been able to hold it down. As a team, Texas holds a .282 batting average which ranks 127th in the country. In particular, the Longhorns have struggled over the last two weekends, scoring a combined 20 runs over their last six conference games. Texas scored three runs or less in four of those six games. The Longhorns have launched 74 home runs on the season, which is six short of Florida’s 80 mark.
Most recently, Texas was swept by Arkansas, a team Florida beat in two of three games two weeks ago. While the Longhorns are still very talented, it’s possible the Gators are catching them at the right time. Every college baseball team goes through a cold streak throughout the season, and we could very well be looking at one for Texas. Winning on the road in this league is no easy task, and Florida will need to bring their A game if they want to hang with the country’s top team.
Sitting at 33-17 (11-13 SEC) on the 2025 season, Florida has brought themselves back into the postseason picture after a 1-11 start in conference play. In their 1-11 start to SEC play, the Gators pitched to a 9.63 ERA, .311 batting average against and 110-to-75 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 100 innings. They batted just .244/.333/.384 with 14 homers and 10 steals. In the 12 SEC games since, Florida pitchers have more than cut their ERA in half at 4.14 while producing a .252 batting average against and 124-to-44 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 100 frames. The offense has exploded in that time, slashing .313/.423/.553 with 21 homers and 24 stolen bases.