Florida baseball is just 17 days away from Opening Day, which means Gator Country is beginning its preview of the upcoming 2026 season.
To kick off our coverage, I thought it was best to start with a Q&A featuring Gator Country subscribers. Here’s part one of our preseason Florida baseball mailbag.
southgator: Are the young pitchers from last year ready to make a big jump this year?
NM: Florida has fielded the youngest pitching staff in the SEC over the past two seasons by nearly a full year, with an average staff age of 19.5. The next-youngest staff during the 2024–25 seasons was Alabama at 20.4. During this span, the Gators led the SEC in freshman innings pitched, number of freshmen used, and percentage of innings thrown by freshmen.
In 2025, Florida ranked third nationally in D1 baseball in freshman pitching usage, with nine true freshmen on the roster. This season, Florida rosters only five true freshman pitchers, meaning the Gators sport a more veteran pitching staff in 2026.
Let’s take a look at which second and third year returners that are ready to make a big jump.
The first name that jumps out is redshirt freshman RHP Joshua Whritenour, a talented flamethrower who missed all of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Prior to the injury last season, Whritenour and Aidan King were among Florida’s top preseason freshmen with Whritenour possibly even atop the list. We all know how King’s freshman season turned out—that’s how highly regarded Whritenour is. The 6’2, 210-pound right hander had a dominant fall camp and is looking to carry that over into the spring. Whritenour can sit mid to high 90’s with his fastball and displays a lively slider to match. He has big league level stuff.
Another guy Florida’s staff is expecting to take a second-year leap is sophomore RHP Jackson Barberi, who recorded a 4.45 ERA and 41 strikeouts across 32.1 innings in 2025. Barberi has improved his velocity in the offseason, even reaching triple digits in the fall. The 6’4, 180-pound right hander could be used in the backend of the bullpen this season.
Moving on to third year players, junior RHP Luke McNeillie is coming off as dominant of a fall camp as I can remember in recent memory. As a sophomore in 2025, McNeillie recorded a 4.82 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 52.1 innings pitched.
Lastly, redshirt sophomore RHP Christian Rodirguez is going to get his chance for high leverage innings after a promising summer where he was named an All Star of the Cape Cod League while earning the Al Graeber Outstanding Pitcher Award for the Harwich Mariners.
Ultimately, Florida’s path forward hinges on development. The Gators need meaningful leaps from their second- and third-year arms, something we began to see late last season. The early reports suggest that will continue.
southgator: Has Kurland been a full participant lately? Or is he injured?
NM: Redshirt junior Cade Kurland is currently dealing with a sore oblique and has not participated in Florida’s spring intrasquad scrimmages. Kurland played through a broken hand in 2024 and underwent season ending shoulder surgery last year. His shoulder is clear, per a source close to the program.
Kurland’s health is imperative for Florida’s 2026 season.
mfafard: Which Freshman do you expect to have an impact immediately?
NM: I don’t expect Florida to lean on its freshman class as much as they have in recent years, but one bat that’s really impressed this offseason is outfielder Cash Strayer.
The left-handed hitter has shown impressive poise and maturity at the plate, a rare trait for a freshman in the SEC. Strayer boasts good size at 6’2″, 192 pounds and has found success against some of Florida’s top arms. While I’m not certain the Tampa native will crack the Opening Day lineup, I expect him to work his way into the starting lineup at some point.
Despite not yet recording an official collegiate at-bat, Strayer comes across as a player unfazed by the moment. He’s consistently shown the ability to execute with runners in scoring position.
Another freshman bat that’s come alive early in spring camp is freshman outfielder Jacob Kendall. The 6’1, 200-pound lefty bat has found quite a few barrels over the last two weeks and continues to impress as a defender.
As I’m writing this, Kendall homered off RHP Aidan King during one of Florida’s spring intrasquad scrimmages.
GatorLegend: Nick, give us your starting rotation as well as your top candidates for the weekday starting pitchers, long relievers, short relievers and closer.
NM: Before I give my prediction, I should note that Florida is currently in the process of establishing roles, and those roles are almost guaranteed to change at some point throughout the season based on history in the SEC.
Friday: RHP Liam Peterson
Saturday: RHP Aidan King
Sunday: RHP Cooper Walls
Long relievers: RHP Luke McNeillie, RHP Russell Sandefer
Short relievers and closer: RHP Joshua Whritenour, RHP Jackson Barberi, RHP Christian Rodriguez
Note: The Sunday role and the long relievers are almost interchangeable at this point. I could see any of those three starting on Sunday at some point this season.
Florida typically relies on a younger, more unproven arm for midweek games as a way to get them more experience. Redshirt freshman RHP Schuyler Sandford is an intriguing option for me as someone who missed all of last year due to injury but has great swing and miss stuff. He’s struggled with his command a bit since returning but the upside is there.
You can also hand pick any of Florida’s freshman arms as suitable options. If the Gators do decide to go with a veteran arm, RHP Billy Barlow or RHP Ricky Reeth would be my top picks.
Stay tuned for part two.