The last time we discussed Florida baseball’s NCAA Regional projections, the Gators were on the hosting bubble, with some publications placing Florida just inside the cut line and others just outside it.
Since then, the Gators have won back-to-back series for the first time in SEC play and have moved up in the projections.
Baseball America: No. 8 seed
Baseball America, which had Florida as a No. 2 regional seed and the 19th overall seed two weeks ago, has now moved the Gators up to a national seed in its latest projection.
Gainesville Regional
- (8) Florida
- Oklahoma State
- NC State
- Florida Gulf Coast
The biggest storyline in this projection, outside of Florida hosting a Regional and potentially a Super Regional, is the possible Super Regional matchup awaiting the Gators. The Gainesville Regional is paired with the Tallahassee Regional, where the No. 2 seed is Coastal Carolina.
D1 Baseball: No.10 seed
D1 Baseball has Florida as the No. 10 seed paired with Tuscaloosa Regional, which includes two seed Virginia.
Gainesville Regional
- (10) Florida
- Wake Forest
- Western Carolina
- Saint Joseph’s
On3: No. 11 seed
On3 has Florida paired with the Athens Regional, which includes Virginia as the two seed.
Gainesville Regional
- (11) Florida
- Coastal Carolina
- Arizona State
- Southeastern Louisiana
National seed still in reach
The consensus now seems to be that the Gators are safely in a hosting spot. Florida ranks No. 11 in RPI and owns the No. 2 strength of schedule in the country. The Gators also have 15 Quad 1 wins, the second most in college baseball.
With only a series against an underperforming LSU team remaining, Florida will lock up a No. 1 regional seed with a series win — or possibly even a single win in Baton Rouge.
A top eight national seed is still within reach for the Gators, as the race for the final spot remains wide open. UCLA, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Auburn, North Carolina, Texas and Alabama are among the top seven in every major projection.
The eighth spot, however, varies from publication to publication. Florida, Southern Miss and Texas A&M are among the teams competing for it, though the list of contenders could easily be expanded.
If Florida finishes strong, potentially with a deep run in the SEC Tournament, the Gators may have the resume to earn a top-eight national seed. At 15-12 in SEC play, a sweep of LSU would move Florida to 18 conference wins — a mark that would be tough to ignore on Selection Sunday.
Seventeen wins, coupled with a deep run in the SEC Tournament, could be enough as well, depending on how the final weekend shakes out around the country.