The Florida Gators advanced to the Super Regionals for the first time since 2018 following their game seven victory over Texas Tech on Monday afternoon. During that span, Florida held an NCAA Regional record of 4-6, with losses to Dallas Baptist (2), USF, South Alabama, and Oklahoma (2). Gainesville was a host site in two of those three regional tournaments, with the 2020 season ending early due to Covid.
Prior to that, Kevin O’Sullivan had seven College World Series appearances since joining the Gators in 2008, the most among head coaches during that span. (2008-2022).
Despite facing elimination in three straight games, the Gators came out on top, punching their ticket to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time since 2018.
“I think for us to get over the hump as a program to get back to this point is important,” Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan said following Monday’s victory. “You don’t want to go that long of a stretch without getting to a Super or having an opportunity to go the World Series, so I think it was important for our program to get back on track.”
Early in his Florida coaching career, O’Sullivan didn’t realize how difficult it was to advance in the postseason.
“Number one it’s not easy to get through the SEC schedule. It’s not easy to win a regional. It’s not,” O’Sullivan said. “There’s been a stretch here, 2010-11, 14-18, that we’ve been fortunate to go to the World Series, but I have a different perspective now than I did back then. It’s hard. You have to stay healthy, and you have to have a good team and play well at the right time.”
The large amount of success Florida had prior to 2018 made winning easy to take for granted for Kevin O’Sullivan.
“When you go on a stretch like that, for a 15-year period when you went to the World Series seven times, excluding Covid, that’s basically every other year,” O’Sullivan said. “When you’re right in the middle of it, you don’t realize how difficult it is, but now stepping back, and you haven’t been there since 18, you go “wow, that was a pretty awesome stretch”.”
“We expect excellence, we expect to get to the World Series, and when you haven’t been in a few years, or at least get an opportunity to, it’s hard to get that feeling back,” O’Sullivan said. “We certainly aren’t done yet.”
Last year’s game seven loss to Oklahoma in the Gainesville Regional left a sour taste in the mouths of many Gator players and coaches. However, O’Sullivan believes it prepared the team for 2023.
“I think last year kind of set the tone for this year,” O’Sullivan said. “We were 6-12 last year in league and three weeks later hosting a regional. That’s not easy to do and we’ve kind of turned the corner with a young team and we’ve added a few pieces from the portal, BT for a couple years and Hurston and a couple other guys obviously. To get to that point and to get to that final game, I think it meant a lot to our team and to our program.”
“But to get to this point again, it’s a bit refreshing,” O’Sullivan said. “Like I said, I have a different perspective then I may have had 10 years ago. I do realize how difficult it is and am awfully proud of our club.”
It’s very easy to overlook just how challenging advancing in the postseason can be due to the precedent Kevin O’Sullivan set early in his career. Despite failing to advance to the Super Regionals since 2018, O’Sullivan still has the most College World Series appearances since 2008.
Seven of the 16 host teams failed to advance to the Super Regionals in 2023.
In the last ten years, just 55 of 160 No.1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament advanced to the College World Series, that’s roughly 34%.
Florida will have their chance to clinch Omaha for the 8th time in the Kevin O’Sullivan Era when they face off against South Carolina this weekend.