Florida baseball has featured one of the best pitching staffs in the country through 22 games of the 2026 season. The Gators carry a 3.00 team ERA, ranking in the top ten nationally, along with a 1.18 WHIP and opponents hitting just .220 against them. Their strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.67 also ranks among the nation’s best.
Led by Friday and Saturday starters Liam Peterson and Aidan King, Florida has one of the most dangerous 1-2 weekend punches in the country. The Gators also rely on a trio of electric bullpen arms, Joshua Whritenour, Jackson Barberi, and Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, to close out games.
The pitching staff is the main reason Florida sits at 19-3 (3-0 SEC) this season. They’ve held win streaks of 13 games, which was once the longest in the country, and currently have an active six-game streak.
No team in college baseball is perfect, especially this early in the season. For Florida, the Sunday starter role could still be up for grabs. It hasn’t been a glaring weakness. RHP Cooper Walls is 2-0 on the weekend, but his ERA in those weekend starts sits at 5.59, making it an area worth reevaluating for improvement.
Walls made a start on Tuesday, March 3, against FAU after missing his scheduled start versus Miami, where he tossed two scoreless innings. That outing brings his season ERA down to 4.91.
Outside of his first start against UAB, where he threw 5.1 innings of one-run ball, Walls has struggled to avoid the big inning. Against Kennesaw State, he gave up three runs in the first before settling in for four innings of four-run ball. The same pattern continued in his next start versus High Point, allowing four runs in the first (two earned) and lasting just 2.2 innings. In his most recent outing against South Carolina, Walls opened with a scoreless first but gave up three runs in the second.
Over his last three weekend starts, eight of his nine earned runs have come in a single inning of each outing, five of those in the first.
Florida’s staff has challenged Walls to be more aggressive out of the gate. His velocity seems to be down at the start of the game and then builds as the game progresses, which is not the mindset they want from their Sunday starter.
“You can’t get a mindset where you’re trying to pace yourself, because you could lose a game in the first inning just like you can the ninth, they all count the same,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said on Walls after High Point. “He does have to understand when he comes out of the bullpen, he’s got to be ready to go right from the first pitch.”
Walls was better in his most recent start against South Carolina. He posted a clean first inning, looking aggressive and confident, but allowed a three-run home run in the top of the second, something that’s just going to happen in this league from time to time.
After Tuesday’s 10-1 win over Stetson, O’Sullivan mentioned the possibility of switching up the Sunday starter down the road. But it’s less about what Walls hasn’t done and more about what RHP Russell Sandefer has.
Sandefer threw three perfect innings with six strikeouts in a start against the Hatters, marking by far his best effort of the season.
“He’s going to force us to make some tough decisions on the weekend,” O’Sullivan said postgame. “Not saying that we’re making a move right now or anything like that, I don’t want to press the panic button or anything like that, but if he keeps throwing the ball the way he did tonight, he might force our hand. That’s just the reality of it.”
Sandefer was someone Florida’s staff thought would be their Sunday starter when they added the UCF transfer. Walls had a strong offseason while Sandefer struggled a bit, which shifted the staff’s outlook.
But after overcoming an early-season injury, Sandefer has looked dominant, tossing 7.1 scoreless innings since March 3rd.
O’Sullivan isn’t one to overreact after a few rough starts, especially if Florida keeps winning. But if Sandefer continues at this pace, it would be nearly impossible not to give him a shot on the weekend, where he already has experience from his time at UCF.
Florida isn’t giving up on Walls either. He’ll make his sixth start and his first road start this weekend against Alabama. Sandefer will remain a top option in the bullpen for now, but if things keep trending this way, it won’t be long before Florida gives him a shot on Sunday.