No.10 Florida baseball has started preseason practice ahead of the 2025 season. The Gators open up against Air Force on Feb. 14-16.
Gator Country predicts Florida’s weekend rotation.
Friday: RHP Liam Peterson
Sophomore RHP Liam Peterson will likely serve as Florida’s ace this season after starting 15 games on the weekend during his freshman campaign in 2023. Peterson pitched to a 3-6 record and a 6.43 ERA across 63 innings pitched. The hard throwing right hander struck out 77 batters and walked 44. Peterson pitched to a .257 batting average against.
While those numbers don’t jump out, Peterson improved as the season went on, posting a 4.76 ERA with a .239 BAA and 34 strikeouts in 28 1/3 frames across the final 30 games of the season. The 6-5, 220-pound Palm Harbor, Florida native earned a spot on the 2024 SEC All-Freshman Team for his efforts last season.
Peterson served as Florida’s game one starter in the NCAA Tournament, picking up a win by limiting Nebraska to two runs across 5 1/3 innings on four hits and three walks while fanning seven on May 31st. Peterson struggled in the College World Series, failing to make it out of the third and first inning in two appearances against Texas A&M.
The biggest area for improvement is command. Peterson walked 44 batters, and they seemingly came in bunches. If Peterson is hitting his spots, he’s extremely difficult to hit as he possesses next level stuff.
Saturday: LHP Pierce Coppola
It’s been an extremely challenging journey for Pierce Coppola as he missed two plus years due to injury after starting his career as one of Florida’s weekend starters. Coppola returned in 2024, but struggled to find consistency, posting a 1-4 record with an 8.75 ERA across 23.2 innings pitched. The 6’8 left hander struck out 35 batters and walked 12, earning an impressive 2.9 strikeout to walk ratio. The issue was opposing teams hit .290 against him.
Coppola’s best outing came against Arkansas, where he struck out six across three frames on April 26, giving up one run on one hit and one walk.
The New Jersey native started out on a pitch count but finished the season with outings of 85 and 98 pitches.
This is Coppola’s first ever fully healthy offseason as a Gator, which should help him gain a sense of comfortability on the mound after missing over two years. Coppola’s length on the mound can create problems for opposing teams as his pitch trajectory is downhill.
Sunday: RHP Jake Clemente
After missing the 2023 season due to injury, RHP Jake Clemente pitched to a 2-0 record and a 5.34 ERA, primarily being used out of Florida’s bullpen. Clemente struck out 39 batters and walked 20 across 28.2 innings.
After a rough couple of games to start the season, Clemente didn’t allow an earned run in seven straight appearances spanning 11.1 innings. The 6’3 Coral Springs native also threw a pair of zeros in the College World Series against NC State and Kentucky across three innings.
Clemente has put together an incredible offseason. Pitching for the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod Summer League, Clemente earned an East All-Star selection after posting a 3.00 ERA in 27 innings pitched. He also earned player of the week from July 13-19, tossing seven shutout, one-hit innings to power Brewster to a 7-0 victory over Harwich on July 17. He fanned six and did not issue a walk.
Clemente has been Florida’s most consistent pitcher this offseason throughout summer, fall, and now preseason, where he recently tossed two scoreless frames. It would not surprise me to see Clemente serve as Florida’s ace at some point this season.
Clemente ranks as the 79th collegiate prospect in the 2025 MLB Draft, according to D1Baseball.