Few players in the country are seeing the ball as well as Gators shortstop Brendan Lawson, who is hitting .409 through 22 games this season. He has already matched his 10 home run total from his freshman campaign, with 33 regular season games remaining plus the postseason.
He has been so effective at the plate that teams are pitching around him, especially of late. Lawson has walked 27 times this season, the third most in college baseball. He has also been hit by eight pitches, leading to an on base percentage of .614, also the third highest in the country.
Part of that success stems from Lawson’s presence at the plate. The Toronto, Ontario native rarely chases and stays composed with two strikes. He has struck out just 15 times in 101 plate appearances, a 14.8 percent rate. Seven of those came looking, and without fact checking, I would bet most were not strikes. That is how sharp his eye is.
“He’s just a special player,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said on Lawson. “He never gets excited in the box. He’s calm. You can see him when he takes a swing at a foul ball, he kind of walks around home plate and collects his thoughts. He doesn’t chase very much at all. He’s very comfortable with two strikes. He’s a really smart hitter.”
Lawson has the unique ability to handle left handed pitching and drive the ball to the opposite field, a difficult skill for a younger player in the SEC. O’Sullivan offered high praise for Lawson, which is notable given the elite talent that has come through the program under his watch, including Jac Caglianone and Wyatt Langford in recent years.
“He’s one of the best hitters we’ve had come through here,” O’Sullivan said. “And that’s saying a lot because we’ve had a lot of big leaguers come through here, but he certainly stacks up there with some of the best we’ve ever had, for sure.”
The 6’3″, 215-pound infielder entered the 2026 season in much better shape than he was as a freshman, and it shows. Lawson looks considerably faster, with six stolen bases in seven attempts and two triples early this season.
“He’s running way better,” O’Sullivan said. “I kind of compare it to Wyatt Langford. He did the same thing. He came back in sophomore year and he was chiseled. A lot of it obviously is he’s a tremendous athlete. He played hockey growing up.”
Lawson is the heart and soul of Florida’s 2026 team. The Gators go through him. He brings so much from a talent perspective, with his approach at the plate, natural power, and elite bat speed, but he has also stepped up as a leader. If he continues at this pace, Lawson will certainly be in the Golden Spikes conversation at the end of the year as one of the purest hitters in college baseball.
The best part is that Florida gets another year out of the sophomore, who is a projected top three pick in the 2027 MLB Draft.