2026 baseball roster thread

Drove by the field a bit ago, “individual workouts” as a team going on. Anyone have a lead on a roster/numbers for fall? I feel like we’ve all got quite a few new faces to learn.

 

All DI schools have to be at 34 players by December 1. Fall practice usually ends right before Thanksgiving and coaches will then have to make whatever cuts necessary to get to that number. I believe UF’s fall roster is at around 40 players so Sully will have to make a half dozen or so cuts.

Note that starting in 2026, fall rosters will be capped at 38 players so as to limit the number of kids scrambling to find places to play after the fall semester.

 

I had a question re: @stingbb post, looked it up and answered it myself. Redshirts (e.g.; a pitcher needs TJ after fall ball) do count against the 34.

NCAA and bad rules; name a better combination (rhetorical).

 

I dont know this for a fact....but i did hear that you coukd exceed that number if you somehow counted guys that were "grandfathered" onto the roster.
Dont ask me how it might work cause i dont know lol

 

Now, transfer pitchers:

46. Cooper Walls, RHP, Florida (via Hawaii)
Speaking of ‘pitchers’, it’ll be interesting to see what Walls does in Gainesville this fall, and in the SEC in the spring. Walls, a 6-foot-5, 215-pounder, had a Freshman All-American campaign at Hawaii in 2025, making 13 starts and tallying a 3.73 ERA in 60.1 innings, along with 45 strikeouts and 15 walks. What’s really interesting about Walls, though, is that he has incredibly low whiff rates on his offerings, and teams actually hit him at a .292 clip last season. But … he continued to get outs at an impressive rate last season. Velocity-wise, Walls can get up to 93 mph from the right side.
Speaking of ‘pitchers’, it’ll be interesting to see what Walls does in Gainesville this fall, and in the SEC in the spring. Walls, a 6-foot-5, 215-pounder, had a Freshman All-American campaign at Hawaii in 2025, making 13 starts and tallying a 3.73 ERA in 60.1 innings, along with 45 strikeouts and 15 walks. What’s really interesting about Walls, though, is that he has incredibly low whiff rates on his offerings, and teams actually hit him at a .292 clip last season. But … he continued to get outs at an impressive rate last season. Velocity-wise, Walls can get up to 93 mph from the right side. ​

 

How many guys hit into DPs or infield pop-ups? The former is the pitcher's best friend and the later is just as good as a K and maybe even better if early in the count.

 

24. Russell Sandefer, RHP, Florida (from UCF)
Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan has super high hopes for Sandefer — he is expected to be in the mix for a weekend rotation spot. Sandefer made six starts and appeared in 18 games for UCF last season, tallying a 3.38 ERA in 50.2 innings of work, along with 49 strikeouts and 19 walks. He also limited opposing teams to a .257 average. Sandefer’s fastball averages 92.4 mph, per Synergy, but he has been up to 98-99 mph with the offering in the past, meaning he could help as both a starter and a reliever for the Gators. Sandefer has a 47% whiff rate on a low-80s slider, while the changeup is a swing and miss offering as well, with a 49% whiff rate on the CH, which averages 82.3 mph.
Florida head coach Kevin O’Sullivan has super high hopes for Sandefer — he is expected to be in the mix for a weekend rotation spot. Sandefer made six starts and appeared in 18 games for UCF last season, tallying a 3.38 ERA in 50.2 innings of work, along with 49 strikeouts and 19 walks. He also limited opposing teams to a .257 average. Sandefer’s fastball averages 92.4 mph, per Synergy, but he has been up to 98-99 mph with the offering in the past, meaning he could help as both a starter and a reliever for the Gators. Sandefer has a 47% whiff rate on a low-80s slider, while the changeup is a swing and miss offering as well, with a 49% whiff rate on the CH, which averages 82.3 mph. ​

 

Also reports on Gators' Cape Cod seasons.
Caden McDonald, 1B, Florida. McDonald had a very successful summer as a two-way player for Wareham. In addition to putting up a 3.51 ERA in 25.2 innings on the mound, he batted .256/.396/.477 with six home runs and 18 RBIs, an all-around performance that has some thinking that he deserved more attention as a league MVP candidate. What stands out most about McDonald’s offensive performance is that he didn’t really hit at all the previous spring at Florida, so it’s impressive that he did what he did in his first competitive at-bats in a long time. Relatedly, his strikeout numbers ended up a bit elevated, but his command of the zone and his whiff rates improved as he got his feet under him at the plate. At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, McDonald has plenty of strength already, and evaluators project him to add even more weight as time goes on. Between that strength and his above-average bat speed, there’s every reason to believe that he’ll hit for some power next spring at Florida if he carves out a role as a position player. Because the Wareham coaching staff wanted to keep him as fresh as possible in light of his two-way duties, McDonald really only played first base and otherwise spent quite a bit of time at DH, but he’s a good athlete who showed well in the field in a small sample. If you’re betting on breakout candidates in the SEC next season, McDonald would seem like a solid candidate.

Hayden Yost, OF, Florida. It was a true mixed bag of a summer season for Yost, who, like McDonald, will compete for a spot in the lineup at Florida. The offensive numbers ended the summer looking pretty good, as he batted .252 with four doubles and three home runs in 107 at-bats. He has some sneaky pop for a guy who stands 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, but that comes with too much swing-and-miss at present, especially against spin. Those around the league kept waiting for Yost to make an adjustment on breaking pitches, but it never came and he continued to get beaten with them. When he got mistake pitches to drive, though, he drove them. What helped make up for some of his inconsistency at the plate was the premium defense he brought to center field, which was good enough that it bumped Krewson to the corners for most of the summer. ​

 

Ranking of portal classes: Gators #12

Our top-ranked transfer in this bunch is Ethan Surowiec (No. 8 on our position player list), who played sparingly at Ole Miss and then exploded in the Northwoods League to win the D1Baseball Summer Breakout Prospect award. For Duluth, in 244 plate appearances (more or less the equivalent of a full college season), Surowiec batted .387/.475/.779 with 23 doubles, 17 home runs, 68 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. That production, it should be noted, was with a wood bat. Look for him to step into regular duty at first base or left field. But the Gators also re-tooled their up-the-middle group with the additions of shortstop Sam Miller (a 3.05 WAR player at Columbia), CF Jaden Bastian (2.98 WAR at Jacksonville), and catcher Karson Bowen (a proven veteran who has served as a star catcher for an Omaha team at TCU before getting hurt). Bastian is a speed-oriented player in the mold of last year’s key CF transfer, Kyle Jones. Miller can hit for average and power, and also is a capable defender at short.

Florida had fewer needs on the mound, but Russell Sandefer, Ricky Reeth and Cooper Walls should all be contributors. Sandefer, who thrived as a swingman for UCF last year after transferring in from the D-II ranks, has one of the most varied repertoires of any pitcher in college baseball. He leads with a fastball that averaged over 92 mph in the spring but also shows a slider that had a 47% whiff rate last season, a cutter, a changeup that had a 49% whiff rate, a sinker and a curveball. Reeth is a seasoned veteran who was a staple of Notre Dame’s bullpen over the last year years, and Walls has plenty of starting experience, providing some versatility on the mound. Both are accomplished strike throwers.The Gators filled their needs very effectively with a balanced nine-man portal class.
​

 

Speed in the outfield and on the base paths is always a good thing for our Gators. Welcome aboard!

 

And bat speed cannot be taught.

I think that @wingtee once said that armside motion was a gift that couldn't be taught. Of course he was a 12-6 pitcher so he knew nothing about armside motion. LOL.

 

Got me thinking about Buddy Reed.

Sully back then would often call for a double steal with runners on first and third. But Buddy once did the very old school (I am talking about Ty Cobb old school) thing of a straight steal of home. It just isn't done anymore. Very cool.

 

Definitely worth the memories.

 

Well played

 

For those who aren't aware, since Reed was drafted by the Padres in the 2nd round in 2016, he has been with the A's, Dodgers, Brewers and Rangers. The Rangers converted him to a pitcher in 2024, but was eventually cut by them. He's been with the Gastonia Baseball Club, the Mississippi Mud Monsters and as of June 26, 2025 with the Long Island Ducks. He's now 30 and it looks like his MLB days are done. What an exciting Gator to watch, though.

 

How tall is he? The image makes me think he has a similar build to Coppola, dare I say.

 

6’4” 205 lbs according to Perfect Game

 

Really? Looks like he's taller than Century Tower. The angle on that breaking ball has got to be ferocious.