GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Entering with a four-series winning streak and 13-3 record (10-2 SEC) across their last 16 games, the Florida Gators visit the Texas Longhorns this weekend for the first time in program history.
 
The three-game set at UFCU Disch-Falk Field opens Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Games two and three will be carried by SEC Network+ at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday.
 

These two storied programs have only ever met in Omaha (twice in 2005, 2011 & 2018), with the series tied at 2-2. Florida has claimed each of the previous two meetings to enter with a two-game winning streak in the series, as Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan is 2-0 against Texas in his career. The UF skipper is fresh off his 750th-career win in the series finale at South Carolina on Sunday.
 

O’Sullivan and UT Head Coach Jim Schlossnagle have managed 13 games against one another as head coaches. O’Sullivan went 4-6 against Schlossnagle during his time at Texas A&M (2022-24) and was 2-1 vs. him in his TCU tenure (2004-21).

Pitching Matchups

	Friday | 7:30 ET (ESPNU)	Saturday | 2 ET (SECN+)	Sunday | 2 ET (SECN+)
Florida	TBA	TBA	TBA
Texas	TBA	TBA	TBA
Links	WATCH | LISTEN	WATCH | LISTEN	WATCH | LISTEN

RED HOT REPTILES
After dropping its first-four SEC series and stumbling to a 1-11 record in league play, Florida has gone 10-2 in SEC action while winning four-straight series to save its season. During the 16-game turnaround (13-3), Florida has registered seven comeback victories and outscored its opponents by a 137-to-69 tally, translating to a plus-4.3 runs per game differential. UF hitters have slashed .306/.420/.548 while the pitching staff has worked to a 4.02 ERA, .258 batting average against and 164-to-63 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The stretch has significantly improved Florida’s postseason positioning with a current RPI of 19 and No. 5 strength of schedule.
 
A TALE OF TWO (SEC) SEASONS
In their 1-11 start to SEC play, the Gators pitched to a 9.63 ERA, .311 batting average against and 110-to-75 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 100 innings. They batted just .244/.333/.384 with 14 homers and 10 steals. In the 12 SEC games since, Florida pitchers have more than cut their ERA in half at 4.14 while producing a .252 BAA and 124-to-44 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 100 frames. The offense has exploded in that time, slashing .313/.423/.553 with 21 homers and 24 stolen bases.
 
FOUNDERS KEEPERS
Florida delivered one of its most dominant SEC series – home or away – in sweeping South Carolina in Columbia for the first time since 1996. Representing UF’s first SEC road sweep since 2022 at Mississippi State, Florida’s plus-31 run differential (39-8) was its highest in an SEC series in 23 years (2022 vs. Ole Miss, +31). The Gators also reclaimed the all-time series lead (57-56) for the first time since March 26, 2021. Every player that started at least two games for UF in Columbia scored at least three runs and had at least two hits. Eight of nine UF starters recorded at least three hits in the series.
 
LOWDOWN ON THE LONGHORNS
The No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns have surged atop the nation and the SEC in year one under Schlossnagle, with a 39-8 record overall and a 19-5 mark in league play. The Longhorns are batting .252 in SEC action while getting on base at an impressive .801 clip. Texas boasts a .453 slugging percentage with 37 long balls in SEC play. On the mound, the Longhorns are led by Ruger Riojas (4.31 ERA) and Luke Harrison (4.06 ERA), who own a combined 7-2 SEC record. Texas’ pitching staff has combined for an 3.84 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in 211.0 innings of work.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Through 50 games, Florida remains ranked inside the top-50 teams nationally across 11 statistical categories. Led by the fifth-most strikeouts per nine innings (11.6) in the country, the Gators also rank 12th in shutouts thrown (five), 19th in home runs (80), 23rd in fielding percentage (.978), 23rd in slugging percentage (.519), 25th in strikeout-to-walk ratio, 31st in doubles (102), 34th in runs scored (390), 41st in hits (487), 46th in on-base percentage (.411) and 47th in batting average (.301). Florida’s five shutouts thrown sit third in the SEC behind Arkansas (seven) and Vanderbilt (six).
 
MURDERER’S ROW
Florida features one of the fiercest offenses in the country with five hitters boasting an OPS above 1.000 in catcher/designated hitter Brody Donay (1.079), infielder Colby Shelton (1.064), infielder Brendan Lawson (1.016), infielder Bobby Boser (1.015) and catcher Luke Heyman (1.006). All five Gators are batting at least .300 and slugging over .560. Their 56 combined home runs make up 70.0% of the team’s total (80).
 
EVANS & YOST DO THE MOST
Entering the weekend with just one home run apiece on the season, outfielders Hayden Yost and Ty Evans both homered twice in the series at South Carolina to combine for a whopping 16 RBI and 11 runs scored. For Yost, the performance netted SEC Player of the Week honors as he finished 5-for-10 (.500/.615/1.100) with an SEC-high eight RBI on the week. Yost drove in multiple runs in all three games, stole two bases and even robbed a two-run home run from Kennedy Jones over the center-field wall in the fourth inning of game one. Shifting to Evans, the senior has now homered three times in the last five games (19 at bats) after going homerless in his first 25 games of the season (69 at bats). His eight RBI last week matched Yost for the SEC lead, as Evans went 5-for-13 (.385/.429/.923) with 12 total bases.
 
BEST CATCHER IN COLLEGE BASEBALL
As a leading candidate for the 2025 Buster Posey Award, Heyman’s 10 home runs in SEC play lead the conference. Catching 23 of 24 SEC games, Heyman also ranks third in slugging (.733), fifth in RBI (27) and seventh in total bases (66) during conference play. On the season as a whole, the UF backstop boasts a nearly-perfect .998 fielding percentage while pacing the SEC in chances (461) and putouts (427), in addition to ranking third with 11 runners caught stealing. The performance has resulted in a robust .302/.402/.604 slash line, 13 homers and 43 RBI. Heyman has been even better in Florida’s 16 road games: via a .345/.458/.776 batting line.
 
CLEMENTIME
With the Gators going 13-3 over the last 16 contests, one of the major keys has been the emergence of right-handed pitcher Jake Clemente in the closer role. Each of Clemente’s six saves have come in the last 16 games, during which he has dominated to the tune of a team-low 0.53 ERA, .167 batting average against and 29-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 17 innings. All six of Clemente’s saves have been more than one inning highlighted by five saves of six-plus outs and four of eight outs or more.
 
BOBBY BASEBALL BITS
As the lone Gator to start all 50 games, Boser leads Florida in at bats (194), runs (59), homers (14), total bases (115) and stolen bases (15). Looking to become the second 20-homer/20-steal player in program history (Brad Wilkerson, 1998), Boser’s 16 multi-RBI performances equate to nearly one-third of UF’s games while his five three-hit showings also lead the squad. Knocking hits in 20 of UF’s last 22 SEC tilts, Boser has raised his conference batting line to .337/.418/.442. The UF third baseman ranks top-10 in the SEC in runs (third), steals (fifth), at bats (seventh) and hits (ninth).
 
THE PETERSON FILE
Ranked as Baseball America’s top college pitcher for the 2026 MLB Draft at No. 3 overall, ace right-hander Liam Peterson improved to 8-2 with a game two relief appearance last weekend at South Carolina after having his game one start washed out. In his previous start vs. No. 5 Arkansas on April 25, Peterson logged his fourth quality start behind a career-high 13 strikeouts, marking his third game of 11-plus strikeouts this season. The Palm Harbor, Fla. native’s eight wins sit second in the SEC while his 13.4 strikeouts per nine rank eighth nationally and fourth in the SEC. He has tallied at least six strikeouts in six of seven SEC starts, only not eclipsing the mark in Friday’s washout at SC.
 
LAYING DOWN THE LAW
Already with a pair of SEC Freshman of the Week nods under his belt, Lawson has collected multiple hits in nine of the last 12 games to increase his batting average .30 points from .303 to .333. Lawson now sits second on the roster with 20 multi-hit performances while also ranking second on the Gators with 13 multi-RBI contests. Even more impressively, the Toronto, Ontario native is tied for ninth in the SEC with a team-best 54 RBI, having cranked three grand slams in his first-collegiate campaign.
 
KING OF THE CASTLE
Also having his start at South Carolina cut short due to weather, freshman righty Aidan King has allowed just one earned run in 7 1/3 innings across his last two starts to lower his ERA to a team-best 3.29. The star rookie carries a 1.19 WHIP, 9.5 strikeouts per nine and 3.4 strikeout-to-walk ratio into his 10th-career start.
 
STEALING THE SHOW
The Gators have now stolen 77 bases in 92 attempts (83.7%) after swiping 10 in 11 tries in the series at South Carolina. That equates to 1.5 steals per game after Florida averaged just 0.7 steals per game last season. After 50 contests, the Gators have already surpassed their 2024 steals total (43) by 34. Boser paces the team with 15 steals in 17 attempts, which is tied for fifth in the SEC.
 
RELENTLESS REPTILES
By erasing a three-run deficit to win the series opener at South Carolina, 9-5, Florida has now secured 14 come-from-behind victories in 2025. Last season, the Gators delivered 21 wins in comeback fashion, featuring 12 of the team’s 13 SEC wins. Going back two seasons, 22 of the 2023 Gators’ program-record 54 victories came via comebacks.
 
ON DECK
The Gators are off during the midweek before hosting Alabama at Condron Family Ballpark from Thursday, May 15 through Saturday, May 17 to conclude the regular season.

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