The Florida Gators‘ pitching staff has and will continue to take a massive hit this summer. While the transfer portal has done its damage, the 2026 MLB Draft is also expected to steal multiple Gator pitchers.
However, they have already begun addressing some concerns this offseason through the portal. And, multiple returning Gators help ease some problems as well.
That said, here is where things stand for the Gators’ pitching staff and what areas need fixing through the transfer portal before the 2027 season.
Weekend Rotation Nearly Set
RHP Aidan King and RHP Liam Peterson headlined the Florida weekend rotation in 2026. As for the final spot, RHP Cooper Walls earned the Sunday role before giving way to RHP Russell Sandefer in SEC play.
Unfortunately for the Gators, the MLB draft is expected to pry Peterson and Sandefer away from Gainesville. As for Walls, after his up-and-down sophomore year on the East Coast, he entered the portal for the second straight season and has since found a new home.
For Florida, that means King is the only anticipated returning arm in the weekend rotation. However, there are multiple options for the Gators to explore.
They have already landed one potential starting pitcher in the portal in former Oregon State southpaw Trey Morris.
He is the crown jewel for the Florida transfer class so far. Morris earned Perfect Game and NCBWA Freshman All-American honors this past season after finishing 7-0 and posting a 1.98 ERA in 59 innings. His 1.98 ERA was good enough to be top-10 in the country and sat first in the country in WHIP (0.83). Additionally, the lefty struck out 67 batters to just 15 walks and held opponents to a .166 batting average against.
As for that in-house option, righty Jackson Barberi is a strong candidate to move from the bullpen into the starting rotation on the weekends.
Barberi took a big step forward as a sophomore in 2026. He ended with a 5-2 record in 19 appearances and recorded a 3.13 ERA in 37.1 innings. Moreover, he posted a 55-to-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .156 batting average against. Those all mark career-highs for the sophomore.
A big reason for this jump is his offseason work last summer. He added weight to his 6-foot-4 frame and worked in a new pitch to his arsenal. On top of his upper-90s fastball that touched triple digits, he mixed in a more effective slider to go along with a mid-80s change-up.
While it is not set in stone, these three are the early favorites for the three weekend rotation openings.
Florida Gators on SI Weekend Rotation Prediction:
- Friday: RHP Aidan King
- Saturday: LHP Trey Morris
- Sunday: Jackson Barberi
Bullpen Still in Limbo
The Gators’ bullpen had its highs, but certainly had its lows throughout the 2026 campaign. Even though it handled pressure well at times, it crumbled near the end of the season, costing them a trip to the Men’s College World Series.
That has forced Florida to be proactive in bringing in new faces to fix an inconsistent bullpen. Two arms, in addition to Morris, have committed to the Gators from the portal. Former Oregon State RHP Zach Edwards and former Jacksonville State RHP Maddox McDougall are both spending their 2027 seasons in Gainesville. These two have been brought in to help offset the losses the Gators have already been hit with.
To start, the Gators are potentially losing RHP Luke McNeillie to the MLB Draft and have lost RHP Billy Barlow, RHP Ricky Reeth and LHP Ernesto Lugo-Canchola to eligibility. McNeillie and Lugo-Canchola are the most damaging departures.
Although McNeillie dealt with injuries this past season, he was effective in his time on the mound. He could still come back, but if a team takes him in the top 10 rounds, it is hard to see a return on the table.
As for Lugo-Canchola, he was one of the Gators’ most used arms. A key reason that he pitched as much as he did is that he was the only lefty Gators head coach Kevin O’Sullivan felt he could go to from the bullpen.
Then, there are seven Florida pitchers in the portal. RHP Matthew Jenkins, RHP Cooper Walls, RHP Cooper Moss, RHP Christian Rodriguez, LHP McCall Biemiller, LHP Rivers Kurland and LHP Eli Blair are searching for new homes for next season.
That leaves RHP Caden McDonald, RHP Schuyler Sandford, RHP Joshua Whritenour, RHP Minjae Seo, RHP Blaine Rowland and LHP Jackson Hoyt as the familiar faces for the bullpen next season.
McDonald, Sandford and Whritenour are the early options for the Gators to go to from the pen. McDonald earned an improved role near the end of the season, finishing as the team’s most reliable arm in relief. Whritenour flashed his stuff at times, but his inability to limit base runners hurt him.
The more notable area for the Gators to address this offseason is the number of left-handers on the roster. Hoyt is the only lefty returning and is the only arm in the pen who throws from that side.
Florida needs to address this area through the portal unless they are ready to trust the incoming youth to take the mound in serious situations. At least one, maybe two lefties must be signed to solve this problem.
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