Florida Gators baseball
Founded: 1912
University	University of Florida
Conference	SEC Eastern Division
Location	Gainesville, FL
Head Coach	Kevin O'Sullivan (3rd year)
Home Stadium	Alfred A. McKethan Stadium (Capacity: 6,000)
Nickname	Florida Gators
Colors	Orange and Blue
CWS Appearances
1988, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2005
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1958, 1960, 1962, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008
Conference Tournament Champions
1981, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1991
Conference Champions
1952, 1956, 1962, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1996, 1998, 2005

McKethan Stadium home of Gator baseball

A picture of the 1924 Baseball team

The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida in NCAA Division I competition.

The baseball team competes in the Eastern division of the Southeastern Conference. The Gators play their home games on campus in Alfred A. McKethan Stadium, and are currently coached by head coach Kevin O'Sullivan.

[edit] History

[edit] The Andy Lopez era

Andy Lopez took over the program in 1994, one season removed from leading Pepperdine University to its only national championship in the College World Series. In 1996, he coached the Gators to a 50-win season and College World Series bid. By 2000, however,the program had seemingly hit a plateau and Lopez was replaced in order to get the program to the next level.

[edit] Post-Lopez era

Pat McMahon became head coach in 2001 after coaching at Mississippi State.

Early in the 2003 season the Gators began to make a comeback with several freshly scouted prospects, Andy Ramirez (First base/Daytona Cubs) David Headage (Right field/Bowie Baysox), and Randy Thompson(Shortstop/Army). The 2003 season set the standard for the next two years of baseball, entering the NCAA tournament in both the 2003 season, and the 2004. The 2005 season was the best in school history, as the team won the SEC title and made the College World Series for the first time in seven years, and advanced all the way to the championship round against Texas, but ultimately lost two games to none. The baseball team has made the Series five times in total.

The expectations for the team were high for 2006; they opened the season as the #1 team in the polls. The team struggled through the 2006 season, however. The Gators found themselves 1 game under .500 (26-27) heading into their final series, against LSU in Gainesville. UF surprisingly took 2 of 3 to finish right at .500, 28-28. However, the team's 10-20 SEC record was the second worst in the conference (only Auburn's 9-21 campaign was worse), and they didn't qualify for the SEC Tournament. There was very slight hope that the team might be selected for the NCAA Regionals, but in the end their disappointing performance did not get them a bid.

After missing the NCAA Regionals again in 2007, McMahon was terminated as Florida baseball coach on June 7, 2007. ^[1] Former Clemson associate head coach Kevin O'Sullivan agreed to become the Gators' new head baseball coach on June 13, 2007.^[2]

[edit] The Kevin O'Sullivan era

[edit] Stadium

[edit] McKethan Stadium at Perry Field

McKethan Stadium at Perry Field is a baseball stadium in Gainesville, Florida. It is the home field for the Florida Gators baseball team. The stadium is named after Alfred A. McKethan who contributed significant funds to build the stadium. The other namesake of Perry Field is Carl "Tootie" Perry, a former Gator football player and captain of the 1921 Gator football team. Perry's family owned the land on which the stadium was built, and donated on the condition that the university would name anything built on the land for Perry.^[3]

[edit] Renovations

• In 1996 the press box was rebuilt and funded by another contribution given to the university by Alfred McKethan.
• In 1997, additional bleachers were added down the left field line and behind the left field fence. This renovation brought the total capacity to 5,000.
• Prior to the 2007 season, the stadium underwent another set of renovations that brought its total capacity up to 5,500. The renovation included an additional 1,000 seats down the left baseline, in addition to upgrades to the locker rooms and baseball offices.

[edit] Head Coaches

Year(s) Coach Seasons W-L-T Pct 1912 H. D. McLeod 1 9-4-2 .667 1913 R. P. Hoffman 1 11-9-1 .548 1914-1916 Pat Flaherty 3 15-29-1 .344 1917 Hugh Wicher 1 8-3-0 .727 1919-1920 Artie Phelan 2 14-16-1 .468 1921 William Kline 1 4-10-0 .286 1922-1923, 1926 Lance Richbourg 3 39-21-0 .650 1924 Rex Farrior 1 5-14-0 .263 1925 James White 1 3-6-0 .333 1927-1933 Brady Cowell 7 61-65-2 .484 1934-1936 Ben Clemons 3 20-29-1 .410 1937-1939 Lew Hardage 3 35-24-1 .592 1940-1942, 1946-1947 Sam McAllister 5 40-56-4 .420 1945 Bob Pittman 1 2-9-0 .182 1948-1975 Dave Fuller 28 557-354-6 .611 1976-1981 Jay Bergman 6 216-113-0 .656 1982-1983 Jack Rhine 2 72-39-1 .647 1984-1994 Joe Arnold 11 434-244-2 .640 1995-2001 Andy Lopez 7 278-159-1 .636 2002-2007 Pat McMahon 5 202-113-1 .641 2008-Present Kevin O'Sullivan 2 76-46 .622 TOTALS 21 94 2101-1363-24 .604 [edit] Year-by-Year Results *Through the end of the 2008 season. *Final Rankings are from Collegiate Baseball Division I Final Polls (1959-2006)[4] Year-by-Year Results Year Coach Record Notes 1912 H. D. McLeod 9-4-2 1913 R. P. Hoffman 11-9-1 1914 Pat Flaherty 1915 Pat Flaherty 1916 Pat Flaherty 1917 Hugh Wicher 8-3 There were no games played in 1918 1919 Artie Phelan 1920 Artie Phelan 1921 William Kline 4-10 1922 Lance Richbourg 1923 Lance Richbourg 1924 Rex Farrior 5-14 1925 James White 3-6 1926 Lance Richbourg 1927 Brady Cowell 1928 Brady Cowell 1929 Brady Cowell 1930 Brady Cowell 1931 Brady Cowell 1932 Brady Cowell 1933 Brady Cowell 1934 Ben Clemons 1935 Ben Clemons 1936 Ben Clemons 1937 Lee Hardage 1938 Lee Hardage 1939 Lee Hardage 1940 Sam McAllister 1941 Sam McAllister 1942 Sam McAllister There were no games played in 1943 or 1944 due to WWII 1945 Bob Pittman 2-9 1946 Sam McAllister 1947 Sam McAllister 1948 Dave Fuller 1949 Dave Fuller 1950 Dave Fuller 1951 Dave Fuller 1952 Dave Fuller 1953 Dave Fuller 1954 Dave Fuller 1955 Dave Fuller 1956 Dave Fuller 1957 Dave Fuller 1958 Dave Fuller 1959 Dave Fuller 1960 Dave Fuller 1961 Dave Fuller 1962 Dave Fuller 1963 Dave Fuller 1964 Dave Fuller 1965 Dave Fuller 1966 Dave Fuller 1967 Dave Fuller 1968 Dave Fuller 1969 Dave Fuller 1970 Dave Fuller 1971 Dave Fuller 1972 Dave Fuller 1973 Dave Fuller 1974 Dave Fuller 1975 Dave Fuller 1976 Jay Bergman 1977 Jay Bergman 1978 Jay Bergman 1979 Jay Bergman 1980 Jay Bergman 1981 Jay Bergman 1982 Jack Rhine 1983 Jack Rhine 1984 Joe Arnold 1985 Joe Arnold 1986 Joe Arnold 1987 Joe Arnold 1988 Joe Arnold 1989 Joe Arnold 1990 Joe Arnold 1991 Joe Arnold 1992 Joe Arnold 1993 Joe Arnold 1994 Joe Arnold 1995 Andy Lopez 1996 Andy Lopez 1997 Andy Lopez 1998 Andy Lopez 1999 Andy Lopez 2000 Andy Lopez 2001 Andy Lopez 2002 Pat McMahon 2003 Pat McMahon 2004 Pat McMahon 2005 Pat McMahon 2006 Pat McMahon 2007 Pat McMahon 2009 Kevin O'Sullivan 76-46 2009 Kevin O'Sullivan [edit] Florida in the NCAA Tournament The NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament started in 1947. The format of the tournament has changed through the years. Year Record Pct Notes 1958 2-2 .500 Eliminated by Clemson University 1960 2-2 .500 Eliminated by the University of North Carolina 1962 1-3 .333 Eliminated by Florida State University 1977 2-2 .500 Eliminated by the University of Minnesota 1979 2-2 .500 Eliminated by the University of Delaware 1981 3-2 .600 Eliminated by the University of Miami 1982 0-2 .000 Eliminated by Stetson University 1984 0-2 .000 Eliminated by the University of South Alabama 1985 3-2 .600 Eliminated by the University of Miami 1988 1-2 .333 Eliminated by Arizona State University 1989 1-2 .333 Eliminated by the University of Miami 1991 2-2 .500 Eliminated by Louisiana State University 1992 1-2 .333 Eliminated by Texas A&M University 1994 3-2 .600 Eliminated by the University of Miami 1996 2-2 .500 Eliminated by Louisiana State University 1997 2-2 .500 Eliminated by the University of Miami 1998 0-2 .000 Eliminated by the University of Southern California 2000 3-2 .600 Eliminated by the San Jose St. in the Waco Regional Final 2001 1-2 .333 Eliminated by Stetson in the Coral Gables Regional 2002 3-2 .600 Eliminated by the University of Miami in the Gainesville Regional Finals 2003 3-2 .600 Eliminated by the University of Miami in the Coral Gables Regional Finals 2004 3-2 .600 Won the Oklahoma City, OK Regional; Lost to Miami in the Coral Gables Super Regional 2005 8-3 .727 Won the Gainesville Regional and Super Regional; College World Series (2nd place) 2008 0-2 .000 Eliminated by Florida State University in the Tallahassee Regional 2009 3-2 .600 Won the Gainesville Regional; Lost to University of Southern Mississippi in the Gainesville Super Regional TOTALS [edit] See also Baseball Florida Gators Kevin O'Sullivan List of the University of Florida baseball players Southeastern Conference University Athletic Association University of Florida [edit] External links GatorSports.com - Gators sports news from the Gainesville Sun. Gatorzone.com - Official website of the Florida Gators. SECSports.com - Official website of the Southeastern Conference. University Athletic Association - Official website of the University Athletic Association, Inc. University of Florida - Official website of the University of Florida. [edit] References ^ Pat McMahon fired ^ UF selects baseball coach - GATORS04 - GatorSports.com ^ MCKETHAN STADIUM AT PERRY FIELD ^ [1] Official 2007 NCAA Baseball Records Book v • d • e Florida Gators head baseball coaches McLeod • Hoffman • Flaherty • Wicher • Phelan • Kline • Richbourg • Farrior • White • Cowell • Clemons • Hardage • McAllister • Pittman • Fuller • Bergman • Rhine • Arnold • Lopez • McMahon • O'Sullivan v • d • e University of Florida Academics Colleges: Agricultural and Life Sciences · Dentistry · Design, Construction and Planning · Education · Engineering · Fine Arts · Fisher School of Accounting · Health and Human Performance · Journalism and Communications · Levin College of Law · Liberal Arts and Sciences · Medicine · Nursing · Pharmacy · Public Health and Health Professions · Rinker School of Building Construction · Veterinary Medicine · Warrington College of Business Administration Other units: Bob Graham Center for Public Service · Continuing Education · International Center Athletics Southeastern Conference · Florida Gators · University Athletic Association · Gator football · Gator men's basketball · Gator women's basketball · Gator baseball · Gator softball · Gator track & field · Gator women's lacrosse · Gator swimming & diving · Gator gymnastics · Gator cross country · Gator volleyball · Gator soccer · Gator men's tennis · Gator women's tennis · Gator golf · Ben Hill Griffin Stadium · Stephen C. 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