Florida baseball projected to win SEC East, Caglianone Preseason POTY
There’s a lot to be excited about for fans of Florida Gators baseball, and the folks at D1Baseball.com are expecting another big year from the Orange and Blue.
While previewing the entire Southeastern Conference, D1Baseball managing editor Aaron Fitt picked Florida to win the SEC East ahead of Vanderbilt, Tennessee and South Carolina, in that order. Arkansas is the favorite to win the SEC West, but LSU is always in that conversation too.
Ten teams from the conference are projected to make it to regionals. In addition to the six teams listed above, Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky and Texas A&M are expected to make it to the postseason.
Florida two-way star Jac Caglianone is the projected Player of the Year. Caglianone set the BBCOR-era record for home runs with 33 a season ago while slashing .322/.388/.735 and driving in 90 runs. On the mound, he had his ups and downs, finishing the season 7-4 with a 4.34 earned run average.
If Caglianone can command his fastball at maximum velocity (100-plus miles per hour) and come close to the same numbers at the plate, then he’ll be the unquestioned Player of the Year in all of college baseball — not just the SEC.
Florida has a few other top draft prospects on the team. Shortstop Colby Shelton and closer Brandon Neely cracked the top-25 among 2024 draft prospects from the SEC.
Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
