Kevin O'Sullivan Proud of Florida Gators' Resiliency

Left for dead more than once this season, the Florida Gators are among the last-six teams still playing.

Florida Gators baseball head coach Kevin O'Sullivan has seen his team improve week after week. / Cyndi Chambers / USA TODAY NETWORK

Historically, Florida Gators baseball is usually hosting regionals and super regionals. Usually coming into the tournament as possible favorites rather than underdogs. Usually playing as a ranked team in Omaha. 

But 2024 has been a different kind of year for the Gators. Their season has been full of ups-and-downs. And during the regular season, there were a lot more negatives than positives. 

Yet recently, it's been full of resiliency. After sneaking into the NCAA Tournament, Florida has gone on a remarkable postseason run, winning six NCAA Tournament games on the road en route back to Omaha.

It’ll be a team head coach Kevin O’Sullivan remembers for a long time. 

“When it's all said and done it will be one [team] I'll reflect back on and feel really proud about,” O’Sullivan said after Monday’s 5-4 win over NC State extended the Gators' season at least one-more game.

“Really proud of our team the way they battled. And when you look back at it, to have to go on the road win two out of three at Georgia, that's where it started. And the guys have really fed off each other and continued to stay in the fight and here we are.”

O’Sullivan’s squad played another elimination game Monday and improved their record to 4-0 this postseason in elimination games. 

Brandon Neely was phenomenal. Jac Caglianone and Tyler Shelnut each hit clutch home runs. Everything has come together for Florida. And despite the strikeouts (29 of them through two games at the CWS) Florida is still alive and capable of doing damage. They played Texas A&M close but fell one run short before outlasting the Wolfpack and sending them home. 

And despite the critiques who wanted to leave out UF from the tournament in the first place, few should be surprised the Gators are still swimming. 

“I mean, when you commit here, whether that be out of the portal or out of high school, you know what the standard is here,” Caglianone said. “The end goal is to be here and to be the last team standing. Growing up watching Florida, every time I looked, it seemed like they were here.”

Finishing the season 28-27, it's no question Florida barely made the postseason. They also went on a stint from April 5 to May 12 where they didn’t win an SEC series. It could’ve made sense to leave them out. 

If not for the final SEC series win over Georgia, they may not have even been considered. 

Nevertheless, the Gators have taken advantage of making the tournament and have been a different team since. 

“It's nothing that we players kind of take for granted,” Caglianone said. “We know what standards we're held to and how we need to play. And thankfully we're doing it at the right time in the postseason.”

Next, Florida will play another elimination game Tuesday night against either Kentucky or Texas A&M. It’ll be another chance to highlight why the Gators deserved to be in the postseason in the first place, as well as showcase their toughness on the brightest stage. 

“Anytime we're in a spot with our backs against the wall we've played our best baseball, hands down, without a doubt,” Shelnut said. “I think knowing that we have confidence in ourselves going into these games, there's never a moment where we panic or feel that pressure. We know we're going to play our best when our backs are against the wall.”