In this edition of the Alligator Awards, we debate which UF freshman was the best of the 2016-17 season. Sports writers Mari Faiello, Andrew Huang and Morgan McMullen join alligatorSports editors Dylan Dixon and Jake Dreilinger in a roundtable discussion to debate the five nominees. Debates will go in alphabetical order by the writer’s last name.
Dixon: Langworthy’s heroics came up big in postseason
The UF baseball team wouldn’t have won its first national championship in program history this year without the services of freshman outfielder/pitcher Austin Langworthy. It’s just a simple fact.
The Williston, Florida, native made 54 starts in Kevin O’Sullivan’s lineup this season, batting .238 with four home runs and 26 RBIs as well as sporting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. He also made seven appearances on the mound, recording a 3.71 ERA over 17.0 innings pitched.
Those numbers are respectable, but what puts him over the top was the clutch gene he displayed during the NCAA Tournament. Langworthy had arguably the best single-game performance of anyone on the Gators roster this season against Bethune-Cookman on the final day of the Gainesville Regional.
With his team’s postseason life on the line, he came out of the bullpen in the third inning and threw four scoreless innings of relief to keep the game knotted at 0-0. In the bottom of the sixth inning, he then blasted a three-run homer over the right field wall of McKethan Stadium to give Florida its first lead of the night.
UF wouldn’t look back from that point on, scoring three more runs against the Wildcats to ultimately win the contest 6-1.
Langworthy’s heroics continued on into the College World Series. The left fielder smashed a solo shot against Louisville on June 20 in a 5-1 victory against the Cardinals and tallied another RBI against LSU in Game 1 of the CWS Finals.
All in all, there’s very little argument against Langworthy for being the best freshman at Florida in 2016-17. How can you contest against a guy that helped his team win its first national championship in 103 years?
Dreilinger: Gardner Jr. stepped up in a big way
Why is the Florida Gators football team dubbed Defensive Backs University?
Because when a spot opens up in the secondary, an inexperienced player can always be relied on to fill that role.
And Florida always produces top defensive backs for the NFL Draft.
So when Nick Washington suffered a season-ending injury against LSU, who did coach Jim McElwain turn to for the start in Florida’s final three contests?
None other than standout freshman Chauncey Gardner Jr.
And he proved that coach Mac’s decision was the right one.
Long before the Cocoa, Florida, native took the field with the starting defensive squad, he provided solid minutes as a reserve, making 15 tackles in UF’s first 10 games.
Once he got his chance to shine, he performed at an even higher level.
In his first game as a starter against Florida State, Gardner Jr. recorded his first career interception and made six tackles, three of which were solo.
In the SEC Championship against Alabama, he made a career-high nine tackles (four solo, five assisted).
And in arguably his best performance so far in his young collegiate career, Gardner Jr. recorded two tackles and two interceptions – one of which was returned for a touchdown – against Iowa in the Outback Bowl.
His play earned him the title of Outback Bowl MVP and put him in the company of Gator great Emmitt Smith as the only true freshmen in program history to win a Bowl MVP award.
With defensive backs like Quincy Wilson, Marcus Maye and Jalen Tabor leaving for the NFL, DBU is still in good hands with young talent like Gardner Jr. stepping up to fill those roles.
Faiello: Kramer towered over the rest in 2017
It’s difficult to stand out as a freshman at UF with the amount talent it has in its sports teams. Rachael Kramer made her impact on the volleyball team in the 2016 season that shows she will be a force to be reckoned with.
The middle blocker from Phoenix, Arizona, already stood out from the crowd on her height alone. The average height for a middle blocker in Division I women’s volleyball is 6-foot-1. Kramer is 6-foot-8 and noted as the tallest Gator in program history.
In her freshman season, she had 176 kills, 24 errors, eight solo blocks and 73 block assists in 88 sets. Her statline was good enough to help her finish second on the team in solo blocks and fourth in kills, sitting behind only rising senior Rhamat Alhassan in both categories.
One of her best matches was when the Gators played against Florida State in September. UF took a 3-1 set win against the Seminoles in Tallahassee. Kramer helped the team with eight blocks, eight kills and zero errors during the match.
On July 12, Kramer was named a representative of the U.S. in the upcoming FIVB World Championship in Mexico with incoming teammate Paige Hammons.
Some other highlights from Kramer’s freshman campaign include leading the Gators and SEC with a .537 hitting percentage, securing 10-plus points in nine matches, starting the final 25 matches of the season and being named SEC Freshman of the Week on Sept. 26.
As a rising sophomore, the volleyball program will have a lot of time to use Kramer in upcoming seasons. She has proven to be a valuable player and will continue to be a dominant force on the court moving forward.
Huang: Holloway lived first season in the fast lane
At times, sports that aren’t football, baseball or basketball don’t garner the attention they deserve. That being said, I realize that some of you might not know about Grant Holloway.
Allow me to introduce you to the next big thing in Gainesville—a guy who also happens to be the Gators’ rookie of the year.
Hailing from Chesapeake, Virginia, Holloway is one of the best, and certainly the most versatile, members of the Florida men’s track and field program.
He received All-American honors in seven events, four during the outdoor season and three during the indoor season. There was also an overlap of excellence in two of those seven, as Holloway was selected for the long jump and 4x400 relay in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
Oh, and he had yet another conference sweep by way of the SEC Indoor and Outdoor Freshman Runner of the Year award.
Again, I realize that talking about indoor seasons and relays may not hit home, so here is a comparison to help paint a picture of how incredible Holloway was this past season.
His extraordinary set of accomplishments would be comparable to making the college football All-America Team as a running back, wide receiver and return specialist.
If that wasn’t enough, Holloway was also a semifinalist for the Bowerman Award, the track and field equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.
The irony is, Holloway turned down an opportunity to play football in order to focus on track.
It would seem like he made the right choice, and as a result, he made my choice for this award a no-brainer.
Ladies and gentleman, I present to you, the best freshman of Florida’s 2016-17 campaign, Mr. Grant Holloway.
McMullen: Confidence was Neel’s scariest weapon
Let’s be honest: how many freshmen on this list definitively contributed to a national championship?
Sure, Grant Holloway was a part of a dominant track and field team and Austin Langworthy…umm…hit .238 for the year?
But let’s talk about Ingrid Neel.
Ingrid goddamn Neel.
Coming from Minnesota, Neel may not have been prepared for the Florida heat. But hot dang, she proved she belonged from her very first outing, scorching her first three opponents of the season and helping her team win the ITA Kick-Off Weekend Championship.
Neel went 11-6 against ranked opponents for the season in dual matches, including taking down No. 17 Jessie Aney of North Carolina to clinch the ITA National Indoor Championship for Florida.
For a freshman to accomplish that and nothing else on the year would be a remarkable achievement. Neel could have lost every other match, and she’d still be considered a great prospect with a high ceiling.
But guess what. She didn’t.
Neel would go on to not only finish with an 18-7 record in dual matches, she would also clinch Florida’s seventh NCAA championship by outlasting Stanford’s Taylor Davidson 5-7, 6-3, 6-2. Neel ended up being placed on the Women’s NCAA All-Tournament team with doubles partner Anna Danilina, with the pair rounding up a 21-3 dual-match record.
So yes, I would have to wholeheartedly say that Ingrid Neel, the woman who clinched the championship for the Gators, the three-time SEC Freshman of the Week, was the standout freshman at UF this season..
Who do you think was the best freshman at UF in the 2016-17 season? Vote online at alligator.org/sports.
Ingrid Neel returns the ball during Florida’s 4-2 win against Oklahoma State on Feb. 18, 2017, at the Ring Tennis Complex.
