Florida’s starting pitching duo of junior Liam Peterson and sophomore Aidan King has been stamped as one of college baseball’s best tandems on the mound heading into the season.
Peterson and King are now in the midst of their second season as the weekend starters, with Peterson starting Fridays and King taking the hill to begin Saturday’s outings.
However, now about halfway through the regular season, King has been trending up, possibly forcing the staff to consider a swap between the two arms.
Peterson’s appearances on the mound this season have been up and down in his third year. In eight starts this year, he has recorded a 4.03 ERA with 62 strikeouts and 25 walks while surrendering 28 hits.
However, Peterson has made it to the sixth inning or later just one time this season, when he pitched six scoreless frames against South Carolina on March 13. Despite Peterson having three games fanning at least 10 batters, his early exits have held him back.
In the series opener against Ole Miss on Thursday, Peterson lasted just three full innings, surrendering six hits and three runs in the team’s 6-4 loss.
“We preach that we gotta get at least five [innings] out of our starter,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said after the game. “Obviously, he didn’t have great command tonight.”
Meanwhile, King has trended up in his second season with the Gators. In eight starts this year, the preseason All-American has punched out 41 batters while issuing just nine walks, and lasting until the sixth inning or later four times.
In addition, out of Florida’s nation-leading seven shutout victories this season, King was the starter for four of them.
His outing on the hill against Ole Miss Friday propelled the team to its series-tying 2-0 victory. King pitched seven scoreless frames while striking out eight Rebels and walking none in what was arguably his best outing of the year.
After the game, O’Sullivan said that the staff had discussed the possibility of swapping Peterson and King on weekends. But he also admitted how tough a decision that is to make.
“It's a very hard decision to make, because at some point, if we're going to get to the World Series, Liam's a big part of this thing,” O’Sullivan said. “He knows that he's got to get extended during games at some point. If he doesn't, obviously, we have some tough decisions to make.”
Despite talks of the starter switch, King and Peterson’s relationship has never been stronger.
King believes Peterson deserves to stay as the Friday ace, as the two continue to show support for each other, no matter how they play.
“If he has a bad start or has a good start, I’m right there behind him,” King said. “We talk back and forth all the time. We just bounce ideas off of each other, and we always try and improve ourselves based off what he went through the past three years and what I've gone through the past two years before.”
The Gators have not announced the starters for this weekend against No. 5 Georgia in Athens, Georgia. Florida is back in action this Tuesday for its third and final outing against No. 7 Florida State in Tallahassee. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.
Contact Adrian Carmona at acarmona@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter @abcarmona04.
Adrian is a senior journalism major and the baseball reporter for the Spring of 2026. He previously served as the soccer reporter in the fall of 2025. He enjoys playing Sporcle quizzes and ranting about South Florida sports.
