The Gators looked unstoppable in the SEC tournament — until they didn’t.
It was a strong showing for Florida as it went 2-1 in its SEC Tournament run, making it as far as the semifinals.
UF powered its way to dominant wins over No. 12 seed Vanderbilt and No. 4 seed Alabama behind explosive hitting performances from multiple players, but a late-game collapse against No. 1 seed Georgia ended the Gators’ run one game short of the SEC Championship game.
Offense was one area Florida didn’t struggle with throughout the tournament. The Gators scored 28 runs across three games, with senior left fielder Blake Cyr the biggest performer. Cyr went 9-13 over the three games with two home runs, one triple, two doubles and eight RBIs while being named to the SEC All-Tournament Team. He hit a go-ahead homer against Vanderbilt in the fifth inning that put the game away for the Gators before providing most of the offense against Georgia by driving in four runs.
Sophomore third baseman Ethan Surowiec also earned SEC All-Tournament Team honors after producing one of the best stretches of his season. Surowiec continued his hot end to the regular season by consistently driving in runs, with his best tournament performance coming against Alabama. Surowiec went 4-5 with a home run, two doubles and three RBIs in the 13-3 win.
Sophomore shortstop Brendan Lawson also had a great few games despite not being named to the SEC All-Tournament team. He continued to dominate after breaking out of his slump earlier in May. The sophomore homered in each of the first two games, headlined by a 441-foot blast that plated the first run of the game against Alabama.
In fact, it was Florida’s left side of the infield that overwhelmed Alabama in the quarterfinals. Lawson and Surowiec’s combined six hits, two home runs and four RBIs led the charge in UF’s run-rule victory.
The Gators also received major contributions from junior outfielder Hayden Yost, whose power surge at the bottom of the lineup became a defining story of the tournament. Yost went 3-for-4 with a towering home run against Vanderbilt, continuing his hot end to the regular season that saw him produce a three-homer game against LSU. Redshirt sophomore two-way player Caden McDonald added critical production as well. Despite going 0-for-5 against Vanderbilt, he bounced back in the next two games by drilling a three-run homer against Georgia and hitting multiple RBI doubles against Alabama.
Florida’s starting pitching wasn’t the problem — the team only allowed four runs the whole tournament. Sophomore starting pitcher and SEC Pitcher of the Year Aidan King dominated Vanderbilt early with four scoreless innings and five strikeouts before running into trouble in the fifth, giving up three runs. Junior starting pitcher Liam Peterson followed with a strong outing of his own against Alabama, striking out eight batters across five innings. He touched 100 mph multiple times and allowed just one run to a hard-hitting Crimson Tide offense.
While the bullpen is what ultimately did the Gators in, it also delivered several important moments throughout the tournament. Against Georgia, sophomore right-hander Jackson Barberi came in for junior starting pitcher Russell Sandefer after he was drilled in the forearm by a line drive and later struck out the side.
The only things that went wrong for Florida during the tournament happened in the later innings against the Bulldogs.
Florida built a commanding 6-0 lead by the third inning and looked firmly in control before an hour-long rain delay completely shifted the momentum. The Gators were winning 6-4 entering the seventh inning, coming off a 1.2-inning, four-strikeout performance from graduate lefty Ernesto Lugo-Canchola. They were able to score another run on a Cyr RBI single in the seventh to make it 7-4 before the sky opened up.
After the delay, Georgia immediately attacked Florida’s redshirt freshman closer Joshua Whritenour. The Bulldogs scored two runs in the seventh inning before two consecutive sacrifice flies completed the comeback in the eighth. Defensive miscues also hurt Florida late, including a difficult ground ball that skipped past Surowiec and helped ignite Georgia’s rally.
Despite the disappointing ending, Florida left Hoover playing some of its best offensive baseball of the season.
The Gators will look ahead to regionals, which they will host, starting May 29. Florida enters the double-elimination tournament as the No. 1 seed, with Miami, Troy and Rider traveling to Gainesville to compete as the No. 2-4 seeds, respectively.
Contact Colton Veres at cveres@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @colton_veres.
Colton Veres is a senior sports journalism student in his first semester at The Alligator. He is currently the Summer 2026 baseball reporter. In his free time he enjoys watching the Red Sox and spending times with friends and loved ones.
