The common theme around the Florida baseball program is turnover.
Players tend to only stay in Gainesville for a few seasons before departing via the MLB draft, which is why coach Kevin O’Sullivan will be starting more freshmen (three) than seniors (two) Friday night.
The Gators open the regular season at 6:30 p.m. against Long Beach State at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium.
Florida, ranked No. 6 nationally by D1Baseball.com, is coming off a 49-win season and a fourth consecutive trip to Omaha for the College World Series. When the 2018 season came to an end, UF saw three of its players — Jonathan India, Brady Singer and Jackson Kowar — drafted in the first round, which left a hole at third base and thinned out the pitching staff.