Former Gators pitcher Alex Faedo returned to UF last week for the first time since September 2018.

His time away from campus was by design.

“The last time I was there we lost to Kentucky in football,” Faedo said, “so I thought I was bringing bad mojo.”

He brought plenty of good mojo to the Gators on the mound, leading Florida to its first national championship in baseball and winning the 2017 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award. Faedo, a first-round pick by the Detroit Tigers, came back to Gainesville last Wednesday to receive a tour of UF’s brand new $65 million ballpark with head coach Kevin O’Sullivan and pay his respects to McKethan Stadium, which will be demolished in early July.

“It brought back a lot of good memories,” Faedo said. “Seeing the new stadium was crazy. It was a lot of fun and really nice to check out. I think (athletics director) Scott Stricklin and everyone did a great job with the way they set it up.”

The stadium’s design, from the locker rooms to the dugout, reminded Faedo of TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, where he played for three straight years in the CWS. He added that both players and fans will benefit from the field orientation and shade structures.

“It will be awesome for the guys and just the fan experience,” Faedo said. “For all those fans that have been grinding it out at the Mac just getting sunburned every single Sunday, they’re going to have cover now. It definitely has a lot more shade than it looked like in the picture, so that’s really nice.

“And I think for the players, it will just be a better experience with the field layout. They’ll have a different atmosphere than we had at the Mac. I could just envision how cool it’s going to be for all of them in the next few years.”

Florida’s new ballpark also features an upgraded locker room, a player’s lounge and a training room with hydrotherapy. Faedo believes these amenities will bolster UF recruiting, which has already been elite under O’Sullivan.

“I’m really happy for Sully and the program to finally get what they really wanted,” Faedo said. “I know it’s very expensive and there’s a lot that goes into it, but Sully deserved having these upgrades a long time ago. And he’s still been doing a great job recruiting. Our classes are top 2-3 in the country every year and this is going to help even more. Now what are these other schools going to say they have on us?”

Faedo made countless memories at McKethan Stadium and won some big games, but he said the moments he’ll remember most are the off days where he and his teammates would just hang out in the locker room and pass time. He looks forward to returning to the old grounds in the future, showing new friends and family what once was the Mac.

“I’ll be able to tell people that’s where I played, but there won’t even be a baseball field anymore,” Faedo said. “It’s going to make me feel like an old man, but it will be really cool.”

Gators Territory will have more from Faedo on Tuesday as he looks back on Florida’s 2017 nationship championship season and discusses his pro career.