The Florida Gators are hosting Regional for the 17th time in school history as the No. 15 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

For the first time this season, Florida Ballpark will be allowed to be at 100-percent capacity for the entirety of the Regional.

Florida is one of nine SEC programs to make the NCAA Tournament cut, with six SEC schools being selected as national seeds. The SEC sent more teams to the NCAA Tournament than any other conference (9).

The Gainesville Regional is paired with the Austin Regional. The Texas Longhorns are hosting Southern, Arizona State, and Fairfield. If Texas wins its regional, the winner of the Gainesville Regional would travel to Austin to play the Longhorns.

PARTICIPATING TEAMS/SCHEDULE

Friday Game 1: 12 PM: Florida vs University of South Florida

Friday Game 2: 5 PM: University of South Alabama vs Miami

Saturday Game 3: TBD Loser of Game 1 v. Loser Game 2

Saturday Game 4: TBD Winner Game 1 v. Winner Game 2

Sunday Game 5: TBD Winner Game 3 v Loser Game 4

Sunday Game 6: TBD Winner Game 5 v. Winner Game 4

Monday Game 7: If Necessary

Record: 38-20 (17-13)

Team BA: .244

Team ERA: 3.84

The Florida Gators bounced back from a sweep at the hands of No. 1 Arkansas to have a good showing in Hoover at the SEC Tournament. Florida beat Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Alabam outscoring those three opponents 24-3 before losing to Tennessee 4-0 in the semifinal.

The preseason No. 1 team in the country, the Gators were consistently inconsistent for much of the season but started to find its footing towards the end of the season. Kevin O'Sullivan.

The Gators have had an up and down season in 2021 but look to have started to play their best baseball towards the end of the season. Other than getting swept by the No. 1 Arkansas Razorbacks, Florida had a good showing in Hoover and has won five of their last 6 weekend series.

Record: 33-20 (15-9)

Team BA: .244

Team ERA: 3.84

The Miami Hurricanes were selected in the Gainesville Regional after a good season but going 0-2 versus Duke and Florida State in the AAC Tournament. The Hurricanes have already played for this season and actually won two out of three versus the Gators. Miami will play against the South Alabama Jaguars in their first game in the Gainesville Regional on Friday night. This is Miami 47th overall regionals appearance in program’s history.

3B Yohandy Morales: Former Perfect Game All-American and true freshman infielder Yohandy Morales has had a really productive season for the Hurricanes. The South Florida native has also been in constant in Miami’s lineup as he’s started in every game for the Canes except one.

During his freshman season, Morales is slashing .277/.329/.520 with 56 hits, thirteen doubles, ten home runs, 43 RBIs and a .849 OPS. Morales had a ton of success against the Gators in the first series of the season and the Gators will need to pitch to Morales carefully.

LHP Carson Palmquist: The Miami Hurricanes pitching staff has been pretty solid for the most part as the Hurricanes have the fourth lowest team-ERA in the ACC. With Miami’s success on the mound, there’s one pitcher that stands out on Miami’s pitching staff and he hasn’t even started a game for Miami.

Left-handed pitcher Carson Palmquist is the Miami Hurricanes closer and is one of the top closers in the country. The side-arm throwing southpaw has been very impressive in his first full season with the Hurricanes. Palmquist has made 23 appearances this season with a 1.74 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, 13 saves and has struck 72 batters in 41.1 inning pitched which equals a 15.7 K/9.

OF Christian Del Castillo: Going into the 2021 season, Miami’s catcher Adrian Del Castillo was considered to be a top draft prospect and could have been the first collegiate position player drafted in the 2021 MLB Draft. However, Adrian’s brother, Christian, is having a much better season and is Miami’s hitting leader this season.

The Seton Hall graduate transfer has been a huge and welcoming surprise for the Miami Hurricanes offense. Del Castillo is slashing .368/.4431/.495 with 70 hits, ten doubles, four home runs, 40 RBIs and tied for a team-high .926 OPS.

Sun Belt Conference Tournament Champions

Record: 33-20 (15-9)

Team BA: .244

Team ERA: 3.84

The South Alabama Jaguars make their way to the Gainesville Regional by way. of winning the Sun Belt Conference for the first time since 2017. The Jags beat Georgia Southern 10-4 on Sunday afternoon to punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

South Alabama is in an NCAA regional for the 28th time in school history, and fourth time in 10 seasons under coach Mark Calvi.

The Jaguars only have three hitters batting over .240 on the season, so they will need to get solid pitching this weekend

OF Ethan Wilson: Wilson, a potential first-round pick in the 2021 MLB draft leads the Jags in batting and was a First Team All-Sun Belt. Wilson has a lot of power in his bat with 12 doubles, 4 triples, 8 home runs, and 105 total bases this season.

RHP JoJo Booker: Booker leads the Jags with 9 wins on the season. He went 7-0 with a 3.66 ERA in 15 starts. Booker is likely to start the opening game against the Miami Hurricanes.

RHP Miles Smith: The righty is 6-1 with a team-best 2.23 ERA (minimum 40 innings), has made 18 appearances, including six starts. He was the MVP of the Sun Belt postseason tournament. Smith is likely to start the Jags' second game of the regional.

American Athletic Conference Tournament Champions

Record: 28-27 (14-14)

Team Batting Average: .265

Team ERA: 4.12

The South Florida Bulls were selected in the Gainesville Regional after winning their first American Athletic Conference Tournament in the program’s history. The Bulls knocked off the UCF Knights in a tight 8-7 victory. USF has made regionals a bunch in the past few years as this is their fourth regional appearance in six seasons but their 14th overall regionals appearances.

3B Carmine Lane: Redshirt-freshman Carmine Lane has been a huge piece in USF’s offense as he has been their most productive hitter this season. Lane is slashing .326/.387/.522 with 73 hits, fourteen doubles, ten home runs, 41 RBIs, and a team-high .900 OPS. Lane is the Bulls leadoff hitter which means he’ll get plenty of at bats versus the Gators when they open the Gainesville Regional versus Florida on Friday. The American Heritage product was also named to the All-Tournament Team in the AAC Tournament.

RHP Collin Sullivan: The USF Bulls had one of the top pitching staffs in the AAC as their 4.12 team-ERA ranks second in the conference only behind the East Carolina Pirates. Right-handed pitcher Collin Sullivan is a big reason for their success on the mound this season.

The redshirt-senior out of Massachusetts has been in the top of South Florida’s rotation this season. During the 2021 season, Sullivan had made fifteen appearances including fourteen starts. He has a 3-3 record with a 3.77 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 10.2 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9.

1B Riley Hogan: Another corner infielder that has been very productive at the plate for the USF Bulls is first baseman Riley Hogan. The redshirt-junior out of Orlando is one of the top power hitters in the American Athletic Conference.

During his fourth season at USF, Hogan is slashing .280/.380/.491 with 60 hits, ten doubles, eleven home runs, 36 RBIs, 28 walks and a .871 OPS. Hogan was also named to the All-Tournament team in the AAC Tournament.