Kevin O'Sullivan praises Florida stars, says one game will not define 2023 season

Florida baseball fell just one win short of a national championship in 2023, but coach Kevin O’Sullivan doesn’t want his team to look at the season as a disappointment. The Gators lost 18-4 to LSU on Monday in Game 3 of the College World Series Finals in what was the last chance at a title for many players.

That includes outfielder Wyatt Langford, who was one of three players to join O’Sullivan for the postgame press conference after the loss. Although Langford is only a junior and could return next year, he is likely to enter the MLB Draft, where he is a projected top pick.

Langord gave his all for his team this season and finished with a team-high .373 batting average along with 21 home runs on his way to earning first team All-SEC and second team All-American honors. That, O’Sullivan believes, is what will be remembered regardless of the way things ended.

“There’s some other guys that maybe had an opportunity to be up here too,” the coach said. “But each one of them has their own story, right? Wyatt had four at-bats his freshman year. He’s turned himself, in my opinion — you could flip a coin between him and Dylan Crews. That’s my honest opinion. I think they’re both tremendous players. They’re going to have great careers moving forward.”

Senior catcher BT Riopelle and junior outfielder Josh Rivera were also sitting alongside O’Sullivan in the Florida postgame press conference. Rivera also put on a show this season to finish second on the team with a .348 batting average and 19 homers.

As for Riopelle, he came up big time and time again this postseason with six home runs across the NCAA Tournament. He joined the Gators in 2022 as a transfer from East Carolina and ends his time having left a lasting impact.

“You’ve got a guy like BT who was one of the very few transfer portal guys we’ve had,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s evolved into one of the best leaders, human beings, I know. You guys all know his story that he’s going to move on. And this was his last game. And that’s very emotional for him. And you’ve got a guy like Josh who’s been in our program for four years. You see him develop not only as a baseball player. You could talk about the hitting and the defense, but the maturity level.”

As Florida closes the chapter on the 2023 season, O’Sullivan gave a reminder that even making the College World Series is an achievement. The reality is that the Gators got further than all but one team, and this is something that has only been achieved in three other seasons in program history.

Time will eventually heal the sting of defeat, and as each player moves on in their lives, they’ll always have this special season to look back on.

“So each one of them have their own stories,” O’Sullivan said. “So I may have a little different perspective. I’m just as disappointed as anybody. This will sting, obviously, when you’re a competitor. But one game is not going to define the success we had in the season. That’s the bottom line.”