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Aidan King earns SEC Freshman of the Week after ‘outstanding’ performance

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•05/12/25•

ZachAbolverdi

Aidan-King-Florida-Gators
Florida pitcher Aidan King. (Photo by @GatorsBB/UAA Communications)

Florida Gators pitcher Aidan King was named the SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday after his career-best performance in the series-clinching win at No. 1 Texas. It marked the third time this season that King has received a weekly award from the SEC and the seventh time a UF player has earned league honors in 2025.

In Sunday’s rubber match against the Longhorns, King earned the decisive victory behind seven shutout, two-hit innings. He struck out a career-high nine batters against just three walks and eclipsed 100 pitches for the first time this year, setting personal bests in innings and pitch count (110).

“I don’t remember a freshman pitching on the road like this and pitching as well as he did, and if it has happened, it hasn’t happened in a long time,” Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan said after the game. “We talked about it before the game, what Aidan is able to bring to the table is his ability to throw the fastball on both sides of the plate. That was just a totally different look for them and their hitters to see today. After a little bit of a shaky start, he walked the first two guys, he just collected himself and was nothing short of outstanding today.”

King’s outing didn’t start out well, as he walked the first two Longhorns and earned a mound visit from O’Sullivan. After allowing a pair of batters to reach, King retired eight in a row. And then after giving up his only two hits in the fourth inning, he retired the last 10 batters he faced with five strikeouts.

“I told him two or three times, ‘Just take a deep breath.’ And just relax, and he did,” O’Sullivan said of his mound message to King. “He got through that first inning, and then he was obviously really good the rest of the way and collected himself. Really proud of the way he collected himself. Because most times, freshmen, when the game speeds up on them, they kind of lose it a little bit, but he certainly turned things around.”

King lowered his ERA to a team-low 2.90 and improved to 5-2 in his 10th career start. He also boasts a 64-to-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 59.0 frames and has allowed one earned run in 14 1/3 innings over his last three starts for a 0.63 ERA.  

King has won SEC Freshman of the Week twice this season (April 14) and was also named SEC Pitcher of the Week honors back on March 3. He helped the Gators win their first series against the nation’s No. 1 team since 2016 (Texas A&M).
 
Florida is now back in the top-25 rankings and concludes the regular season at home with a three-game series against No. 18/16 Alabama. The set opens on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and runs through Saturday, with each game on SEC Network+.

Florida’s 2025 SEC Weekly Award Winners

Aidan King – Freshman of the Week (May 12)
Hayden Yost – Player of the Week (May 5)
Brendan Lawson – Freshman of the Week (April 21)
Aidan King – Freshman of the Week (April 14)
Aidan King – Pitcher of the Week (March 3)
Brendan Lawson – Freshman of the Week (Feb. 24)
Brody Donay – Player of the Week (Feb. 17)

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