Kevin O'Sullivan has a new appreciation for where Florida Gators are

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The celebration from the players on Monday was subdued. There was no dogpile or Gatorade bath. There was a smile on Florida manager Kevin O’Sullivan’s face — no easy feat for the skipper with a steely demeanor.

The Florida Gators baseball program was good before Kevin O’Sullivan arrived. Dave Fuller was the longest-tenured manager at 28 years. Joe Arnold took the Gators to their first College World Series in 1988. Arnold, Andy Lopez, and Pat McMahon combined to go four times in a 14-year span (1991-2005).

Kevin O’Sullivan led the Gators to Omaha four times in his first eight seasons.

Florida made its first trip in 2010 as the No. 8 National Seed. They made it all the way to the CWS Final in 2011 and were the No. 1 overall seed in 2012. After a two-year hiatus, Florida was back. The Gators made another trip to Omaha in 2016 and then finally broke down the door and won the National Championship in 2017. They were back in 2018 but fell short to the same Texas Tech program they beat on Monday.

The four-year stretch from 2015-2018 is perhaps the best in program history. The Gators compiled a 205-72 (.740) record, two SEC titles, and advanced to the CWS all four years. For the first time ever, Florida won more than 50 games for three consecutive years, notching 52 wins each season from 2015-17. The four consecutive trips to Omaha put Florida on a list of just five programs with four straight CWS appearances since the tournament expanded to 64 teams.

Omaha was no longer a destination or a reward for a good season. It was the expectation.

Getting to Omaha is hard

O’Sullivan has taken Florida to Omaha, Nebraska so much that he might have a mailing address there.

That mailbox, untended for years, was full. O’Sullivan and the Gators hadn’t been back to Omaha since 2018 — they hadn’t even advanced to a Super Regional since that year. It was the longest stretch of both not getting to Omaha or even a Super Regional in O’Sullivan’s career.

It was humbling.

“I think just when you go on a stretch like that for a 15-year period when we went to the World Series seven times excluding COVID (2020 season ended after 17 games). That’s basically every other year. When you’re right in the middle of it you don’t realize how difficult it is,” O’Sullivan said. “Now, stepping back and you haven’t been there since 2018 you go ‘Wow, that was a pretty awesome stretch. And to get back to this point, giving yourselves an opportunity is really good for our program.

“Once you kind of get off track a little bit, I wouldn’t say our program was off track but it’s where we expect excellence, we expect to get to the World Series and when you haven’t been in a few years, or at least get an opportunity to go it’s hard to get that feeling back. So, we’re certainly not done yet. Obviously, we South Carolina, we know how difficult that’s going to be and should be a heck of a series.”

An eye-popping O’Sullivan stat

As if the above resume wasn’t impressive enough. Florida will be hosting its ninth Super Regional since 2008, which leads the nation. The Gators have won seven consecutive Super Regionals under O’Sullivan.

• 2009 – Lost to Southern Mississippi
• 2010 – Beat Miami
• 2011 – Beat Mississippi State
• 2012 – Beat N.C. State
• 2015 – Beat Florida State
• 2016 – Beat Florida State
• 2017 – Beat Wake Forest
• 2018 – Beat Auburn

There are nearly 300 Division I baseball teams. O’Sullivan’s ballclubs have played into the round of 16 more times than they haven’t. The four years (including the 2020 season which didn’t have an NCAA Tournament) where Florida didn’t advance to a Super Regional was the longest under his leadership.

On Monday, O’Sullivan allowed himself to soak it in. The Gators will host South Carolina, a team that swept them earlier in the season. He expects to win. His team expects to win. He’ll spend this week doubling down on combing through the transfer portal and scouting the Gamecocks. He’ll do it with a bigger appreciation of his team, staff, and program has acomplished.

“Like I said, I have a different perspective than I may have had 10 years ago,” O’Sullivan said. “I do realize how difficult it is and am awfully proud of our club.”