Feb. 10, 2026, 3:05 p.m. ET

The college baseball season starts Friday, and the Florida Gators are once again poised to make a College World Series run.

Before the season officially gets underway, Gators Wire is taking a look at the entire roster in a series of position previews. The infielders are first up, followed by the outfielders and, finally, the pitchers, leading up to Opening Day.

Kevin O’Sullivan and his staff return several key players from last year’s club, but the Gators also made plenty of moves in the transfer portal. There are three new catchers on the roster, looking to replace Luke Heyman, a pair of transfers that could see significant playing time and two true freshmen to consider.

Let’s take a look at who will play on the dirt at Condron Family Ballpark this year.

Catchers: No. 14 Karson Bowen (Sr.), No. 28 AJ Malzone (Jr.) and No. 29 Cole Stanford (Gr.)

With Brody Donay and Heyman both signed in last year’s draft, Florida needed to attack the transfer portal hard at the position. The Gators needed a slum dunk addition behind the plate and got one in Karson Bowen, who spent the last three seasons with the TCU Horned Frogs. Every team needs more than one catcher, which led to two more additions: Division II graduate transfer Cole Stanford and AJ Malzone and Wabash Valley College (JUCO) junior AJ Malzone.

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Projected Starter: Karson Bowen

Bowen ended last season as the No. 33 catcher in college baseball, according to D1Baseball. He also checked in at No. 64 on D1Baseball’s list of top college draft prospects, and Baseball America listed him at No. 79 among impact transfers coming into the 2026 season.

The 5-foot-11, 235-pound California native earned a Second Team All-Big 12 nod in 2025 after slashing .333/.425/.516 with a .940 OPS. His wRC+ was 124 — where 100 is league average — and he has a fairly good eye with an 18.8% strikeout rate and 10.8% walk rate. While Bowen could stand to add some more pop to his bat (four home runs, 11 doubles), he has all of the intangibles needed at catcher. With 105 games started under his belt, Bowen should have no trouble stepping into a leadership role for the Gators.

Backups/Reserves: Cole Stanford; AJ Malzone

Malzone and Stanford will battle for the backup role, but both are fine options. There is no clear depth chart behind Bowen heading into Opening Day.

Stanford mashed at Lenoir-Rhyme last season, slashing .394/.480/.757 with 20 home runs, 18 doubles and 56 RBIs. He ended up as a DII All-American and was an All-SEC First Team and All-Region player as well. Stanford is sound behind the plate and has the experience to work through and transitional issues.

Malzone hit just as well at the JUCO level last season, with a .347/.496/.602 slash line, 10 home runs, 58 RBIs and 16 doubles. He launched an impressive homer in the fall game against Georgie Southern and provides a left-handed power option off the bench for Florida. Even if he doesn’t catch too much, he should get at-bats this season.

Corner Infielders: No. 11 Brendan Lawson (So.), No. 10 Ethan Surowiec (So.), No. 13 Landon Stripling (Jr.) and No. 21 Caden McDonald (R-So.)

One of the biggest transfer portal additions of the cycle for Florida is Ethan Surowiec from Ole Miss. He saw limited playing time as a true freshman with the Rebels, but is expected to be a major piece of the Gators’ lineup this season. He’ll take over first base, moving Florida’s top freshman of 2025, Brendan Lawson, across the diamond.

Landon Stripling should be the primary backup at first base, but two-way player Caden McDonald may get a couple of reps, too, after a standout summer at the plate. Those two are also the prime candidates for the designated hitter spot in the order.

Projected Starting First Basemen: Ethan Surowiec

Surowiec only played in 11 games for Ole Miss last season, but he mashed in 21 plate appearances, primarily as a designated hitter. His two home runs led to a 1.274 OPS, even if he was a bit strikeout-heavy with one every three plate appearances. He had a monster summer, winning the Northwoods League MVP while slashing .387/.475/.779 with 24 doubles, 20 home runs and 68 RBIs.

He’s stayed hot through the fall with Florida and figures to step into a middle-of-the-lineup role while manning first base. The defense is questionable at this point, but that doesn’t matter all too much with what Surowiec provides at the plate. D1Baseball ranked him No. 22 among first basemen heading into the season.

Projected Starting Third Basemen: Brendan Lawson

Lawson is the most exciting returner for Florida’s offense. He started 60 of 61 games at first base for Florida last year and slashed .317/.417/.522 with 10 home runs, 14 doubles and a team-high 33 walks. That performance earned him Freshman All-American nods across the board and an SEC All-Freshman Team honor. Lawson has an advanced eye for being so young, evident by his 20.7% strikeout rate, 12.2% walk rate and 121 wRC+ last season.

Considered one of the top draft prospects in the 2027 class, Lawson is looking to avoid a sophomore slump. All signs point to another excellent season, with Lawson slashing .33/.398/.519 in the Cape Cod League this summer. With some more muscle, his power numbers should improve and help him defensively with the long throws at third base. He can also move to shortstop should Florida need him there. D1Baseball ranks him No. 5 among college third basemen.

Backup: Landon Stripling

Stripling came over from Texas Tech ahead of the 2025 season, but the emergence of Lawson kept him in a part-time role. He slashed .264/.397/.368 with seven doubles, two home runs and 20 RBIs, but his wRC+ came in slightly under league average at 93.

Stripling got more comfortable at the plate the more opportunities he got, and that culminated in a strong regional performance. He has two major things going for him coming into 2026: being a left-handed hitter and walking as much as he struck out last year (21). Stripling put together a good fall and has a chance to make a bigger impact for Florida this season, even if it’s off the bench.

Reserve: Caden McDonald

McDonald is one of the most interesting players on Florida’s roster. He flipped from UCF during the summer after his senior year of high school and was shut down in 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He spent 2025 pitching out of the bullpen, getting just one at-bat as a pinch-hitter.

In high school, McDonald excelled at the plate, hitting 12 home runs as a senior during a state championship run at Sickles (Tampa) alongside Hayden Yost. He got back to the two-way game this summer, slashing .256/.396/.477 with six home runs for the Wareham Gatemen, and he continued to spray it all over the field during the fall. He could end up the primary designated hitter for Florida this season, and can play first base if needed.

Middle Infielders: No. 4 Cade Kurland (R-Jr.), No. 2 Sam Miller (Sr.), No. 1 Justin Nadeau (Sr.) and No. 25 Kolt Myers (R-Fr.)

Florida returned Cade Kurland at second base, who dealt with injuries for most of last season and earned a medical redshirt, but questions remained at shortstop after losing Colby Shleton to the draft. Enter Sam Miller, a Columbia transfer, who figures to hit the ground running as the Gators’ starter.

Behind them are two returners, Justin Nadeau and Kolt Myers. The former had nearly 200 plate appearances last year, stepping in for Kurland at second, and the latter redshirted as a true freshman.

Starting Second Baseman: Cade Kurland

Kurland was one of the brightest pieces of Florida’s future after a standout freshman campaign where he slashed .297/.404/.555, but injuries plagued his last two seasons. He broke his hand early in 2024 and never fully recovered, then completely shut down after dislocating his shoulder last year. He nursed a quad injury through the first weeks of the preseason but looks good heading into Opening Day. The team has held him out of scrimmages out of caution, but he should be a go on Friday.

Once considered a top-10 second baseman in the college game, Kurland dropped to No. 27 on D1Baseball’s preseason list this year. If he can stay healthy, it’s hard to imagine Kurland finishing anywhere near that low on the list. Strikeouts are a concern, but he’s shown improvement in that department recently.

Starting Shortstop: Sam Miller

Miller slashed .341/.402/.620 with 31 home runs and 117 RBIs over three seasons with Columbia. Sixteen of those homers came last season, and he improved his eye dramatically — striking out just 16.2% of the time. He is silky smooth defensively and has veteran experience. Still, making the transition at the plate against SEC arms is never easy. D1Baseball ranks him No. 16 among college shortstops.

There’s a high bar to clear replacing Shelton at short, but Miller is more than a viable replacement.

Backups: Justin Nadeau and Kolt Myers

Nadeau was serviceable at second in place of Kurland last year, slashing .283/.421/.409 with 11 doubles, three home runs and 22 RBIs. Hopefully, he can be used more situationally this year as a depth piece behind Kurland if needed.

Myers redshirted last year, hoping to get more action this season. Had Kurland played all of 2025 and left in the draft, Myers very well could be the starting second baseman. He’s a true shortstop, but Miller is going to be hard to pass by on the depth chart. Look for this to be a building block year for Myers, and for him toaudiiton for either role next season.

Freshmen: No. 49 Colton Shwarz (Fr.) and No. 6 Nic Partridge (Fr.)

Finally, Florida added two freshmen infielders to the roster this year, Colton Schwarz and Nic Partridge.

Schwarz is the younger brother of former Florida star JJ Schwarz and has an advanced hit tool for his age. The defense is still a work in progress at shortstop, but he could still see action early in the year. Like his brother, Scwarz could develop into a significant power bat for Florida in the coming years.

Partridge was a top draft prospect who didn’t get the right deal this summer. Getting him on campus is a win for Florida, but an abdominal injury is going to slow him down. A redshirt season appears likely as Patridge has not participated in the preseason.

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