
The Florida and FSU baseball teams have taken different paths this year to Omaha, Nebraska, the site of the 2024 Men’s College World Series.
In January, the SEC led the way with eight teams in D1Baseball’s preseason Top 25, while the ACC had six teams in the rankings.
Florida, one of four SEC schools to make the CWS, was ranked second nationally following a national runner-up finish to LSU in 2023.
FSU, one of four ACC teams in the CWS, was nowhere to be found in the preseason rankings.
The Seminoles were coming off one of their worst seasons in school history with a 23-31 record, including a 9-21 record in the ACC, in 2023.
In fact, the ‘Noles missed the NCAA Tournament last year for the first time since 1977.
But the roles were reversed for both teams this year.
The Gators (34-28) struggled most of the season, including a six-game losing streak in early April which included a 19-4 loss in Tallahassee on April 9. They finished 13-17 in the SEC.
FSU (47-15), which won all three meetings against Florida this season, started out the year 19-0 until they were swept at Clemson (March 23-24).
The Gators just did make it in the tournament, taking two-of-three from Georgia in Athens (May 17-18) to assure they would finish at least one game over .500, the minimum record required to make it a NCAA regional.
Florida, which won its first and only national title in 2017, was one game away from not making the NCAA Tournament this season, but thanks to the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country, the Gators got in.
Once you’re in, it’s all about getting hot at the right time.
Florida knocked off No. 11 Oklahoma State on the road to advance to the Super Regionals, and on Sunday the Gators delivered their 19th come-from-behind win of the season and fourth of the postseason with an 11-10 walk-off win in 13 innings at No. 6 Clemson.
FSU, which is making its first appearance in the CWS since 2019, is third all-time with 24 appearances, behind Texas (38) and Miami (25).
The Longhorns and the Hurricanes have combined to win nine national titles, but neither of them has won it all since Texas in 2005.
Southern California (1948, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1968, 1970-74, 1978, 1998) leads the way with 12 titles.
The Seminoles have never won one.
Former FSU shortstop Link Jarrett is in his second season at the helm and won 24 more games this year than last.
National runner-up Florida is making its 14th appearance in the CWS and its ninth under head coach Kevin O’ Sullivan.
Florida has reached the CWS championship series four times, finished as the runner-up three times, plus the national championship in 2017.
But none of that matters at the moment.
The Gators and the ‘Noles are in opposite brackets in the CWS.
FSU is paired with No. 4 national seed North Carolina, No. 12 Virginia and top-ranked Tennessee in bracket one, which has four of the top 12 seeds in the tournament.
The No. 8 national seed ‘Noles will open with the No. 1 Vols, who powered their way past Evansville in the Knoxville Super Regional, at 7 p.m. this Friday in Omaha.
UF is paired with No. 2 Kentucky, No. 10 N.C. State, and No. 3 Texas A&M in Bracket two, which has three top 10 national seeds.
The Gators, who play A&M at 7 p.m. on Saturday, are the only team in the field who are not seeded among the top 16 national seeds.
Kentucky, the No. 2 overall national seed behind Tennessee, advanced by defeating No. 15 Oregon State, and No. 3 Texas A&M advanced to its second CWS in three years by eliminating unseeded Oregon.
NC State defeated No. 7 Georgia on Monday, 8-5, to win Game 3 of the Athens Super Regional.
Of the eight teams in this year’s CWS, FSU and Florida lead the way with the most appearances.
FSU had a season-high 24 runs, an NCAA Super Regional record, in its opening game against UConn en route to a sweep in the Tallahassee Super Regional.
The Gators have won five straight games, tying the team’s season high.
No matter how they got there, the Seminoles and the Gators are two of the last eight college baseball teams remaining who will get a chance to win a national championship.
Let the Greatest Show on Dirt begin.