Florida Gators
Overall Rank: #7
Conference Rank: #2 SEC
The University of Florida heads into a bit of a reloading phase in 2020 as the Gators will have to replace Kelly Barnhill and Amanda Lorenz, who will go down as two of the best players in program history. Florida is coming off an SEC Tournament championship and another trip to the Women’s College World Series after outlasting Tennessee in an epic three game Gainesville Super Regional. With a strong consistent culture in place thanks to head coach Tim Walton and his staff you can expect Florida to find a way to win 45 plus games and cause some chaos in the SEC conference race.
2019: 49-18, 12-12
2019 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Tim Walton
Key Departed Players:
Amanda Lorenz, OF, .422 BA, 11 HR, 41 RBI, 4 SB
Alex Voss, OF, .237 BA, 1 HR, 13 RBI
Kelly Barnhill, P, 1.61 ERA, 34-14 W/L, 287.0 IP, 81 BB, 358 SO
Key Returning Players:
Kendyl Lindaman, C, .330 BA, 15 HR, 54 RBI
Hannah Adams, INF, .284 BA, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 4 SB
Jordan Roberts, C, .262 BA, 9 HR, 36 RBI
Sophia Reynoso, INF, .251 BA, 2 HR, 20 RBI
Jaimie Hoover, OF, .243 BA, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 6 SB
Hannah Sipos, INF, .167 BA, 1 HR, 13 RBI
Natalie Lugo, P, 2.02 ERA, 8-3 W/L, 76.1 IP, 18 BB, 94 SO
Katie Chronister, P, 2.03 ERA, 1-0 W/L, 10.1 IP, 3 BB, 4 SO
Elizabeth Hightower, P, 2.16 ERA, 4-1 W/L, 61.2 IP, 19 BB, 55 SO
Jade Carraway, OF, .219 BA, 0 HR, 10 RBI
Danni Farley, P, 4.06 ERA, 2-0 W/L, 20.2 IP, 10 BB, 13 SO
Projection:
Kendyl Lindaman will have to lead the Gators at the plate in 2020 as they will need to be more consistent offensively in order to get back to Oklahoma City. Lindaman had a pretty seamless transition to SEC play in 2019 as she hit .330 with 15 homeruns and 54 runs batted in. Hannah Adams is coming off a solid 2019 season where she hit .284 with three homeruns, 28 runs batted in and stole four bases. Jordan Roberts and Jamie Hoover combined for 16 homeruns and 69 runs batted in and should see their numbers get a boost with the addition of Michigan State transfer Charla Echols. As for the pitching, there is the looming question of replacing Kelly Barnhill, which is easier said than done as she was dominant last season. Natalie Lugo, Katie Chronister, Elizabeth Hightower, and Danni Farley are all back to pitch in 2020 after throwing just under 170 innings between the four of them. Lugo and Hightower should start the year as the number one and two starters as both pitchers had an earned run average of 2.02 and 2.03 respectively in 2019. Florida will face Michigan, South Florida, Arizona, Florida State, Louisiana, UCLA, Arizona State, Baylor, and Northwestern to highlight the nonconference schedule. The Gators will miss Alabama and LSU during the SEC conference slate but do have to travel to Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina. If Florida can make enough strides offensively then they will be back in Oklahoma City at the Women’s College World Series.
Projected Postseason: Women’s College World Series
Madness 2020 Softball Recruit Rankings:
#11 Kendyl Lindaman
