Florida baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan will sit out the first three games of the 2026 season while suspended following a profane tirade directed toward on-site officials at last season’s NCAA Conway (S.C.) Regional.
Angry that a Sunday afternoon elimination game time vs. East Carolina had been pushed back an hour due to Saturday’s East Carolina-Coastal Carolina game ending especially late, O’Sullivan was caught on camera verbally abusing members of the Coastal Carolina athletics staff and grounds crew, as well as two NCAA representatives. The Gators lost the game 11-4, ending their season.
O’Sullivan apologized a day later, as did Florida athletics director Scott Stricklin. However, Stricklin announced on Friday that O’Sullivan will miss the Gators’ first three games of the coming season, in which they are scheduled to open vs. UAB on the weekend of Feb. 13-15.
“The suspension announced today reinforces Florida Athletics’ commitment to our standards, with Coach O’Sullivan accepting full responsibility for his behavior,” Stricklin said. “Sully has vowed to learn from the experience and serve as a better leader moving forward.”
The 56-year-old O’Sullivan has won 756 games in 18 seasons at Florida, including six SEC regular-season championships, two SEC tournament titles, 10 NCAA regional appearances and nine Super Regional berths. The Gators have reached the College World Series nine times under O’Sullivan, winning the national championship in 2017 and finishing as runner-up in 2011 and 2023.
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