It is a new year, and the Florida Gators return most of the players who propelled them to a 49-19 record and a trip to the WCWS in 2022. They also add two freshmen and two transfers. The 2023 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll has the Gators checking in at No. 4 in the country, just one spot ahead of in-state rival Florida State. The Gators are also favored to win the SEC in 2023, and Charla Echols, Skylar Wallace, and Kendra Falby each earned spots on the 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 “Watch List.”
At the plate, they return four players who batted above .300 in 2022 Falby (.392), Wallace (.386), Katie Kistler (.354), and Echols (.307). As a team, they finished the year with a .314 average. Last year’s squad was a consistent contact-hitting team but needed more power. With all the experience returning and the addition of Texas A&M – Corpus Christi transfer graduate student Pal Egan those power numbers may go up. Egan last season was the 2022 Southland Conference (SLC) Player of the Year and SLC Hitter of the Year. The slugger posted a .426 batting average, stole 27 bases, 17 doubles, and 12 home runs.
In the circle, the Gators return three solid arms and add two more. Returning are Lexie Delbrey (15-4), Elizabeth Hightower (17-9), and Rylee Trlicek (1-1). Delbrey posted a 2.26 ERA with 117 strikeouts over 111.1 innings. Hightower threw more innings (167) while posting a solid 2.43 ERA with 133 strikeouts. Trlicek had the lowest ERA at 1.71 over 41 innings with 31 strikeouts. This year they bring in graduate student, and Tennessee transfer Samantha Bender and one to keep an eye on is freshman Olivia Gigante.
The Gators seem poised to make a run in 2023. They will need to find more at the plate if they are going to out-score a few teams that put up large numbers of runs. They have the experience to do just that, and they also are aggressive on the bases stealing 132 bases in 2022. They are in good shape and have solid arms and depth in the circle. That combination could be what propels them to a championship series. The season kicks on in Tampa on February 10, 2023, when the face Boston University at 7 PM.
