2012 Florida Gators baseball team


The 2012 Florida Gators baseball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of baseball during the 2012 NCAA Division I [baseball season|2012 college baseball season]. The Gators competed in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference. They played their home games at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium, on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The team was coached by Kevin O'Sullivan, who was in his fifth season at Florida. The Gators sought to build upon their appearance in the 2011 College World Series Finals, where they were eliminated by South Carolina in two games.
After being eliminated in the semifinals of the SEC tournament, the Gators were selected as the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA tournament. After winning the Gainesville Regional and Super Regional, they advanced to the College World Series for the third consecutive year. There they were eliminated after just two games, losing to South Carolina and Kent State.
The Gators had nine players selected in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft including junior catcher Mike Zunino, recipient of the 2012 Dick Howser Trophy.

Schedule

! style="background:#FF4A00;color:white;"| Regular season
! style="background:#FF4A00;color:white;"| Postseason
Rankings from USA Today/ESPN Top 25 coaches' baseball poll. All times Eastern. Parenthesis indicate tournament seedings. Retrieved from

Awards and honors

;Jonathon Crawford
  • Pitched a no-hitter on June 2, 2012, against Bethune–Cookman in the opening round of the Gainesville Regional tournament. It was the first Gators solo no-hitter since 1991 and the seventh no-hitter in NCAA tournament history.
; Nolan Fontana
; Taylor Gushue
  • SEC Freshman of the Week. On Feb. 17, Gushue homered on the first pitch he saw as a collegian and on Feb. 18 hit a two-run triple in the fourth inning of a series-clinching win over Cal State Fullerton.
  • SEC Freshman of the Week. Gushue hit.400, with four RBI, three runs and a pair of homers during a three-game sweep at #8 Miami.
; Brian Johnson
; Steven Rodriguez
  • First-team All-SEC
; Josh Tobias
  • SEC All-Freshman team
; Preston Tucker
  • SEC Player of the Week. Tucker batted.400 in four victories including a three-game-sweep of Vanderbilt.
  • First-team All-SEC
; Casey Turgeon
  • SEC Player of the Week. Turgeon batted.400 and scored a game-winning run during a series win at #6 Kentucky.
; Mike Zunino

Gators in the MLB draft

RoundSelectionPlayerPositionTeam
13Mike ZuninoCSeattle Mariners
131Brian JohnsonLHP/1BBoston Red Sox
261Nolan FontanaSSHouston Astros
282Steven RodriguezLHPLos Angeles Dodgers
3118Austin MaddoxRHPBoston Red Sox
7219Preston TuckerOFHouston Astros
7244Hudson RandallRHPDetroit Tigers
9292Daniel PigottOFCincinnati Reds
20631Greg LarsonRHPBoston Red Sox