What Kevin O'Sullivan thinks about Wyatt Langford's snub from Golden Spikes Award

Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan is happy to see Jac Caglianone emerge as one of the three finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given to college baseball’s best player.

The two others also hail from the SEC – LSU outfielder Dylan Crews and LSU starting pitcher Paul Skenes.

But O’Sullivan was quick to point out someone else from the Gators who should have merited consideration.

“The first thing I look when I see those three names is poor Wyatt Langford, he gets overlooked again,” O’Sullivan said. “He has a chance to be one of the highest drafted if not the highest drafted guy from our program and he flies under the radar.”

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After tying a school record with 26 home runs last season, Langford has put together another stellar season for the Gators as a junior, with a team-high .387 average, .511 on base percentage, .799 slugging percentage, 18 homers and 48 RBIs. In the field, Langford has four outfield assists, while playing both left and center field. A heady baserunner, Langford has 8 steals in 9 attempts.

What may have hurt Langford’s candidacy is the seven games he missed with an injury in late February and early March. But Langford responded with a strong May and June to lead the Gators to their first Super Regional berth since 2018.

“There’s no explanation for it,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s comfortable in that role but I think he’s as deserving as anybody. For whatever reason, I don’t know how he flies under the radar.”

He won’t fly under the radar in next month’s Major League Amatuer Draft. The Athletic’s Keith Law projects Langford to go fifth overall in the first round of the draft to the Minnesota Twins. Other projections have Langford going as high as third overall to the Detroit Tigers, behind Crews (No. 1 overall Pittsburgh Pirates) and Skenes (No. 2 overall, Washington Nationals).

Caglianone surpassed the record shared by Langford and Matt LaPorta this season with 31 home runs and 84 RBIs, one shy of the school record set by Preston Tucker in 2009 (85 RBIs). A sophomore lefty, Caglianone is a two-way threat, posting a 7-3 record and 3.78 ERA as UF’s third starter behind Brandon Sproat and Hurston Waldrep.

“I’m really happy for him,” O’Sullivan said. “Hopefully it works out for him, but I know his ultimate goal is to help us get to a World Series and win a national championship.”

Florida has only had one player in school history win the Golden Spikes Award -- catcher Mike Zunino in 2012. Zunino has gone on to a successful 10-year Major League Baseball career with the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians.