With the 4 Regional of the #GreatestGatorEver tournament currently winding down, it’s time to preview the Regional it’s paired with in the Sweet 16: Regional #13.
The 13 Regional bracket
Regional participants
(Players are listed in order they appear on the bracket.)
(1) Mike Zunino (baseball, C- 2010-12). 2012 Golden Spikes Award winner (only one in Florida history). 2010 first team freshman All-American; 2011 All-American; 2012 unanimous first team All-American. Fifth all time at Florida with 47 career home runs, seventh with 175 career RBI, eighth with 425 total bases; all are best ever among Florida catchers. First round 2012 MLB Draft pick (#3 overall to Seattle). Seven year MLB career and counting with Mariners and Rays.
(16) Kourtney Keegan (tennis- 2014-17). 2016 individual NCAA doubles champion. 2017 team national champion. 3X doubles All-American, 2015-17.
(8) Louis Murphy (football, WR- 2005-08). Clutch factor: caught TD pass in 2009 BCS Championship Game. 2006 and 2008 SEC and national champion. 2008 team captain. Ended his college career with at least one reception in each of his final 27 games. Nine year NFL career with five teams.
(9) Patric Young (basketball, C- 2011-14). 3X SEC Champion: 2011, 2013, 2014. 2013 and 2014 All-SEC selection. 2014 Final Four participant. 2014 NABC Pete Newell Big Man of the Year Award winner. 2014 SEC defensive Player of the Year. 11th all time at Florida with 849 career rebounds; 28th all time with 1,307 career points.
(4) Chris Doering (football, WR- 1992-95). Clutch factor: caught game winning (and potentially SEC Championship saving) TD to beat Kentucky in 1993. 3X SEC Champion: 1993-95. 1995 first team All-SEC. 1995 All-American. Florida’s all time leader in TD receptions with 31. Sixth all time at Florida with 149 career receptions; tenth all time with 2,107 receiving yards. Seven year NFL career with four teams.
(13) Shaun Anderson (baseball, P- 2014-16). 2016 consensus All-American. Ninth all time at Florida with 14 career saves. Two year MLB career and counting with Giants.
(5) Will Claye (track, various events- 2010-11). 2011 team NCAA champion. 8X NCAA All-American. 2012 and 2016 Olympic triple jump silver medalist. 2012 Olympic long jump bronze medalist. 2012 and 2018 Indoor World Championship triple jump gold medalist.
(12) Josh Adams (baseball, 2B- 2008-11). Florida record 152 career double plays turned. Fourth all time at Florida with 287 career hits; sixth all time with 188 RBI and 437 total bases. 3X All-SEC: 2008, 2009, 2011.
(6) Alicia Boren (gymnastics). 5X event All-American: 2016 BB, 2017 V, 2018 V and FX and 2019 FX. 3X all-around All-American: 2017-19. 2019 individual FX national champion.
(11) Christen Westphal (soccer, D- 2012-15). 2015 first team All-American. 2015 SEC Defender of the Year. Four year professional career and counting.
(3) Kelsey Stewart (softball, 2B- 2013-16). 2014 and 2015 national champion; 2014 and 2015 WCWS all-tournament team. 2014 and 2015 All-American. 2015 SEC Player of the Year. Florida’s all time total bases leader with 509, stolen bases leader with 113, hits leader with 357 and runs scored leader with 259. Second all time at Florida with .391 batting average. 2014 WBSC silver medalist; 2016 and 2018 WBSC gold medalist with Team USA.
(14) Ryan Stamper (football, LB- 2006-09). 2006 and 2008 SEC and national champion. 2008 and 2009 team captain.
(7) Anthony Roberson (basketball, G- 2003-05). Clutch factor: game winning three point buzzer beater to defeat Georgia in 2003. 2003 SEC Freshman of the Year. 2004 and 2005 All-SEC selection; 2004 and 2005 All-American honorable mention. Four year NBA career with four teams.
(10) Kim Waleszonia (softball, OF- 2006-09). 3X All-SEC selection: 2006-08. 2007 and 2008 All-American. Fifth all time at Florida with 272 career hits; eighth all time with .340 career batting average.
(2) Carlos Alvarez (football, WR- 1969-71). 1969 consensus first team All-American. Florida’s all time receiving yards leader (2,563). Second all time at Florida with 172 career receptions; tenth all time with 19 career touchdown receptions.
(15) Casey Prather (basketball1 2011-14). 3X SEC Champion: 2011, 2013 and 2014. 2014 Final Four participant. Tenth all time at Florida in field goal percentage (.569%).
(Note: “national champion” labels are only attributed to starters or critical backups/role players on the team.)
The favorite: (1)Mike Zunino
What the Heisman Trophy is to college football and the Wooden Award is to college basketball, the Golden Spikes is to college baseball. And Zunino is the only one in 108.25 years of Gator baseball to ever win the award. Add that onto the fact that he’s quietly approaching a decade of service in the major leagues as a top tier defensive catcher with 104 career homers to boot, and though his road certainly isn’t an easy one, he should be the favorite to advance out of this Regional and onto the Sweet 16.
The second favorite: (3)Kelsey Stewart
The rock of the infield for Florida’s back to back national championship complements her defensive playmaking ability by being right up there with Amanda Lorenz in the discussion for the greatest hitter the Gators have ever seen. And that’s just her college career. Stewart has already claimed a pair of gold medals with Team USA at the WBSC in 2016 and 2018, and is almost certain to be a member of the next American Olympic softball team… whenever the Olympics are held. Alvarez played the flagship sport and holds more UF records (the latter of which was why he’s seeded higher than Stewart), but Stewart won two national titles to Alvarez’s zero and has already had an outstanding pro career with more sure to come once COVID-19 eventually dissipates. She is extremely dangerous as a #3 Regional seed, and could potentially come out of this bracket.
The sleeper: (2)Carlos Alvarez
If not for injuries, Alvarez would likely have gone on to enjoy an excellent pro career and thus be a top four overall seed in this tournament. As it stands, he’s perhaps the best wide receiver Florida has ever had, a statement backed up by him being the Gators’ all time receiving yards leader… despite only playing three years. He may have played too long ago for many fans to actively remember, but the simple fact that he’s Florida’s all time receiving yards king means that he’ll put up a fight against Stewart in the Regional semifinals assuming they both make it there.
The dark horse: (4)Chris Doering
If you’re looking for one of the sixteen Regional #4 seeds to take down the #1 seed in their Regional and really mess up the chalk, Doering is your most likely candidate. If he’d been born a year later and thus added a national title to his resume, he would’ve likely been a top 16 overall seed. Still: he’s the Gators’ GOAT touchdown pass-catcher, ranked top ten in several other receiving categories, and was a member of one of Florida’s greatest teams ever in 1995. If the football crowd shows up big for the hero of the 1993 season, Doering could spring the upset.
The Cinderella candidate: (6)Alicia Boren
The “gymternet,” as it calls itself, has come out in enormous numbers for the Gator gymnasts to go in previous Regional brackets. That does not bode well for those in Boren’s path, even Stewart in the Round of 128. Boren doesn’t have a “Florida Gators national championship” t-shirt the way Stewart does, but she does have an individual national title and three straight years of all-around All-American honors, and that could make for a fascinating battle in the second round. Stewart would have to be labeled the favorite in this all-female matchup, but Boren isn’t likely to go down easily- and if Boren does pull the upset, she could go a lot further.
