SURVIVE AND ADAPT

To be a college baseball coach is to be at the whim of the money-making sports, football and basketball. Success in such an environment is dependent on resiliency and malleability.

- JACOB RUDNER

Kevin O'Sullivan leaned against the dugout railing, his sharp gaze scanning the field where his players were finishing a spirited round of batting practice.

For a moment, the accomplished Gators coach who has built a perennial powerhouse in Gainesville, allowed himself to admire the work he and his staff had done to assemble a roster they believe would once again give them a shot at Omaha.

The amount of pure talent at O'Sullivan's disposal and around the country, he said, can at times feel staggering, especially when compared with other teams he's managed or faced, including his own 2017 national champions.

Ask him about the state of college baseball, and O'Sullivan won't hesitate to heap praise on the NCAA. He applauds how the sport has surged into the national spotlight with record-breaking viewership, expanded media coverage and a pipeline of players who go on to rapidly reach the big leagues.

Still, though, as his mind shifted back to the players who might be the next to make that leap, his optimism about the state of the college game clouded slightly. While O'Sullivan lauds the strides the NCAA has made, he worries the same organization might be unwittingly slowing the sport's momentum.

Behind the buzz and booming growth, he sees potential roadblocks-policies and missed opportunities that could stall the game's evolution just as it reaches new heights.

"I do look at baseball as a sport that is growing in popularity," O'Sullivan said. "I don't know why they're trying to take that away from us."