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Florida baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan returns from leave to address personal matters

Florida baseball coach Kevin O'Sullivan returns from leave to address personal matters | iNFOnews.ca
FILE - Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan meets with officials before an NCAA baseball game against Florida State in Jacksonville, Fla., Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough, File)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan returned from a leave of absence Wednesday, nearly two months after stepping away to address personal matters.

The school said O’Sullivan has resumed his normal coaching duties.

“I want to thank the university and athletic department for their support,” O’Sullivan said in a statement. “I am excited to be back and am ready to get to work with our team as we prepare for the upcoming 2026 season.”

The Gators initially put associate head coach Chuck Jeroloman in charge during O’Sullivan’s hiatus. But Jeroloman left to take a similar job at Tennessee, and Florida hired former Auburn head coach Tom Slater as associate head coach.

O’Sullivan is the program’s all-time wins leader with a 756-371 (.671) record in 18 seasons. He has led the Gators to 17 NCAA regionals, nine College World Series appearances, six Southeastern Conference championships and the 2017 national title.

In August, the NCAA Division I Baseball Committee issued a public reprimand to O’Sullivan for aggressive behavior and profanity-laced language directed at site administrators for the regional in Conway, South Carolina, in June.

O’Sullivan publicly apologized on June 2, the day after his tirade. Florida also suspended O’Sullivan for the first three games of the 2026 regular season.

O’Sullivan was upset because the start time of his team’s elimination game against East Carolina — an 11-4 loss — was pushed back an hour. East Carolina’s previous game had ended at midnight.

Videos of O’Sullivan’s tirade were circulated widely on social media. Kevin Schnall, coach of host Coastal Carolina, ripped O’Sullivan for the outburst during a news conference later that day.

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