Legend of ‘Jactani’ grows as Florida moves closer to returning to College World Series
Associated PressGAINESVILLE, Fla. — Jac Caglianone quickly has become a folk hero in Gainesville. “It’s been something to see, but I don’t think he could have handled it any better.” Caglianone is hitting.337 as a sophomore and leads the country with 31 home runs, smashing the school record set by Matt LaPorta in 2005 and tied by teammate Wyatt Langford last year. “He’s just a different athlete altogether.” A few months later, with the Gators scuffling at 23-16 overall and 6-11 in SEC play, O’Sullivan asked Caglianone to give up his redshirt and try to breathe life into a stagnant offense. “Honestly, kind of being away from the game for so long kind of allowed me to reinvent my swing and reinvent my approach toward the game,” said Caglianone, who is one RBI shy of tying Preston Tucker’s school record set in 2009. “So really just kind of taking every day as if it’s like my last time ever lacing up my cleats.” The Gators get Caglianone for one more season and already have rewarded his contributions; he’s the first of five student-athletes featured in a launch video for the school’s rebranded name, image and likeness fundraising collective.
Discover Related
