CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Harvard University baseball faces No. 7 Florida for a three-game series at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida from Mar. 7-9 (SEC Network+) as the Crimson closes a stretch of eight straight games against opponents from Power Four conferences.
What to Know
- The Crimson (0-6) meets the top-10 ranked Gators (11-2 prior to playing FAU on Mar. 5) in the series opener on Friday, Mar. 7 at 6:30 p.m., game two on Saturday, Mar. 8 at 3:00 p.m., and the series finale on Sunday, Mar. 9 at 1:00 p.m. Harvard enters the series coming off a stretch of five straight games against opponents from the Big Ten.
- Harvard's weekend rotation will feature RHP Callan Fang (2024 Stats: 3-3, 4.64 ERA) in game one, RHP Truman Pauley (0-2, 5.40 ERA) in game two, and a to-be-determined pitcher in game three. Florida will counter with RHP Liam Peterson (3-0, 1.13 ERA) in game one, RHP Aidan King (2-0, 0.87 ERA) in game two, and a to-be-determined pitcher in game three.
- Harvard trails Florida in the all-time series, 0-6. The Crimson and Gators met in a pair of three-game series in 2006 and 2016.
- Junior infielder Jordan Kang has hit .333 on the season with six hits, four RBIs, two home runs, and a triple. In the Ivy League, he ranks second in homers (two), second in slugging (.778), third in total bases (14), sixth in average (.333), and ninth in OBP (.429). He hit .400 (4-for-10) over the team's opening weekend with two home runs. He stood as the only student-athlete in the Ivy League to hit two homers over the conference's opening weekend.
- Senior outfielder Matt Giberti has notched a .333 batting average, five hits, three runs, and a 3-for-3 effort in stolen bases. In the Ivvy League, he ranks first in stolen bases (three) and sixth in average (.333).
- Senior infielder/outfielder George Cooper has tallied seven RBIs, five hits, a double, and a home run on the year. He ranks second in the Ivy League in RBIs (seven).
- Sophomore right-hander Truman Pauley leads the pitching staff with a 5.40 ERA. He has tallied 11 strikeouts over 10.0 innings pitched on the season. In the Ivy League, he ranks third in innings pitched (10.0), fourth in strikeouts (11), and sixth in opponent average (.229).
- Opening non-conference play, Harvard plays eight of its first nine games against Power Four conference opponents with matchups against the Big Ten's Northwestern (Feb. 22) and Indiana (Feb. 23) as well as the SEC's Florida (Mar. 7-9). The Crimson plays at neutral or road sites for the first 16 games of its season (Feb. 21 to Mar. 23) before competing at home for the first time vs. Holy Cross on Mar. 25.
- Harvard returns several key hitters to its lineup from the 2024 season, including two-time All-Ivy selection and senior captain George Cooper (.303 career average), 2024 Second Team All-Ivy pick William Lybrook (.340 average in 2024), and 2024 Honorable Mention All-Ivy honoree Jack Rickheim.
- On the mound, Harvard brings back 2024 Ivy League Pitcher of the Year and 2023 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Callan Fang (83 strikeouts in 64.0 innings in 2024).
- Senior George Cooper will serve the Crimson as the team's captain in 2025. Over his first three seasons, the two-time All-Ivy selection played in 107 games with 103 starts, hitting .303 with 78 runs, 135 hits, 26 doubles, seven triples, six home runs, and 55 RBIs.
- Fenway Park will host this year's Baseball Beanpot on Tuesday, April 29. The college baseball doubleheader will feature teams from Boston College, Northeastern, the Massachusetts, and Harvard. Fenway Park has hosted the tournament 24 times since it began in 1990, including most recently in 2019. Harvard has won five Beanpot titles all-time including in 1991, 1998 (co), 2005, 2014, and 2018.
- Highlights from the Crimson's schedule include three trips to the South during non-league play, its first Ivy series at Penn (Mar. 22-23), its home opener vs. Holy Cross (Mar. 25), its first Ivy home series against Yale (Mar. 29-30), The Baseball Beanpot at Fenway Park (Apr. 29), the final series of the regular season at home vs. Columbia (May 3-4), and a hopeful berth in the four-team Ivy League Tournament (May 16-19).
Up Next
Harvard plays its first games in New England this season with a three-game series at Northeastern University from Mar. 15-16 (FloCollege) with a doubleheader on Saturday, Mar. 15 at 11:30 a.m. and a single game on Sunday, Mar. 16 at 1:00 p.m. at Friedman Diamond in Brookline, Massachusetts.