Florida announces multi-game suspension for baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan
Published:
Florida announced on Friday that baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan would be suspended for the first 3 games of next season because of his aggressive behavior and profanity-laced language toward site administrators at the regional in Conway, S.C.
The NCAA Division I Baseball Committee issued the public punishment, saying that O’Sullivan’s behavior violated an NCAA bylaw that states misconduct in a championship event is “any act of dishonesty, unsportsmanlike conduct, unprofessional behavior or breach of law, occurring from the time the championship field is announced through the end of the championship, that discredits the event or intercollegiate athletics.”
O’Sullivan did issue a public apology on June 2, which was the day after his tirade at the regionals. His outburst on the first day of June stemmed from being upset because the start time of Florida’s elimination game against East Carolina — which was an 11-4 loss — was pushed back an hour. East Carolina’s previous regional game had ended at midnight, which was the reason for the change of the start time.
“The suspension announced today reinforces Florida Athletics’ commitment to our standards, with Coach O’Sullivan accepting full responsibility for his behavior. Sully has vowed to learn from the experience and serve as a better leader moving forward,” said Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin in a statement on Friday.
O’Sullivan will serve his suspension during the opening weekend of the 2026 season, on Feb. 13-15 against UAB.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
