Florida baseball reportedly fires pitching coach after disappointing season
By David Wasson
Published:
The Florida baseball team failed in its quest to make it back to Omaha and the College World Series – an outcome that has reportedly cost pitching coach David Kopp his job.
D1Baseball.com reported Saturday that Kopp, who spent five years with the Gators baseball program, was fired following Florida’s stunning loss to Troy at home in the NCAA Tournament’s Gainesville Regional. Florida pitchers allowed 46 runs in four innings in the regional, including 16-11 and 10-2 setbacks to the Trojans to end the season with a 41-21 record.
Kopp was named pitching coach in 2025 and helped direct the Gators to 645 strikeouts that season – the fifth-highest total in program history. Kopp previously served as a volunteer assistant working with Florida pitchers.
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Kopp came to the Gators from Florida Atlantic, where he spent four seasons as the Owls’ pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. Prior to FAU, Kopp served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Florida Southern in 2017 and spent the 2016 campaign as a student assistant coach with his alma mater, Clemson.
As a player at Clemson, Kopp powered the Tigers to three-consecutive NCAA Super Regional appearances from 2005-07, featuring one ACC Championship and one NCAA College World Series appearance.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
