Former Jacksonville State right-hander Maddox McDougall has committed to the Florida Gators out of the transfer portal.
Baseball America ranked McDougall No. 28 overall among available players in the portal. The junior Florida native carried a 2.76 ERA over 23 appearances and 49 innings for the Gamecocks last season, with a 54-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Opposing bats hit .238 against him with a .307 on-base percentage and a .683 slugging percentage.
Only 11.7% of batted balls were line drives off McDougall last year; however, opposing hitters had a .318 batting average on balls in play, which is a little high. His SIERA — which removes defense and luck to determine a pitcher’s true performance — was 3.22, which is very strong. An 8.7% walk rate is also good, and a 26.2% is solid, albeit against non-SEC opponents.
Go gators 🐊 @GatorsBBpic.twitter.com/m1icj4eZDc
— Maddox McDougall (@madmcdougall04) June 9, 2026
McDougall has some starter experience, so he could end up being a midweek guy for Florida. More likely, he’ll be a key arm out of the bullpen, behind Caden McDonald and Luke McNeillie, should both stay instead of going pro. Joshue Whritenour figures to be the closer once again, and Jackson Barberi should move into the weekend rotation, given the current roster outlook.
Florida Gators activity in the transfer portal
Florida has already seen five arms depart for the transfer portal. McCall Biemiller, Matthew Jenkins and Cooper Moss announced on Monday, June 1, the first day the portal opened, and Christian Rodriguez followed on Thursday. Cooper Walls hit the transfer portal on Friday.
Florida lost starting second baseman Cade Kurland to the transfer portal on Saturday. Infielder Kolt Myers and outfielder Blake Brookins are the two other position players to enter the transfer portal so far.
Florida earned its first transfer commitment from former FGCU catcher Jon Embury, the 2026 ASUN Player of the Year, on Thursday.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida baseball lands Jacksonville State RHP transfer Max McDougall
