Monday Musings: Canes baseball getting the ultimate test
· Yahoo Sports
Happy Monday, all. Well, it might not be all that happy if you’re a fan of Miami Hurricanes baseball, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
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Well, actually, no. Let’s get to it now.
1) The NCAA Tournament bracket is set, and the Miami Hurricanes are playing as the 2 seed in the No. 8 national seed Florida Gators’ region. And that’s truly unfortunate.
Next stop: The Gainesville Regional 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Qdpkene5QD
— Miami Hurricanes Baseball (@CanesBaseball) May 25, 2026
I am not kidding when I say this. I would honestly rather see the Hurricanes be playing at No. 1 UCLA. Or No. 3 Georgia. Or a weekend series against the Los Angeles Angels (ok, THAT part and that part alone I am kidding about).
But seriously, the Hurricanes are now in the regional with the opponent they simply haven’t been able to get the better of. Just like the Gators football team is now owned (once again) by the Hurricanes, Canes baseball has become the property of the reptiles up the interstate.
I don’t know if it’s a mental thing. It shouldn’t be a talent thing to the degree the Gators have absolutely stamped their names on this series. But whatever the reason, it’s a nightmare draw for the Hurricanes against a team they haven’t been able to buy a win against.
2) But as Danny Boy Cane said to me on Twitter/X today, the only way to bury that narrative about Gainesville being a house of horrors is to go put a stop to it.
And that’s true. It is what it is. Have to find a way to get ready mentally and go play.
To quote the great Duke to Rocky Balboa in the corner after Round 2 in Rocky IV against Ivan Drago: “You see?! You see?! He’s not a machine! He’s a man!”
And to Canes’ baseball, I tell you the same thing about the Gators. They put on pants one leg at a time. They eat food. They are human beings with weaknesses like anyone else. Go take it to them.
3) But before that…Miami’s opening game? Against one of the last teams in the field, the Troy University Trojans.
Now THAT I don’t hate. While Troy has come in playing pretty good baseball — winners of 7 of their last 9 in the regular season and three in their conference tourney — there’s still a reason they went 32-29 overall in the regular season. According to the broadcast, that’s the most losses by an at-large team for the tournament.
I could end up getting bitten in the backside by this, but I felt like their first game could have been a tougher draw.
4) That begs the question: how do you handle your pitching rotation?
In other words, do you save ace Rob Evans for the all-important Game 2 that’s almost certainly against the Florida Gators?
I am often a fan of doing what it takes to win the first game in front of you. But not here. You have to have your best option available for the Gators, and that’s undoubtedly Evans. Put Lazaro Collera out there against Troy, and let’s get to work.
It also appears as though Daniel Cuvet won’t be back for the regional, according to the Herald’s Jordan McPherson, so the challenge will continue to be that much higher for Miami on the road.
Go Canes!