The Alligator Sports Podcast
By Brandon Hernandez
The Alligator Sports PodcastJul 28, 2021
11.29.2023 - Takeaways from Florida football's 2023 season and what's next for UF
Podcast host Brandon Hernandez is joined by sports editor Jackson Reyes and assistant sports editor Topher Adams to look back at Florida's struggles and high points after Gators head coach Billy Napier's second year with the program. UF finished 5-7 for the season while on a five-game losing record.
11.22.2023 - No. 20 Gators volleyball pushes through end of regular season with injuries
11.9.2023 - Florida men's and women's basketball is back. What do we takeaway from their season openers and what can we expect down the road?
In this episode, podcast host Brandon Hernandez is joined by Sports Editor Jackson Reyes and Assistant Sports Editor Topher Adams as they discuss UF men's and women's basketball's first game of the 2023-2024 season and what can be expected from both squads going into this season.
09.14.2023 - No. 3 Florida volleyball on a hot streak going into No. 1 Wisconsin matchup
9.2.2023 - Florida football vs. Utah recap: what went wrong and where does UF go from here?
8.31.2023 - Florida vs. Utah preview and what was 'Swamp Kings' missing?
In this weeks episode, podcast host Brandon Hernandez sat down with sports editor Jackson Reyes and assistant sports editor Topher Adams to preview the Gators football team going into their 2023 season opener on the road against the No. 14 Utah Utes. Also, we look into the Netflix docuseries 'Untold: Swamp Kings' and discuss what we thought of the docuseries and what we believe was missing from it.
7.27.2023 - 2023 SEC Media Days with Jackson Castellano
6.29.2023 - Tales from Omaha: Florida baseball season ends one win short in title series
Podcast host Brandon Hernandez talks with baseball beat writer Luke Adragna and sports editor Jackson Castellano about the Florida Gators baseball team's time in the College World Series Championship series against the Louisiana State Tigers and what to expect from UF going into the offseason. Also, we talk on Luke and Jackson's road trip to Nebraska and the atmosphere in the Cornhusker State.
06.21.2023 - Florida 2-0 in Omaha and "From Utah to Florida" with enterprise writer Bennett Solomon
In this episode we look at Florida Gators baseball's 2-0 winning streak in Omaha going into their matchup against Texas Christian later today, June 21, 2023, in the College World Series with baseball beat writer Luke Adragna and sports editor Jackson Castellano. We also dive into "From Utah to Florida, Oakley Rasmussen and Sophie White stick together", a feature written by enterprise beat writer Bennett Solomon, and the connection between two players on Florida's soccer team that have lifted each other up 1,000 miles away from home.
6.14.2023 - Gators baseball punches their ticket to Omaha and UF track and field claims 14th title
6.7.2023 - Florida baseball survives Gainesville Regionals and UF golf wins national title
05.24.2023 - Florida baseball starts postseason play while softball ends its season in California
3.23.2023 - Gators men’s basketball season in review, March Madness, women’s basketball NIT journey
3.7.2023 - Gator baseballs series against Miami review and a look ahead for Florida men’s basketball
Gators baseball dominates opening day series and UF basketball struggles continue.
2.8.23 - Gators baseball preview with Ethan Eibe and Florida basketball with Jackson Reyes and Kyle Bumpers
Assistant sports editor Topher Adams returns as host to talk about Florida Gators baseball with Ethan Eibe and men's and women's basketball with co-assistant sports editor Jackson Reyes and sports editor Kyle Bumpers. They preview the Gators' baseball season and men's and women's basketball teams' tournament hopes as the NCAA tournament looms.
2.1.23 - Gators men's basketball's tough stretch of games with Jackson Reyes and Kyle Bumpers
Assistant sports editor Topher Adams fills in as host to talk Gators men's basketball with sports editor Kyle Bumpers and co-assistant sports editor Jackson Reyes. They break down Florida's upcoming onslaught of games and the Gators' NCAA tournament hopes.
Jaden Rashada's timeline with UF and Gators men's basketball in review
In this weeks episode, podcast host Brandon Hernandez talks with football/women's basketball beat reporter Topher Adams on the timeline revolving around the Florida Gators football program and Pittsburg, California, high school quarterback Jaden Rashada, UF men's basketball last two games with men's basketball beat reporter Jackson Reyes and gives you the scores from the previous week across all Gators athletics.
11.16.22 - Florida football's turnaround with Topher Adams
The Alligator's football writer Topher Adams hops back on the show to talk about the Gators resurgence these last few weeks and their upcoming slate of games.
11.9.22 - Florida basketball preview with Jackson Reyes
This week, The Alligator's women's basketball reporter Jackson Reyes joins the show for a full Florida basketball preview. Michael and Jackson break down both the men's and women's teams, including their opening night victories and expectations for the season.
11.2.2022 — Florida-Georgia weekend wrap up with Joe Henry
Sports editor Joe Henry returns to the program to discuss everything that happened during the Florida-Georgia weekend, including Brenton Cox's departure, the antisemitic message displayed outside the stadium after the game, the game itself and more.
10.9.22 — NBA Season Preview with Sports Illustrated's Kyle Wood
With Florida football on bye this week, Michael talks with former Alligator Editor-In-Chief Kyle Wood about the upcoming NBA season. Wood is a fantasy and betting writer for Sports Illustrated, so the two cover everything you need to know about the 2022-2023 season.
9.13.2022 — LSU Preview with The Reveille's Henry Huber
On this week's episode, Michael is joined by The Reveille's (LSU's student newspaper) football beat writer Henry Huber. The duo breaks down Florida's upcoming battle with LSU in Gainesville, the start of the Brian Kelly era and so much more.
10.5.22 — Gators Golf Breakdown with Jordan Perez
In this week's episode of the Alligator Sports Podcast, former Alligator writer and current Fire Pit Collective contributor Jordan Perez returns to the show to talk all things Gators golf, including Fred Biondi, Maisie Filler, Ricky Castillo and so much more. Follow Jordan on twitter @jrdnprz.
9.28.2022 — Ryan Haley returns to chat about Tennessee and Anthony Richardson
It's the revenge of Ryan on this week's episode, as former sports editor Ryan Haley returns to the podcast. Ryan and Michael talk all about Florida's narrow loss to Tennessee and where the Gators go from here.
9.21.2022- More Florida football and some lacrosse talk with Topher Adams
On today's podcast, football writer Topher Adams joins the show to talk Florida football. Host Michael Hull and Adams talk all about Anthony Richardson, the UF defense, Montrell Johnson and the game this week against Tennessee. Then, they dive into some of Adams' other interests, including professional lacrosse and Notre Dame football.
9.14.2022 - Volleyball talk with Brandon Hernandez and Ethan Eibe
On this week's edition of The Alligator Sports podcast, Michael is joined by volleyball writers Brandon Hernandez and Ethan Eibe to talk about the Florida volleyball team, football's loss to Kentucky, student broadcasting and so much more!
9.07.2022 - Anthony Richardson and the Gators' stunning victory with The Alligator sports editor Joseph Henry
The Florida Gators pulled off the biggest upset of the young college football season Saturday, taking down the seventh-ranked Utah Utes 29-26. The Alligator sports editor Joseph Henry joins the show to talk all about the win, Anthony Richardson and what the rest of the football season could look like.
9.02.2022 - Previewing the Napier era of Florida Football with Brandon Carroll
The AlligatorSports podcast is back! In the first episode of the new semester, host Michael Hull interviews Brandon Carroll, the lead reporter at Sports Illustrated AllGators. The two talk all about Florida football’s upcoming game Saturday and break down important players and storylines to watch this season.
4.07.2022 - What the heck is going on with Florida baseball?
Joe and Jackson are joined by baseball beat writer Ethan Budowsky to discuss the latest happenings with the Gators baseball team just a few weekends into SEC play. From pitching struggles to an inconsistent batting lineup, the guys try and nail down the biggest concerns with this year's team. They also preview this weekend's home series with the No. 2 Arkansas Razorbacks.
3.30.2022 - It's been a minute...
Joe and Jackson are back from a short hiatus with information regarding the new allegations against Florida basketball player Keyontae Johnson, an introduction to new basketball head coach Todd Golden and a quick recap of Gators Pro Day.
3.16.2022 - Waving goodbye to the Mike White era
Joe and Jackson are back from spring break with the latest on giant news out of the Florida men's basketball program. Mike White has left the Gators to go and become head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs just three days after UF got bounced out of the SEC Tournament by Texas A&M. Expectations are high in Gainesville so the guys break down what exactly went down with White's departure and what could be coming up next.
3.02.2022 - Florida hoops power hour
Welcome to the month of March.
Jackson and Joe are joined by women's basketball beat writer Caleb Wiegandt. The guys discuss the biggest piece of news surrounding Florida athletics, the full-time hiring of Kelly Rae Finley, and the latest updates as the women's team heads to the SEC Tournament in Nashville.
On the men's side, the SEC Tournament is looming, but a regular season finale against Kentucky is up first Saturday inside the O'Dome. Bubble talk, a breakdown of how to attempt to stop the Wildcats' Oscar Tshiebwe and the return of score predictions round out the episode.
2.24.2022 - Baseball opening weekend & March Madness dreams
Joe is joined by assistant sports editor and baseball beat writer Carson Cashion to discuss the first five games of the Florida baseball season and the last week for Gators men's hoops. On the diamond, UF dropped an opening weekend series to the Liberty Flames, 2-1, but has rebounded with two midweek wins. Inside the O'Dome, the basketball team upset then-No. 2 Auburn last Saturday, but had a let down Tuesday night, losing to the No. 18 Arkansas Razorbacks.
2.09.2022 - Florida women's basketball finally enters the top-25
Women's basketball beat writer Brenda Bogle joins the podcast to discuss the electrifying run of games from Kelly Rae Finley's Gators. The team has one seven of its last eight games and has recently moved into the AP Top-25 at No. 19, the first ranking for Florida women's basketball since 2016.
2.05.2022 - National Signing Day & men's basketball update
Jackson and Joe come to you a little later this week since National Signing Day was Wednesday. Billy Napier rounded out the No. 19 class in the nation. The new crop of freshman is highlighted by Kamari Wilson, Shemar James, Chris McClellan and Trevor Etienne. Meanwhile, Florida men's basketball picked up a road win over Missouri Wednesday. The Gators face Ole Miss at 3:30 the day of this episodes release, in a must win for tournament chances to stay alive. The boys breakdown Florida's road to being on the right side of the bubble.
1.26.2022 - Florida men's hoops w/ Eric Fawcett
Joe and Jackson are joined by Gator Country's Eric Fawcett @Efawcett7 to discuss the current state of Florida men's basketball amidst the absence of star Colin Castleton. The Gators sit right on the NCAA Tournament bubble and the guys try and piece together just how realistic of a chance they have to squeak into the dance.
Eric is a highly respected member of the UF media community. He is known for his expert breakdowns of basketball schemes and has covered UF men's basketball for five seasons.
1.19.2022 - Here's what you missed with Florida athletics
Jackson and Joe are back from winter break. The spring semester has begun at the University of Florida, so the Alligator Sports podcast had to get going again too. The hosts recap everything that went on during the break and look ahead at the months to come. Football, men's basketball, women's basketball, tennis, gymnastics and baseball get covered in this jam-packed first episode.
So much coverage is coming this season. Be on the lookout for new podcast episodes every week (we are going to try and be consistent with Wednesday releases) and read our stories at www.alligator.org/section/sports.
12.08.2021 - The future of Florida football: Billy Napier
In the final episode of the fall semester, Joe and Jackson are joined by (former?) sports editor Ryan Haley.
Billy Napier was known for a ground and pound offense at Louisiana and he hopes to bring it with him to the Gators. The new head coach has already begun to fill out his staff with former Ragin' Cajuns, but how will he spend the rest of his $12 million dollar staff budget? Transfers and decommitments are of concern to Florida fans, but we are here to tell you why Napier needs ample time.
Thank you all for listening the last few months. We will be back strong in the spring.
12.03.2021 - Florida men's hoops drops first game & the Billy Napier era begins
Finals week is coming up and Joe and Jackson have been just a little bit busy. Florida men's basketball opened the season 6-0 before losing to the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman Wednesday night. The Gators' football team has their head coach, but how will Billy Napier fill out his staff? The boys cover these topics and cap off the episode wondering where Florida will go bowling to end the year.
11.23.2021 - Dan Mullen is gone... so now what??
Co-hosts Joe and Jackson bring on guests Michael Hull and Ryan Haley for this special edition episode. They deep dive into the candidates for the vacant Florida head coach position. Through the conversation they talk about Billy Napier, Mike Tomlin and how Jackson is a little lad. Stay to the end when the guys end a podcast the only way they know how: football score predictions. Spoiler alert, there isn't much confidence in the Gators this weekend.
11.19.2021 - Florida men's basketball is ranked and undefeated
Joe and Jackson are joined by basketball beat writer Karina Wilson to talk Gators hoops. Florida is fresh off a huge win over rival Florida State Nov. 14. The 71-55 victory snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Seminoles and propelled the Gators into the AP top 25. Mike White's team, now 24th in the nation, took the floor once again Nov. 18 and put a beating on the Milwaukee Panthers 81-45. On the pod, Colin Castleton is highlighted, along with all of the new faces who joined the squad through the transfer portal this offseason.
11.11.2021 - Grantham and Hevesy out at Florida
Joe and Jackson discuss the recent news that defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy were relieved of duty Nov. 7, following the Florida's 40-17 loss to South Carolina. The Gators now sit below .500 and don't have much to play for down the final stretch of the season. The boys look ahead to the future prospects at DC and this weekend's game against Samford.
11.04.2021 - Florida football and the initial CFP rankings are hot messes
Joe and Jackson and joined by football beat writer Michael Hull to discuss the Gators' abysmal performance against Georgia this past weekend. The boys also dive into the first College Football Playoff rankings and how teams like Cincinnati and Wake Forest need some respect. As always, sights are set ahead to Florida's matchup with South Carolina with weekly score predictions wrapping up the episode.
10.28.2021 - Oh yeah it's rivalry week
Joe and Jackson are back to discuss the ensuing Florida/Georgia football game taking place this weekend in Jacksonville. They also talk about the Gators and Bulldogs upcoming meetings in the pool and on the baseball diamond. Volleyball updates and some score predictions round out the week's episode.
10.21.2021 - We got the bye week blues
Joe and Jackson are joined by Alligator football beat writer Michael Hull to talk Florida football during the team's bye week. The Gators fell to the LSU Tigers last Saturday 49-42. The game left them and the Florida fanbase confused on how to feel about the rest of this season. The boys dive into Michael's road trip to Baton Rouge, the Raising Cane's vs Zaxby's debate and which bowl game the Gators could end up in.
10.14.2021 - Updates on Florida football, volleyball, swimming/diving and tennis
Joe and Jackson are back in action with a whole lot to talk about when it comes to Gators athletics.
Ben Shelton became the first UF player to win the ITA All- American singles title this past week. Florida Swimming and diving had its first meet of the season against FAU on Oct. 2. Mary Wise's volleyball team is fresh off a split series with LSU and heading into a home match with Texas A&M. Finally, the Gator football team beat Vanderbilt last Saturday 42-0, and now travel to Baton Rouge for a rivalry matchup with the Tigers.
10.07.2021 - Gators wave goodbye to CFP aspirations in Lexington
New Alligator sports podcast co-host Jackson Castellano tackles his first episode alongside sports editor Ryan Haley and football writer Michael Hull. The trio talks about Florida's 20-13 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats and how it has fully changed the trajectory of the Gators' season.
10.02.2021 - Abuse under former Florida women's basketball coach Cameron Newbauer
In special episode host Joe Henry is joined by Elliot Tritto, host of the Alligator podcast. The two conduct an interview with assistant sports editor Zachary Huber about his latest story which uncovers the abuse of Cameron Newbauer. His article has gained national attention, including a feature piece with ESPN's Outside the Lines. The original article was published on Monday, Sept. 27 and its impact has been massive.
9.22.2021 - Florida vs Alabama breakdown w/ Zach Abolverdi and Ryan Haley
The Swamp was wild this past Saturday as the Gators hosted No. 1 Alabama. The game was a hard fought contest that came down to a missed PAT or failed two point conversion depending on how you view things. On today's episode, Joe is joined by Alligator Sports editor Ryan Haley and Gainesville Sun writer Zach Abolverdi to talk about the whole game. The guys dive into what the 31-29 loss means for the rest of Florida's season and how Dan Mullen's team can build off of this performance throughout its SEC schedule.