LUBBOCK, Texas ¨C Every scouting report by every coach has a mention of the one player they will not allow to beat their team. For two years, Florida¡¯s hulking first-baseman/left-handed pitcher Jac Caglianone has been that player.

This season, opposing coaches have taken that scouting report to heart and have issued the junior 31 intentional walks, the most for a single player since 2008, leading Florida coach Kevin O¡¯Sullivan to move Caglianone to leadoff in a College World Series elimination game against Kentucky to keep the bat in his hands. With the numbers Caglianone has put up this season, it¡¯s a pretty sound strategy.

Often throughout his three-year Gators career, Caglianone has changed the tone of a game with one swing or with one perfectly placed pitch. But more than just one moment in a game, he affects all aspects of every game he plays, whether that¡¯s on the mound, at the plate or in the field. It is that prowess that has made him one of the best two-way players to come through the college game and why he is the 2024 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award winner, presented by the College Baseball Foundation.

¡°For the last two years, no one has been as consistent in putting up tremendous numbers both at the plate and on the mound as Jac,¡± said George Watson, co-chair of the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award. ¡°He has been the one player this season that has dramatically changed the tenor of a game with one swing or one pitch, and that kind of impact is what the Olerud Award is all about. Plus, he has shown his prowess defensively all season long. We are proud to add Jac to the family of standout players who have earned this award.¡±

The award is named for former Washington State University standout John Olerud, who achieved success both as a first baseman and left-handed pitcher during the late 1980s. He was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007. The award will be presented by the College Baseball Foundation later this year.

Caglianone is the second Gators player to win the award since its inception in 2010, joining 2012 winner Brian Johnson.

Caglianone placed himself atop the statistical leaderboard for the Gators this season and has not looked back. Through June 18, he hit .413 with 34 home runs and 71 RBI, mirroring his sophomore stats when he hit 33 homers and drove in 90. He walked 55 times in 2024 to just 26 strikeouts for a .537 on-base percentage, and he committed just four errors all season for a .989 fielding percentage. His numbers are even more impressive when considering he hasn¡¯t had the protection around him in the lineup this year as he did last, something echoed by his head coach.

On the mound, Caglianone was a mainstay in a Gators¡¯ rotation that struggled at times during the regular season but found its stride in the postseason. He was 5-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 starts, striking out 83 batters in 73.2 innings.

¡°In a time when the popularity of two-way players has exploded across the highest levels of baseball, Jac Caglianone set himself apart with exceptional play at the plate and on the mound throughout the entire 2024 season,¡± said Keith Patrick, co-chair of the John Olerud Award ¡°He carried that play deep into the postseason and became the first starting pitcher to homer in a College World Series game since 1997. We offer our highest congratulations to Jac. His record-setting season for the Gators epitomizes what the John Olerud Award is all about.

The Perfect Game preseason Two-Way Player of the Year and first-team All-American, Caglianone set the Florida career home run record with his 75th long ball on June 19 against Kentucky at the College World Series.

He is a two-time Perfect Game Two-Way Player of the Year and first-team All-American, a first-team All-American from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and is the All-SEC first-team first baseman.

About the College Baseball Foundation/National College Baseball Hall of Fame

The College Baseball Foundation, based in Lubbock, Texas, is a 501-(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing and preserving the history of college baseball. In addition to the annual induction of the Hall of Fame class, the organization presents numerous awards to current college baseball players, coaches and umpires during its annual Night of Champions event. The organization was founded in 2004 and the first Hall of Fame class was inducted in 2006. For more information on the College Baseball Foundation, visit www.collegebaseballhall.org.