Caglianone’s power show already on display in Omaha

OMAHA, Nebraska — It took a few minutes for Jac Caglianone’s bat to warm up during Florida’s practice on Thursday at the Men’s College World Series.

But soon enough, the show commenced.

The Gators’ sensational two-way star with the sweet left-handed swing and the 99-mph fastball started launching bombs well beyond the outfield fence at Charles Schwab Field Omaha.

One bounced in the next-to-last row near the Section 134 sign in the left centerfield bleachers. The very next Caglianone effort caromed off the top of the railing above and just to the left of the same sign, an estimated 440 feet from home plate.

And still he wasn’t done. With his next mighty whack he blasted one clear out of the ballpark, at least 450 feet away and probably more.

Asked a short while later if he truly did hit it all the way out, Caglianone smiled, shrugged and replied of his teammates and the wide-eyed media who witnessed it: “They said I did. I didn’t see it.”

One of those teammates, Josh Rivera, explained that it has become common practice for Florida’s other players to pay close attention whenever Caglianone is loading up in the batter’s box, whether it’s in practice or an actual game.

“We’re never sure where the ball is going to land,” Rivera explained. Thus, the legend that is the Gators’ Jac Caglianone continues to grow.

As the 2-seed Gators prepare to open their MCWS with a 7 p.m. ET game vs. 7-seed Virginia Friday night in a game that will be televised on ESPN, the 6-foot-5, 245-pound Caglianone stands perhaps tallest among all the college baseball stars orbiting in Omaha. Nicknamed “Jactani” because he is constantly compared to MLB two-way star Shohei Ohtani, Caglianone arrives in Omaha with a .336 batting average, a NCAA-leading 31 home runs and 84 runs batted in.

And yet it could be that his biggest impact may come from the mound — especially if Florida gets on a roll and has to dive deep into its pitching staff. The left-hander is 7-3 in 16 starts with a 3.78 ERA as a pitcher, serving primarily as the team’s No. 3 starter behind Brandon Sproat and Hurston Waldrep.

Therein lies the most bizzare twist in Caglianone’s remarkable story. He was recruited primarily as a pitcher out of high school. It wasn’t until he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery that he emerged as a true potential two-way threat in Coach Kevin O’Sullivan’s eyes.

The transformation occurred in the middle of last season. With the Gators struggling and Caglianone unable to being throwing because of the surgery on his throwing arm, he suddenly focused more on his hitting, taking part in regular Florida batting protocols and increasing his weightlifting to improve his overall strength.

“I don’t think we knew exactly what he was going to turn out to be,” O’Sullivan said. “He mainly was scouted coming out of high school as a pitcher. The power thing, he was taking BP last year and had every intention to redshirt. I said, ‘I’m just going to throw something out there to you. We know you’re probably not going to be here four years. Would you consider hitting for us?’ His first game, he hit a home run and it just took off from there.”

As the team’s everyday designated hitter over the season’s final 27 games, Caglianone belted seven homers and hit .288. The Gators, who had been 6-11 in the SEC before he joined the lineup, went 19-8 overall with him in it. This year, with him playing mostly first base when he’s not pitching, the Gators are 50-15 and competing for a national championship.

About the only one who wasn’t stunned by his immediate success was Caglianone. He always saw himself as and believed he could be a two-way player in college, even though he never reached double-digit home runs in any of his high school seasons.

“I was told I was going to be a two-way in the recruiting process. Then Sully said I’d probably be a pitcher,” Caglianone said. “But my plan the whole time was to be a two-way (player). It was never really anything else in my mind. I wasn’t going to give up the bat. I had been doing it my whole life, so I was just really glad Sully gave me the chance to keep doing it.

“The whole time I was going through the Tommy John (rehabilitation), going through the hitting protocol with the team helped me clean up my swing a little bit. At the same time, it helped me prep myself for facing these kinds of arms. In the SEC, you’re facing the best of the best every single weekend. Getting used to that and building up to that was very helpful for me as a hitter.”

Rivera said the way Caglianone has continued to build on his successes has been amazing. Caglianone already has smashed Florida’s single-season record for homers this season and is only one RBI short of the single-season school record for runs batted in.

“He has a ton of raw power, and he’s definitely grown into his body a lot during his time in college,” Rivera said. “It’s very special to see him grow into what he’s become, not only as a baseball player but especially as a man. … We came into this season knowing he was going to be a big factor for us and supply a lot of power. He’s definitely done that. It’s nothing short of awesome to see him here in Omaha, hitting balls out of the stadium and stuff like that. I just hope that at some point this week, he can put a show on for the fans out here.”

As O’Sullvan recently told the Associated Press of Caglianone: “I had no idea he was going to become a Greek god. It’s been something to see, but I don’t think he could have handled it any better.”

The first thing anyone notices about Caglianone is his physical size. In addition to everything else, he wears a size-17 shoe that requires the team to build out custom cleats for him most of the time.

“Shoes have been an issue for me since I was about 12 years old,” he said after the Gators wound down their practice at Omaha on Thursday. “(Right now) I’m rocking different turf (shoes) than everyone else out here. I think these are football turfs. The cleats and everything are different. … I did just get a bunch of custom-made Air Force Ones. So I was able to match up with the team on that one.”

Caglianone realizes that he no doubt will be called upon at some point in Omaha to make a difference for the Gators on the mound as well as at the plate. He said playing that dual role throughout this SEC season has prepared him well for it.

“On the days when I pitch and I hit, you try not to let one thing creep into the other. So you grab your bat and switch your mindset in your head,” Caglianone said. “Then when you grab your pitcher’s glove, you switch again and say to yourself, ‘OK, let’s forget whatever happened in your last AB. Let’s get these next three outs so we can all come in and hit again.’ “