Aric Thomas

Biography

Aric Thomas enters his ninth season as an assistant coach for the Gators in 2026 with the primary responsibility of developing the program’s outfielders and hitters along with spearheading the recruiting efforts. During Thomas’ eight seasons at UF to date, the Gators have posted a 362-117 (.755) record with five Women’s College World Series appearances, three SEC regular season championships and three SEC Tournament titles. In 2025, Florida hit .334, a new single-season program record, and slugged 109 home runs, the second-most in a season in program history and most since 2011. The Gators ranked No. 1 in the nation in walks (299) and in the top-10 in the NCAA in hits (566), home runs (109), on-base percentage (.442), RBI (451), slugging percentage (.589), runs (476) and sacrifice flies (26). Taylor Shumaker, named the 2025 NFCA Freshman of the Year, ranked No. 2 in the NCAA in RBI (86), matching the Florida single-season record, which was set by teammate Jocelyn Erickson in 2024. In center field, Kendra Falby was named the Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner for the second season in a row, becoming just the second outfielder in the award's history to earn the prestigious defensive honor twice in their career. In 2024, the Gators hit .330 with 100 home runs and 520 runs, all best in the SEC by a significant margin. The Gators were one of two teams to hit above the .300 mark (.306, Texas A&M), one of three teams with more than 70 home runs (92, Georgia; 84, Tennessee) and 149 run