Buy Stock in These Three Potential SEC Weekend Rotations

The 2026 college baseball season is six weeks away, so there remains some whittling to do when projecting what the upcoming campaign will look like for a lot of teams around the nation. Looking at the SEC, it’s a little easier to piece together lineups and rotations.

On the pitching front, it’s never as simple as rolling your top three arms out to the mound every weekend and seeing the best results.

Sometimes your ace won’t have his best stuff and can’t make it through a lineup twice. Matchups may call for a new face to toe the slab on a Sunday. Injuries will unfortunately happen, throwing a wrench in your game plan. These, of course, are some of the many ebbs and flows of a baseball season.

But let’s pretend like none of that matters.

As we’ve all come to expect, the SEC is chock-full of elite pitchers. Unsurprisingly, that remains the case looking ahead to 2026. All 16 teams in the conference — at full-strength — will send a top-of-the-line arm to the bump on Friday nights. Many teams will come right back with someone just as good on Saturdays, and some even on Sundays.

On paper, who’s got the best weekend rotation in the league? There’s a bevy of arguments to be made and plenty of legitimate gripes to be had. Here are three potential rotations I’m buying stock in ahead of the 2026 season.

And again, get those rose-colored glasses on and think positive thoughts. Everyone gets to enter the season with their own version of Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz, OK?

Kentucky

Potential Rotation: RHP Nate Harris, LHP Ben Cleaver, RHP Jaxon Jelkin

Reliability was something that often eluded the Kentucky pitching staff in 2025.

It finished around the middle of the pack in most statistics, but it issued 139 walks in SEC play, the fifth-worst mark in the league. Free passes and a 5.74 ERA in league games led to plenty of high-scoring affairs, which doesn’t always play well with the offensive approach that Nick Mingione has leaned on in Lexington.

UK is bringing back 40 percent of its innings from last season, a majority of which stems from two arms that figure to take the next step in 2026.

Nate Harris made an instant impact as a freshman in 2025. He took the ball 13 times, beginning the season as the Wildcats’ midweek starter before transitioning to Friday nights for a good chunk of SEC play. He may not be the type to totally overpower a lineup, but his approach and repertoire lend well to getting outs.

It’s a mid-90s heater, changeup and breaking ball mix for the Yorkville, Ill. product. He struck out 45 last season and walked 26 across 59.1 innings. Harris completed five innings four times in his first year and is a prime breakout candidate as a sophomore.

Ben Cleaver was that breakout sophomore a season ago. Dubbed the “Slim Reaper,” the 6-foot-3 lefty lived up to his last name in a big way by fanning 92 batters in 83 innings, the 14th-best mark in the SEC and third-best of any returning arm in the league. He allowed just 10 extra-base hits all season and almost always found a way to limit damage.

The big looping curveball is the moneymaker, though he also possesses an impressive slider that sits around 80.

Cleaver knows how to locate, and he completed six innings on seven occasions last year. His 1.01 WHIP was in the 97th percentile of all pitchers, per 64Analytics. There’s a calming presence when Cleaver takes the ball. Don’t be surprised if he makes a case as one of the top overall pitchers in the SEC this spring.

Jaxon Jelkin is, without question, a wildcard. A quick glance at the 6-foot-5, 195-pound frame is imposing enough, but then you see him whip into gear and deliver a mid-to-high-90s two-seamer/sinker. Then he comes back with a ripping wipeout slider and other off-speed offerings. If he’s at full strength and full potential, Jelkin is as dangerous as they come. It’s been a winding road, though.

After throwing 11.2 innings as a freshman in half a season for Nebraska, he dominated at the JUCO level and was a 14th-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft. He instead went to Houston, but a promising start to the season was derailed due to an elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery.

He spent last season with UK getting back to full strength, setting the table for an important 2026. In 2024 for Houston, Jelkin struck out 46 batters in 34.1 innings and had a 3.41 ERA.

There’s no denying that Jelkin possesses one of the most electric arms in the conference. Keeping a clean bill of health and maneuvering through an SEC schedule will provide some clearable hurdles that could turn him into a dynamic X-factor and propel the UK rotation to the top of the league.

Keep an eye on Western Kentucky transfer Jack Bennett, too. The senior right-hander logged 26 starts and 133.1 innings across the last two seasons for the Hilltoppers, striking out 118 while walking just 37. He’s a veteran strike-thrower, point blank. His 3.13 ERA last season led the C-USA, and he could bring a much-needed level of reliability to the UK staff this spring.

Georgia

Potential Rotation: RHP Joey Volchko, RHP Matt Scott, RHP Caden Aoki

Forget what you recall about the 2025 Georgia pitching situation. The Achilles heel for the Bulldogs last season was digging itself an early hole, regardless of the competition. The offense was almost always there to bail the pitching staff out, but it was an issue. The 4.93 team ERA was 13th in the SEC, and only Missouri walked more batters than UGA.

Wes Johnson and Co. have just about completely revamped their pitching staff. No SEC team is returning fewer innings (80) than Georgia. There are 13 new arms on the roster — a big part of a portal class that’s ranked No. 1 overall by 64Analytics — and there are more than three who could slot in the weekend rotation.

Stanford transfer Joey Volchko had a 6.01 ERA in 15 starts and 70.1 innings as a sophomore last season. Command has been an issue, as he walked 38 as a freshman and 34 in 2025 — not exactly fear-inducing numbers, yet he was 64Analytics‘ No. 2 player in the portal. So what has everyone raving?

Power is one of the many words you could use to describe what Volchko oozes on the bump. Once he activates with the big leg kick, you know the RPMs are coming. The fastball is now touching 100 with ride and has previously been complemented by a low-90s slider, high-80s power curve and a changeup. UGA has tweaked some things, including lowering his arm slot.

Volchko is an up-tempo machine and has clear All-American potential. He’s in good hands with Johnson, and it’s easy to imagine him taking that next step that’ll have pro scouts frothing at the mouth. He’ll have a familiar face alongside, too.

Matt Scott has also made the move from Palo Alto to Athens for his senior season. His striking 6-foot-7, 240-pound stature comes with a hefty wave of experience. Across three seasons for the Cardinal, Scott made 51 appearances (38 starts) and tallied 199.1 innings.

As is the case with Volchko, Scott’s numbers (6.02 ERA, 1.70 WHIP in 2025) aren’t daunting, but there’s clearly a level or two to his game that remains untapped. He was ranked as the No. 5 player in the portal this summer.

Scott also possesses a similar arsenal to Volchko, though his velocity is a couple ticks lower. The fastball hovers in the mid-90s and is flanked by an impressive arsenal that’s headlined by a slider-splitter combo. Walks haven’t been an issue as he gave up just 22 free passes a season ago. His sophomore campaign was memorable as he fanned 103 batters in 80 IP, the top mark in the Pac-12.

If he can find that level of swing-and-miss in the SEC, then there will be even more to like with the Redding, CT native. He was on the 2023 Stanford team that went to Omaha and knows how to win games. He will bring that veteran presence to the UGA staff.

From here, you could go multiple ways. Georgia could genuinely field two separate rotations, and both could compete in the SEC.

Lefty Kenny Ishikawa is perhaps the most intriguing addition to the roster. The two-way star comes in after a big freshman season at Seattle, where he put together a .982 OPS and had a 4.21 ERA across 66.1 IP. His role will likely be further defined the longer the season treks on. Righty Dylan Vigue is in the mix after taking a big step in his sophomore campaign at Michigan, too.

Caden Aoki is my current pick to round things out. Like Scott, the righty has a wealth of experience. After making just four appearances for Notre Dame as a freshman in 2022, he transferred to USC and immediately flourished. He posted a 2.98 ERA as a sophomore, which led the Pac-12.

Last season, his workload ramped up as he made 17 appearances (16 starts) and tallied 97 IP. The command was next-level as he struck out 90 while issuing just 14 walks, a 6.43 K-BB ratio — the best mark in the Big Ten.

He’s got 38 starts and 222.2 innings under his belt, striking out 202 with just 46 walks. Aoki is a pitcher. The fastball can touch 90 and is backed by a slider, curve and changeup. How he toes the line between pitching to contact — something he did much more in his first two seasons at USC — and facing stout lineups on a weekly basis will be key.

Johnson, one of the top pitching minds in baseball, should have no shortage of arms to lean on in 2026. Expect Georgia’s calling card to look much different than the last two seasons.

Florida

Potential Rotation: RHP Liam Peterson, RHP Aidan King, RHP Luke McNeillie

It hasn’t been a fall to remember for Florida baseball. Longtime head coach Kevin O’Sullivan has returned to his post after a personal leave of absence that lasted nearly two months.

Since his temporary departure in late October, assistant Chuck Jeroloman left his interim post to join Josh Elander’s staff at Tennessee. UF is also already down a key transfer in outfielder Jaden Bastian, who suffered a severe leg injury during a scrimmage.

Any talk surrounding the Gators has been on the negative side. However, O’Sullivan’s status is no longer looming — he remains suspended for the first three games of the season — and there’s still plenty of reasons to believe that UF will be its usual competitive self in 2026.

The team’s 4.89 ERA ranked 12th in the SEC last season, as the back end often left a lot to be desired. It remains to be seen if Florida will boast better depth this spring, but it will likely have one of the top rotations in the country with all three weekend slots filled by returning faces.

Expected to be one of, if not the first pitcher taken in the 2026 MLB Draft, Peterson is in line to have a monster junior season in Gainesville. In 15 starts as a sophomore, he hurled 69.1 innings and managed a 4.28 ERA, striking out 96 batters while walking 32.

He won eight games and finished five innings on eight occasions. His freshman season (16 starts, 6.43 ERA) finished strong, as he picked up a win in the NCAA Tournament and made a College World Series appearance.

The table is set for Peterson to reach the next rung of the ladder. The high-90s fastball explodes out of the hand and is now accompanied by a two-seamer. At 6-foot-5, he also brings a strong mid-80s slider to the table with the curve and changeup mixed in, too.

The key for Peterson will be limiting the long ball, as he’s given up 24 homers in his college career. Expectations are high for the Palm Harbor, Fla. native, but he’s got the experience and the high-octane arsenal to live up to the billing.

After a standout first campaign, King will be right alongside Peterson. A unanimous Freshman All-American in 2025, King made 17 appearances (12 starts) and quickly emerged as one of the best in the league. His 2.58 ERA led the SEC, and he held opponents to a measly .218 average, a top-10 mark in the league.

He pitched 73.1 innings, fanned 79 and walked just 23. His P-OPS, K-BB ratio, WHIP and FIP are among the many stats that are at least in the 90th percentile of all college pitchers, per 64Analytics.

It’s a fastball-slider-changeup mix that doesn’t look devastating on paper, but he totes serious command and knows how to execute. If both King and Peterson are at the top of their game, then UF will have the upper hand on the mound on Fridays and Saturdays, regardless of the opponent.

McNeillie is far from a sure thing as a potential Sunday starter, but much like Peterson, the strides he took in year two last season should have UF excited about what he could turn into with a little more mud on the tires.

Called on a team-high 28 times in 2025, McNeillie completed multiple innings in half of those outings. He made a pair of starts and finished the year with 52.1 IP and a 4.82 ERA.

In a 17-inning increase from his freshman year, he walked just three more batters but struck out 29 more and dropped his opponents’ batting average down to .238. He also attacks with the fastball-slider combo with the heater sitting mid-90s.

This trio could provide took similar a look to one another, especially against an A-tier SEC offense. But if each arm escalates their game, then that may not matter. UCF transfer righty Russell Sandefer could find himself in the mix on Sundays, too. He flourished in his lone season in Orlando last spring, tallying 50.2 innings in 18 appearances (six starts), accruing a 3.38 ERA with 49 Ks to 19 walks.