About Us

Florida Southern College is located in sunny Lakeland, just 35 minutes outside of the Tampa Bay area. Our great campus, like the area surrounding it, is growing quickly. Our university has added a new multi-million-dollar athlete-only weightlifting center, updated batting cages, field and dugout upgrades, and the Trackman system for data tracking for our players. Playing in arguably the best NCAA Division 2 conference in the country-the Sunshine State Conference- our league has seen 10 out of the last 20 National Champions. Our goal is to get Florida Southern back to NCAA Division 2 World Series in Cary, North Carolina. 

We consider Florida Southern to be the most historic Division II program in the country. With 9 National Championships, 143 drafted players and 12 Major League players, Florida Southern has proven to be a mainstay of success at this level. Our Head Coach, Coach O’Dette has amassed nearly 700 wins in Division II in over 27 years coaching and has personally coached 38 players that have gone onto play professional baseball. More importantly, in Coach O’Dette’s 27 years of coaching every player has gone onto earn his degree. Coach O’Dette and his staff have been in the postseason most recently as 2022 and 2024, where the program hosted the NCAA South Regional. Florida Southern College is a great place to continue your baseball career as well as start your professional career. Our staff and university are committed to helping you develop academically, athletically, and socially.