Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – There's an algorithm for everything these days. Finding information is easier than it's ever been. Sometimes that info can be eye-popping, even to the trained eye. 
 
That was case for Florida coach Tim Walton when he went delving into the transfer portal last offseason in search of offense and saw how Louisville outfielder Korbe Otis showed up near the top of virtually every statistic. In delving a little deeper, Walton found that Otis did some of her finest work against ranked teams. 
 
"She had the best batting average, on-base percentage and extra-base hits against Top 25 opponents. The best," Walton said. "When you went in the portal, she separated herself from everybody else and was a big target for us. One of the biggest."
 

Otis, in turn, became one of UF's biggest acquisitions and as the 2024 team hits the home stretch of its season  – the No. 12 Gators (37-10) face rival and No. 16 Florida State (36-10), winner of 10 straight, Wednesday night at Seashole Pressly Stadium – a case can be made that Otis is playing as well as any Florida player, especially with the bat in her hand. 
 
Maybe the best. 
 
"When I first talked to Coach Walton – and got past my fan girl moment – he told me, 'You're my first call" and talked about how much they really wanted me here," Otis recalled. "I mean, with who I am and what I do I just thought it was a really good fit culturally. I love it here." 
 
The Gators and their fanbase love her back. Korbe, the junior from Littleton, Colo., is having an All-Southeastern Conference kind of season, leading the league in batting average (.451) and on-base percentage (.592), and is flirting with some rarefied air with a chance to hit what Walton calls the "50 Club." As in 50 hits, 50 runs, 50 RBI and 50 walks.
 
And, yes, that was Otis who showed up for a pregame "drip walk" last week dressed like Elvis. So she's not only delivering for the Gators, but having fun doing so. 

CHARTING THE GATORS 
A look at where junior left fielder Korbe Otis ranks in both the SEC and NCAA in these key offensive statistics.

Category	Value	SEC	NCAA
Batting average	.451	1st	9th
Hits	55	4th	64th
On-base percentage	.592	1st	1st
Runs batted in	38	10th	98th
Runs per game	1.09	5th	23rd
Slugging percentage	.680	11th	112th
Stolen bases	10	15th	270th
Walks per game	.89	2nd	7th

Otis has hit safely in seven consecutive games (12 of the last 13), with multiple base knocks in five of them, including all three games in last weekend's series win against South Carolina. For the series, Otis went 6-for-9, knocked in four runs and scored three, the last the go-ahead and game-winning tally in UF's 7-6 victory Sunday. 
 
"She's just really, really good," Walton said. 
 
Really, really focused, too. Consider that she committed to Louisville as an eighth-grader and then blossomed into a generational athlete at her high school; the two-time Colorado Player of the Years, the MVP on the Class 5A state champion and also the school record-holder in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. 
 
That school was Columbine High.  Saturday marked the 25-year anniversary of the shooting massacre that ended with the deaths of 12 students and a teacher. Had Otis been back home she would have participated in the CHS Day of Service, an annual event that focuses on volunteerism and community-building while honoring the memory of the victims.
 
Otis was born four years after the horrors of April 20, 1999, but the events of that day are omnipresent in Columbine and galvinize the community. For four years, Otis walked passed the memorial on the school grounds every day. The people there will never forget, nor do they want to.  
 
"The way they turned what happened there – the tragedy into a strength – is special," Otis said. "I'm very grateful to have been a part of that family." 
 

With that gratitude comes a laser-focus on the responsibilities as a student-athlete. Her on-field exploits speak for themselves, but away from the diamond Otis is a biology major who aspires to go to medical school and be a surgeon. 
 
"She's just very dedicated to her school and on top of things, always ready to go, keeping everyone in," sophomore catcher and roommate Jocelyn Erickson said. "We love her."
 
Otis had nothing but positive things to say about her time at Louisville. She was a first-team All American and hit .414 for the Cardinals, who were good enough last season to reach the NCAA Tournament. But Otis craved more. She wanted big-time softball with a chance to play on the grandest stage and compete for championships. 
 
Like so many of her UF teammates, she recalls being a young girl (around age 10) when she watched that special 2014 UF team get on its run and roll through Oklahoma City to the first of two straight NCAA crowns. Back home, she even has a softball signed by Hannah Rogers, Lauren Haeger, Kelsey Stewart and the rest of that first Florida national title squad.
 
"I also wanted to get the best education to carry me later in life, so Florida really aligned with my goals and coming her was a no-brainer for me," she said. "And to think that my first WCWS experience was watching that [Florida] team, it's kind of like a crazy full-circle moment for me." 
 
With more moments (not to mention more hits, more runs, more RBI, more walks, more everything) certainly to come. 
 
"Great personality, tough as heck, great teammate, great softball player," Walton said.