GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Another star for the Florida Gators baseball program is set to return for the 2027 season. Florida Victorious, the program's official NIL partner, announced on Wednesday that rising junior reliever Jackson Barberi has re-signed.Barberi, arguably Florida's top reliever last season, recorded a 5-2 record in 19 appearances out of the bullpen (37 1/3 innings), recording 55 strikeouts against 17 walks with a 3.13 ERA.Home is home. Barbs is back in Orange and Blue. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/lpaoxhzhl7— Florida Victorious (@Fl_Victorious) June 24, 2026After a strong freshman season in 2025, the Snellville (Ga.) native became a key player for the Gators in 2026 with 11 scoreless outings and 10 scoreless outing with at least four outs. Additionally, he had eight no-hit appearances of at least one inning pitched and had a team-low .156 batting average against.As a result of Barberi's dominance, and depending on impending MLB Draft decisions within Florida's pitching staff as well as other transfer portal moves, Barberi is a favorite to move to a weekend starting role in 2027, which could be his last as a Gator. He is rated as the No. 26 overall prospect in Perfect Game's 2027 MLB Draft ranking.Barberi is the third player announced by Florida Victorious to return to the program. On Tuesday, the organization announced that rising junior starter Aidan King and rising junior infielder Brendan Lawson had both re-signed with the program ahead of their draft-eligible season.The three headline Florida's expected returning roster. The Gators are expected to return redshirt sophomore reliever Joshua Whritenour, veteran first baseman Landon Stripling, rising sophomore outfielder Cash Strayer and outfielder Jaden Bastian, who missed the entire season with an injury, among others. Florida is also waiting on MLB Draft decisions from third baseman Ethan Surowiec, outfielder Kyle Jones, two-way player Caden McDonald and pitchers Russell Sandefer and Luke McNeillie."We’ve got a really good nucleus," head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "Aidan King is back. We got Lawson back. We got Jaden Bastian back, who’s been injured the entire year... Ethan has a chance to be drafted, but who knows, hopefully he’s back. Strip is back. And there’s some other good players. Like Cash Strayer hasn’t played a whole lot. He’s a middle of the order bat. But to answer your question, I do feel good about it. We get Josh back on the mound, we get Barbs back on the mound.”Meanwhile, Florida has added five players through the NCAA Transfer Portal so far in Oregon State lefty Trey Morris, Oregon State righty Zach Edwards, Florida Gulf Coast catcher Jon Embury III, Jacksonville State righty Maddox McDougall, Utah Tech infielder Kyle McDaniel and FAU infielder John Martinez.Morris and Embury III are expected to start for Florida next season, while McDaniel and Martinez, a former Gator himself, could compete for spots in the infield after Cade Kurland's transfer to LSU, depending on Surowiec's decision.The NCAA Transfer Portal closes on June 30, with the 2026 MLB Draft beginning on July 11. The deadline for players to return to college is on July 27.Sign up for our free Florida Gators newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news!Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow