
Earlier this month, ESPN put out a list and that’s all you need to know to predict that there was some controversy. That’s what lists are there for, to make you disagree and inspire social engagement.
This list was to celebrate 20 years of ESPN the Magazine (who knew?) and it was of the 20 most dominant athletes of the last 20 years. It wasn’t a very well thought out list in that it had Peyton Manning at No. 3 and Tom Brady at 20 and excluded Michael Phelps, had Serena Williams way too low and included two athletes I have never heard of.
But it accomplished its goal in that it offered up chum for talk radio.
It also got me thinking about what that list would look like if we were talking about UF athletes, especially because the last 20 years have been the most dominant we have experienced at Florida.
During the last two decades — since late March of 1998 — Florida has won 26 of its 40 national titles and 108 conference championships in different sports.
So narrowing it down to the most dominant players isn’t easy and the criteria depends on how you view dominance.
But because I am a sucker for a list, I came up with mine anyway:
1. TIM TEBOW
It wasn’t just what he did on the field, although two national titles and a Heisman Trophy would be enough. Tebow wasn’t just the face of Florida football during his time in Gainesville, he was the face of college football.
2. THE OH-FOURS
Sorry, can’t separate them. Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Corey Brewer and Taurean Green (aw, let’s throw Lee Humphrey in as an honorary member) owned college basketball for two seasons and could probably have won it again if they came back. Only one school had consecutive national titles in the last quarter of a century and that was these Florida Gators.
3. CAELEB DRESSEL
Talk about a guy who just keeps getting better. No swimmer has gone under 18 seconds in the 50 meters and he did it twice on Thursday. Dressel is a true superstar in a sport that a lot of people only pay attention to every four years.
4. ABBY WAMBACH
As a freshman, she led Florida to a national soccer title along with teammate Danielle Fotopoulos. She went on to be named SEC player of the year twice and Florida would win the SEC in all four of her seasons.
5. BRIDGET SLOAN
When she arrived in Gainesville, Florida had no NCAA gymnastics titles. When she left here, Florida had three. It was no coincidence. Sloan was dominant on the beam and in the locker room with her infectious personality.
6. MATT LAPORTA
Scientists recently discovered an object on Mars that looked like a ball. The best bet was that it was hit there by LaPorta. His UF career home run record of 74 may never be touched and places him ninth in the country all time.
7. LAUREN HAEGER
Anyone who draws comparison to Babe Ruth is going to be on this list. Haeger helped Florida to a pair of national titles with both her bat and her arm and dominated her sport as a senior.
8. PERCY HARVIN
He was an absolute freak and a huge reason why Florida won two national titles in three seasons. Don’t think he was dominant? Try tackling him. Best combination of power and speed ever at UF.
9. LAUREN EMBREE
Embree not only clinched a pair of tennis national championships with the winning point, she went 38-0 in singles in SEC play. She was the three-time SEC player of the year including the first ever as a freshman.
10. ALEX MCMURTRY
Her career isn’t over yet, but it has been spectacular including winning an individual national gymnastics title last year despite her ongoing back issues.
11. STACY NELSON
You want dominant? How about 88 wins in the softball circle during her last two years and a career ERA under one?
12. ALEX FAEDO
One of the best competitors to ever lace them up for Gator baseball, Florida rode his incredible postseason on the mound to its first national title.
13. MARQUIS DENDY
Whether it was the long jump or the triple jump, Dendy was usually collecting some hardware. He won seven NCAA titles and won the last 10 college events he competed in.
14. BILLY HORSCHEL
You can’t do much better than being a four-time golf All-American. Especially for a guy who signed for the minimum scholarship.
15. MIKE ZUNINO
The stats are impressive, but can be ignored because Zunino was the man in charge of a team that went to the College World Series three straight times.
16. SHANNON GILROY
Lacrosse may be the newest sport at UF, but Gilroy wasted little time establishing herself as one of the best athletes ever at UF as a three-time All-American.
17. ALEX BROWN
The King of Sacks, Brown was certainly dominant if you were trying to block him. His 33 sacks are still the most ever in Florida history and his 13 are the single-season record.
18. JEFF DEMPS
This may be one you wouldn’t have thought of, but he is the only man to ever win the 60 meters three times at nationals. And he ran the anchor in the 4×400 that clinched a national title. And he was a pretty good football player too.
19. RYAN LOCHTE
Lochte is best known for his antics, but his talent as a swimmer at Florida was undeniable. He won seven national championships as a Gator.
20. AURY CRUZ, RHAMAT ALHASSAN (tie)
It’s my list so I can have ties. The two powerful volleyball players had something in common — they led Florida to the national finals.
Contact Pat Dooley at 352-374-5053 or at pat.dooley@gvillesun.com. And follow at Twitter.com/Pat_Dooley.
Where would the current softball pitchers rank if not in the top 20?
Agree! Kelly Barnhill is dominant. And Aleshia Ocasio is getting there as a pitcher and is multi-dimensional.
barnhill is best uf pitcher ever, but no natties yet, so hard to add her to the list YET
I thought this legit was totally legit when I saw Tebow as number 1 which is 100% correct, but then I started scratching my head when I couldn’t find Danny Wuerffel’s name on there. Danny Wuerffel dominated College Football for 2 straight years, the perfect season in 1995, 4 SEC championships, 2 National Championship games as starter and the greatest passer in SEC history and that’s to go with the Heisman trophy..and I am just getting started.
During the last two decades — since late March of 1998 …
Okay…thanks for the clarity. I was about to cosign Larry until forgetting it was the past 20.
Yeah…..but. But it would really be neat if Pat made the line of demarcation 1990, and included two sets of athletes, Pre-1990 and Post-1990.
Reminiscing Tebow is starting to feel like the Dolphins clinging to that long ago undefeated season. I love him, but he’s fading in the rear view mirror.
I don’t know, Tim…..maybe a little…..but I think he’s got the endurance factor to be the face of Florida football for a long, long time. Time will tell, though.
True…he is our best no doubt about it.
I would have had Tracy Caulkins on the list.
list is last 20 years only. if this was an all-time list, no doubt
Good list of Gator Greats. If it was top 50 there would be more room for some Gator Football greats. Wilber Marshal, Emmit Smith, Steve Spurrier, Danny Wuerffel etc. Old school perhaps but deserving.
Dan the Man needs to add some new ones!
Forgot close friends Christian Taylor and Will Claye who have totally dominated and amassed (so far) some 18 medals and titles among NCAA, Worlds and Olympics in the triple jump.
We swimming fans appreciate Dressel’s inclusion on this list and the position…but his race was the 50 YARD freestyle…not meters.
more interesting that he omitted lochte from the list altogether, and unlike some of the other noted omissions, lochte was the last 20 years…
i’m a blind idiot. i saw lochte
have to give this an incomplete. since the category is gators, limiting the choices to past 20 years is a little bit amiss. just because espn was celebrating the 20th anniversary of the mag doesn’t mean that this discussion should also be limited to the past 20 years. leaving off athletes like rowdy gaines, emmit smith, wilbur marshall, and an athlete so dominant her appearances were dubbed the Lisa Raymond Tanning Hour just doesn’t seem right.
Emmitt Smith?
Never mind. He said last 20 years
The only glaring omission I can see is Brad Wilkerson. He was every bit the hitter that LaPorta was and anchored our pitching staff to boot. Late March 1998 would have placed him halfway through a regular season that preceded a run to Omaha.
Sorry Dressel is number one in terms of performance at UF. Not even close.
Jeff Demps never ran the 4×400. He ran the 4×100.