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Lars Davis and his wife, Katie, after Florida claimed the NCAA national championship in 2017 (Photo Credit: University of Florida softball website)
By Shane Clausing
lars davis

Grande Prairie’s Davis finding baseball coaching success at University of Florida

Feb 8, 2021 | 2:39 PM

Grande Prairie native Lars Davis is back on the diamond with the Florida Gators baseball program for his seventh season as a Volunteer Assistant Coach.

Davis ended up at the University of Florida after having played professional baseball from 2007-2014.

This season, Davis and the Gators are ranked as the preseason number one baseball team in the NCAA. He tells EverythingGP that he’s excited to get things going once again.

“It’s a great honour to be ranked number one, but all that’s going to mean is there’s going to be a target on our back this season. Everybody is going to try and take down the top dog and we’re up for the challenge.”

“I think this is one of the best teams that’s come through here in quite some time. We have an incredibly talented group and we should be able to post some good numbers this year.”

The journey to the University of Florida is a unique one for Davis.

Throughout most of his childhood, Davis played his youth baseball in Grande Prairie, where he was coached by his father. As he got older and gained more passion for baseball, he went to the Prairie Baseball Academy in Lethbridge for his Grade 12 year of High School, where his pro career would soon begin.

In 2003, while in High School, he was drafted by the MLB’s Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 49th round. He did not sign a contract with the Rays and was able to commit via a scholarship to the University of Illinois.

He spent just one season at the University of Illinois, however, his play as a catcher was noticeable and Davis was able to re-enter the MLB draft. In 2007, Davis was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the third round.

From there, Davis would end up spending seven seasons playing professional baseball trying to move up the minor league rankings and get to the major leagues.

In 2013, Davis would end up spending a significant amount of time with the Rockies AAA team, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, it was his first-ever call up to AAA for him at the time.

During that 2013 season, Davis would cross paths with several of Major League Baseball’s biggest stars today.

In his AAA season, he played on a team with Nolan Arenado, Charlie Blackmon, and DJ LeMahieu as well as various other well-known veterans that are household names in the baseball world.

Unfortunately, AAA ball would be the highest Davis would make it in his career. In 2014, he would play one more season, splitting time between AA and AAA before retiring at the age of 28.

While he wasn’t able to reach the major leagues, Davis tells EverythingGP he enjoyed his pro baseball experience.

Shortly after he retired, Davis was able to land a coaching job at the University of Florida.

Davis explained how he was able to snag a job at the University of Florida, despite having no previous coaching experience.

“My wife Katie Davis, we met at the University of Illinois and she was going through different grad schools, internships and professional jobs. We started in Tampa when we were dating, went out to Nashville, we moved out to California where she was an Athletic Trainer for the Long Beach State Softball team and then she got a job here at the University of Florida as the Softball Athletic Trainer.”

“I was just fortunate enough to meet the (baseball) coaches during an offseason, worked out with the team before my last professional season and was just fortunate they had an opening on their staff just as I was getting out of professional baseball. They asked me to be the coach and I’ve been here since.”

Davis now has seven years of coaching experience under his belt and he says he’s grateful for the experience he’s been able to gain from his time at Florida.

“It’s been a phenomenal experience, the coaching staff here have been great, I’ve learned a tremendous amount from them.

“Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan has been a great mentor, I’ve learned a tremendous amount about how to be an effective coach, but also a great communicator to the entire program.”

Davis adds that he loves coaching and he’s hopeful his experience at Florida can help lead to bigger things in the future.

“I’m incredibly fortunate to still be in the game of baseball. I love coaching, I love the game of baseball, I love being able to go to the field every single day, teach the game and watch the game,” said Davis. “This is one of the top programs in the country. Being able to cut my teeth here as a young Assistant Coach and learning from one of the best in the collegiate game is a great opportunity for me.”

“At some point, I’d love to be a Head Coach and run my own program. I’ve never ruled out getting back into professional baseball, but I always want to continue to get better, continue to learn this game.”

Davis mentioned his parents and most of his family still live in Grande Prairie and within Alberta. He said he, unfortunately, hasn’t been able to come home to the Swan City recently because of the pandemic.

Davis and Florida begin their 2021 season on February 19.

by Shane Clausing