Gators Ranked No. 1 in Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll
Tuesday, December 19, 2017 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida baseball team is ranked No. 1 in Collegiate Baseball's NCAA Division I Preseason Poll released on Tuesday.
With five Preseason All-Americans and the nation's No. 2 recruiting class, the defending national champions are primed for yet another great season.
It marks the 10th-straight season that head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's club has been ranked during the preseason in the nation's oldest college baseball poll, which began in 1959. The Gators were No. 25 in 2009, No. 9 in 2010, No. 2 in 2011, No. 1 in 2012, No. 24 in 2013, No. 16 in 2014, No. 6 in 2015, No. 1 in 2016 and No. 3 last season.
Florida joins 10 other Southeastern Conference programs in the poll, including five teams in the top 10. The SEC East figures to be among the nation's best divisions with three teams ranked in the top 10 (Florida-1, Vanderbilt-6, Kentucky-8).
Nine of the Gators 2018 opponents are ranked in the top 35 of the preseason poll. Florida will host key home series against Preseason No. 3 Arkansas (March 23-25), No. 6 Vanderbilt (March 30-April 1) and No. 35 Auburn (April 26-28). UF will also have a home game against No. 4 Florida State (March 13).
The Gators open the 2018 season on Feb. 16 against Siena at McKethan Stadium. Season tickets and Flex Passes for the 2018 Gator Baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased online through FloridaGators.com or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Last season, Florida won the first national title in program history with a 52-19 record. The Gators have reached the College World Series for the six times in the past eight years under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan. UF is the only program in the country to earn a top-eight national seed for NCAA play for the eighth time in the last nine years.
For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on to FloridaGators.com or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorsBB.
Others Receiving Votes: Coastal Carolina (37-19-1), Long Beach St. (42-20-1), U.C. Santa Barbara (24-32), Oklahoma (35-24), Minnesota (36-21), St. John's (42-13), California (25-29), Arizona St. (23-29), Southern California (21-34), Tennessee Tech. (41-21), Rice (33-31), Cal. Poly (28-28), Central Florida (40-22), South Florida (42-19), Connecticut (33-25), U.C. Irvine (23-33), Tulane (27-31), East Carolina (32-28), Wichita St. (28-30), Wake Forest (43-20), Duke (30-28), Tennessee (27-25), Alabama (19-34-1), Missouri (36-23), Georgia (25-32), Florida Gulf Coast (43-20), Oregon (30-25), Washington (28-26), Utah (27-24), Washington St. (24-29), Oral Roberts (43-16), San Diego St. (42-21), New Mexico (30-27-1), Fresno St. (35-25), Nevada (19-36), Liberty (32-23), St. Louis (35-22), Morehead St. (36-23), Rhode Island (35-22), Virginia Commonwealth (35-22), Davidson (35-26), Creighton (24-25), Xavier (34-27), Seton Hall (29-24), Butler (31-20), Presbyterian (32-29), High Point (30-23), Iowa (39-22), Maryland (38-23), Indiana (34-34-2), Purdue (29-27), Michigan St. (29-23), West Virginia (36-26), Baylor (34-23), Mercer (39-17), N.C. Greensboro (36-24), Western Carolina (28-28), Southeastern Louisiana (37-22), McNeese St. (37-20), Texas-Arlington (30-25), Brigham Young (38-21), Loyola Marymount (38-18), Gonzaga (33-20), Grand Canyon (29-25), New Mexico St. (35-22), Central Michigan (31-28), Ball St. (30-28), Ohio (31-28), Northeastern (29-25), College of Charleston (28-31), Florida Atlantic (35-21-1), Navy (37-17), Old Dominion (37-21), N.C. Charlotte (34-24), Wright St. (38-21), Yale (34-18), Canisius (35-22), Marist (32-23), Bethune-Cookman (36-25), Florida A&M (27-26), Indiana St. (29-26), Bradley (20-31), Bryant (29-26), Central Connecticut St. (36-22), Jacksonville St. (30-26), Belmont (32-29).
Gators' 2018 opponents in Bold Italics
With five Preseason All-Americans and the nation's No. 2 recruiting class, the defending national champions are primed for yet another great season.
It marks the 10th-straight season that head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's club has been ranked during the preseason in the nation's oldest college baseball poll, which began in 1959. The Gators were No. 25 in 2009, No. 9 in 2010, No. 2 in 2011, No. 1 in 2012, No. 24 in 2013, No. 16 in 2014, No. 6 in 2015, No. 1 in 2016 and No. 3 last season.
Florida joins 10 other Southeastern Conference programs in the poll, including five teams in the top 10. The SEC East figures to be among the nation's best divisions with three teams ranked in the top 10 (Florida-1, Vanderbilt-6, Kentucky-8).
Nine of the Gators 2018 opponents are ranked in the top 35 of the preseason poll. Florida will host key home series against Preseason No. 3 Arkansas (March 23-25), No. 6 Vanderbilt (March 30-April 1) and No. 35 Auburn (April 26-28). UF will also have a home game against No. 4 Florida State (March 13).
The Gators open the 2018 season on Feb. 16 against Siena at McKethan Stadium. Season tickets and Flex Passes for the 2018 Gator Baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased online through FloridaGators.com or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Last season, Florida won the first national title in program history with a 52-19 record. The Gators have reached the College World Series for the six times in the past eight years under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan. UF is the only program in the country to earn a top-eight national seed for NCAA play for the eighth time in the last nine years.
For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on to FloridaGators.com or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorsBB.
2018 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's NCAA Division I Preseason Poll
| Rank | Team (2017 Final Record) | Points |
| 1. | Florida (52-19) | 497 |
| 2. | Oregon St. (56-6) | 494 |
| 3. | Arkansas (45-19) | 493 |
| 4. | Florida St. (46-23) | 489 |
| 5. | Texas Tech. (45-17) | 484 |
| 6. | Vanderbilt (36-25-1) | 482 |
| 7. | North Carolina (49-14) | 479 |
| 8. | Kentucky (43-23) | 477 |
| 9. | Texas Christian (50-18) | 475 |
| 10. | LSU (52-20) | 471 |
| 11. | Dallas Baptist (42-21) | 470 |
| 12. | Cal. St. Fullerton (39-24) | 469 |
| 13. | Mississippi St. (40-27) | 465 |
| 14. | UCLA (30-27) | 463 |
| 15. | Clemson (42-21) | 460 |
| 16. | Virginia (43-16) | 459 |
| 17. | South Alabama (40-21) | 456 |
| 18. | Louisiana-Lafayette (35-21-1) | 454 |
| 19. | South Carolina (35-25) | 450 |
| 20. | Miami, Fla. (32-27) | 448 |
| 21. | Louisville (53-12) | 446 |
| 22. | Missouri St. (43-20) | 443 |
| 23. | N.C. State (36-25) | 440 |
| 24. | Stanford (42-16) | 437 |
| 25. | Southern Mississippi (50-16) | 435 |
| 26. | Texas (39-24) | 432 |
| 27. | Oklahoma St. (30-27) | 429 |
| 28. | Winthrop (34-24) | 426 |
| 29. | Georgia Tech (27-28) | 423 |
| 30. | Houston (42-21) | 420 |
| 31. | San Diego (35-18-1) | 417 |
| 32. | Sam Houston St. (44-23) | 414 |
| 33. | Texas A&M (41-23) | 412 |
| 34. | Kent St. (37-18) | 410 |
| 35. | Auburn (37-26) | 407 |
| 36. | Arizona (38-21) | 403 |
| 37. | Stetson (27-29) | 401 |
| 38. | Ole Miss (32-25) | 398 |
| 39. | Nebraska (35-22-1) | 394 |
| 40. | Michigan (42-17) | 391 |
Gators' 2018 opponents in Bold Italics
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