UF Rated No. 15 in Baseball America Preseason Poll
Wednesday, January 5, 2005 | Baseball
Coach Pat McMahon's Gator baseball team was ranked No. 15 in Baseball America's preseason poll released on Wednesday. Florida returns 18 letterwinners and six position starters from a squad that went 43-22 last season and reached NCAA Super Regionals for the first time in school history. Eighteen newcomers, including 14 freshmen and four juniors, will be donning the Orange and Blue in '05.
Among the top returnees for McMahon's club include senior center fielder Jeff Corsaletti (Port Charlotte, Fla.), who batted .323 with 47 runs, 43 RBI and 12 doubles last spring, sophomore second baseman Adam Davis (Fort Myers, Fla.), who hit .320 with 68 runs and 22 stolen bases, and sophomore catcher Matt LaPorta (Port Charlotte, Fla.), who tied for second on UF with 14 home runs. Both Davis and LaPorta attained Freshman All-America status in 2004. Junior Justin Tordi (Orlando, Fla.) was second among Southeastern Conference shortstops with a .963 fielding percentage and smacked 14 doubles on his way to a .302 clip.
On the mound, senior right-handers Connor Falkenbach (Parkland, Fla.) and Tommy Boss (Dunnellon, Fla.) will anchor a rotation that will be boosted by the presence of junior transfer Alan Horne (Marianna, Fla.). Falkenbach, 10-7 in 2004 with a 3.34 earned run average, is coming off a tremendous postseason in which he hurled consecutive complete games at the SEC Tournament and in the NCAA Oklahoma City Regional. Boss (4-5, 4.24 ERA) struck out 34 batters in 76.1 innings of work, while issuing just six walks. A former first-round pick out of Marianna High School, Horne was a Freshman All-American at Ole Miss in 2002 before suffering an arm injury. Junior Darren O'Day (Jacksonville, Fla.) proved to be an effective relief specialist, finishing 8-1 with five saves.
Tulane holds the top spot in Baseball America's Top 25 college baseball rankings for the inaugural time. The Green Wave boasts eight returning starters between their lineup and rotation, as well as a top recruiting class and junior transfer Micah Owings to team with fellow two-way player Brian Bogusevic. The next four teams in the rankings -- LSU, Cal State Fullerton, Texas and Miami (Fla.) -- all reached the College World Series in 2004, with the Titans defeating the Longhorns for the title.
No. 8 Washington, No. 10 Georgia and No. 16 Ole Miss earned their highest preseason rankings in school history, while No. 17 Vanderbilt, No. 21 TCU and No. 25 Winthrop each appeared in the preseason ratings for the initial time. Oral Roberts makes its first preseason rankings appearance since 1989 by checking in at No. 24. Sixth-ranked Stanford is the only school to earn a spot in the preseason top 25 every year since its inception in 1981, while LSU has appeared every season since 1990, and from 1985-88.
Florida will kick off its 2005 campaign on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m., when Charleston Southern arrives in town to begin a three-game series. The contest with the Buccaneers will begin a 21-game homestand at McKethan Stadium, where the Gators were 27-9 (.750) last year. UF will play 15 regular-season games against squads listed in the Baseball America Top 25.
BASEBALL AMERICA DIVISION I PRESEASON POLL
| Rank | School | '04 Record | Final Rank |
| 1. | Tulane | 41-21 | 19 |
| 2. | LSU | 46-19 | 7 |
| 3. | Cal State Fullerton | 47-22 | 1 |
| 4. | Texas | 58-15 | 2 |
| 5. | Miami (Fla.) | 50-13 | 4 |
| 6. | Stanford | 46-14 | 9 |
| 7. | South Carolina | 53-17 | 3 |
| 8. | Washington | 39-20 | 21 |
| 9. | Arizona State | 41-18 | 22 |
| 10. | Georgia | 45-23 | 5 |
| 11. | Baylor | 29-31 | NR |
| 12. | Arizona | 36-27-1 | 12 |
| 13. | Texas A&M | 42-22 | 20 |
| 14. | North Carolina | 43-21 | NR |
| 15. | FLORIDA | 43-22 | 16 |
| 16. | Ole Miss | 39-21 | 23 |
| 17. | Vanderbilt | 45-19 | 17 |
| 18. | Rice | 46-14 | 11 |
| 19. | Georgia Tech | 44-21 | 10 |
| 20. | Notre Dame | 51-12 | 15 |
| 21. | TCU | 39-26 | NR |
| 22. | Long Beach State | 40-21 | 13 |
| 23. | Oklahoma State | 38-24 | NR |
| 24. | Oral Roberts | 50-11 | 18 |
| 25. | Winthrop | 37-23 | NR |
--UF--
