Gators Rated Second In USA Today's Preseason Poll
Wednesday, January 25, 2006 | Baseball
Head coach Pat McMahon's Gator baseball team was voted second in the USA Today Top 25 College Coaches' Poll released earlier this week. Within the four major preseason college baseball rankings, Florida is number two according to three publications (Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA and USA Today) and is rated third by Baseball America. Defending national champion Texas is first across the board as it attempts to become the first repeat NCAA College World Series winner since LSU in 1996 and 1997.
The Orange and Blue headline a list of seven Southeastern Conference programs among the Top 25. Fellow 2005 CWS participant Tennessee is 12th, while South Carolina (17th), LSU (19th), Mississippi State (21st), Ole Miss (22nd) and Arkansas (23rd) are ranked. Other UF opponents rated by the coaches include Florida State (9th), Missouri (13th) and Miami (Fla.) (16th).
Florida will kick off its 2006 campaign on Feb. 10 at 6:30 p.m., when Cincinnati arrives in town to begin a three-game series. The contest with the Bearcats will begin the 35-game home schedule at McKethan Stadium, where the Gators were 32-11 (.744) last year. UF will play 21 regular-season games against squads listed in the USA Today Top 25.
2006 USA TODAY Division I Preseason Poll
| Rank | School | '05 Record | Points | Last Rank |
| 1. | Texas (34) | 56-16 | 898 | 1 |
| 2. | FLORIDA (1) | 48-23 | 813 | 2 |
| 3. | Clemson | 43-23 | 756 | 16 |
| 4. | Rice | 45-19 | 734 | 11 |
| 5. | Cal State Fullerton | 46-18 | 701 | 8 |
| 6. | Oregon State (1) | 46-12 | 677 | 7 |
| 7. | Georgia Tech | 45-19 | 662 | 10 |
| 8. | North Carolina | 41-19-1 | 661 | 22 |
| 9. | Florida State | 53-20 | 493 | 14 |
| 10. | Nebraska | 57-15 | 462 | 6 |
| 11. | Arizona State | 42-25 | 457 | 5 |
| 12. | Tennessee | 46-21 | 390 | 9 |
| 13. | Missouri | 40-23 | 387 | NR |
| 14. | Pepperdine | 41-23 | 361 | NR |
| 15. | Tulane | 56-12 | 354 | 3 |
| 16. | Miami (Fla.) | 41-19-1 | 339 | 13 |
| 17. | South Carolina | 41-23 | 319 | 21 |
| 18. | Southern California | 41-22 | 302 | 15 |
| 19. | LSU | 40-22 | 283 | 18 |
| 20. | Long Beach State | 37-22 | 278 | 20 |
| 21. | Mississippi State | 42-22 | 237 | 19 |
| 22. | Ole Miss | 48-20 | 199 | 12 |
| 23. | Arkansas | 39-22 | 162 | NR |
| 24. | TCU | 41-20 | 142 | NR |
| 25. | Baylor | 46-24 | 114 | 4 |
Others receiving votes: Notre Dame 72; North Carolina State 63; Stanford 60; Arizona 49; Wichita State 45; Florida Atlantic 42; Fresno State 37; California 36; Virginia 17; Southern Mississippi 12; Vanderbilt 11; Oklahoma 10; Washington 10; San Diego 9; Alabama 6; Cal Poly 6; Georgia 5; Houston 5; UNC Wilmington 4; Winthrop 4; Lamar 3; St. John's 3; Charleston 2; Oklahoma State 2; Virginia Commonwealth 2; Coastal Carolina 1; UNLV 1; South Florida 1; Stetson 1.
--UF--
