Gators Ranked No. 1 In Baseball America Preseason Poll
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 | Baseball
Florida was picked No. 1 in Baseball America's preseason Top 25 rankings released on Tuesday for the second year in a row and the second time in school history. Fifth-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's team, which finished as the national runner-up a year ago, returns the bulk of its everyday lineup, its entire weekend rotation and a number of key arms in the bullpen. The Gators will certainly be tested, as 28 of their 56 games during the regular season will be against squads listed in the Baseball America poll.
Last season, UF was 53-19, finished second at the NCAA College World Series for the second time and established a school record for victories. Florida made the trip to Omaha in consecutive seasons for the first time and reached the CWS for the seventh time in school history (1988, 1991, 1996, 1998, 2005, 2010, 2011).
With a 22-8 performance in the SEC that matched South Carolina and Vanderbilt for the top spot, the Gators blanked the Commodores, 5-0, to capture the 2011 SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. It was the first time in 20 years that Florida won the league's tourney and was its sixth title (1981, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1991, 2011). The triumph also represented the first time since 1988 that the Orange and Blue had won the SEC and SEC Tourney in the same season. O'Sullivan's club reached the 40-win plateau for the 20th time in school history and the school-record 53 wins marked the third time that the program exceeded 50 wins (also in 1991 & 1996).
The Gators return a solid nucleus that includes 2011 SEC Player of the Year catcher Mike Zunino (Cape Coral, Fla.), 2011 Perfect Game Freshman Pitcher of the Year right-hander Karsten Whitson (Chipley, Fla.), as well as All-SEC selections shortstop Nolan Fontana (Winter Garden, Fla.), left-hander/first baseman Brian Johnson (Cocoa Beach, Fla.), right-hander Hudson Randall (Atlanta, Ga.) and outfielder Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.), 2011 SEC Tournament Most Valuable Player outfielder Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.), 2011 College World Series All-Tournament Team selection third baseman Cody Dent (Boynton Beach, Fla.), catcher/infielder/right-hander Austin Maddox (Jacksonville, Fla.), left-hander Steven Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) and 2011 SEC All-Freshman Team third baseman Zack Powers (Seffner, Fla.). O'Sullivan also welcomes his fourth-straight top-10 incoming class.
Stanford is ranked second, while South Carolina begins its quest for a third-straight national championship with a No. 3 ranking. Fellow CWS participants Texas A&M (7), North Carolina (9), Vanderbilt (10) and Texas (13) also earned spots in the preseason rankings.
The Southeastern Conference, which produced three of the final four teams standing in Omaha last year and has won the last three national titles, looks strong again heading into 2012. The SEC accounts for three of the top four teams and six of the top 11 in the 2012 preseason rankings. The SEC leads all conferences with seven teams in the Top 25, followed by the Atlantic Coast and Pacific-12 conferences with five apiece.
Florida's contest with No. 25 Cal State Fullerton in the season opener on Feb. 17 begins the 34-game home schedule at McKethan Stadium, where the Gators were 34-7 (.829) last year and boast a 124-26 (.827) mark in O'Sullivan's tenure. Florida begins its full team practice at 3:15 p.m. on Friday and it is open to the public.
Single-game tickets for the 2012 Gator Baseball season are now on sale. Both single-game and season tickets can be purchased online at www.GatorZone.com/tickets or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Single-Game Ticket Prices are as follows:
| $10 – Reserved Box |
| $8 – Reserved Chairback |
| $6 – Reserved Bleacher |
| $4 – General Admission |
2012 Baseball America Preseason Poll
| Rank | School ('11 Final Record) | Final '11 Ranking |
| 1. | FLORIDA (53-19) | 2 |
| 2. | Stanford (35-22) | 13 |
| 3. | South Carolina (55-14) | 1 |
| 4. | Arkansas (40-22) | 24 |
| 5. | Arizona (39-21) | NR |
| 6. | Rice (42-21) | 15 |
| 7. | Texas A&M (47-22) | 7 |
| 8. | LSU (36-20) | NR |
| 9. | North Carolina (51-16) | 5 |
| 10. | Vanderbilt (54-12) | 4 |
| 11. | Georgia (33-22) | NR |
| 12. | Georgia Tech (42-21) | 20 |
| 13. | Texas (49-19) | 6 |
| 14. | UCLA (35-24) | 22 |
| 15. | TCU (43-19) | 19 |
| 16. | Clemson (43-20) | 21 |
| 17. | Arizona State (43-18) | 9 |
| 18. | Miami (Fla.) (38-23) | 17 |
| 19. | Oklahoma (41-19) | NR |
| 20. | Florida State (46-19) | 8 |
| 21. | UCF (39-23) | NR |
| 22. | Ole Miss (30-25) | NR |
| 23. | Oregon State (41-19) | 10 |
| 24. | Louisville (32-29) | NR |
| 25. | Cal State Fullerton (41-17) | 14 |
