Florida Baseball Recruiting Class Ranked No. 3 By Collegiate Baseball
Monday, September 22, 2014 | Baseball
The University of Florida landed the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation, according to Collegiate Baseball newspaper's annual evaluation of NCAA Division I baseball classes released on Monday. UF's ranking for eighth-year head coach Kevin O'Sullivan marks its sixth-consecutive time in the top 8 on the publication's list, after being No. 1 in 2009, No. 5 in 2010, No. 8 in 2011, No. 7 in 2012 and No. 1 in 2013.
Of the 11 new recruits which were brought in this fall by the Gators, seven were drafted by professional baseball last June — the second-highest number of drafted players ever landed in a Florida recruiting class (eight in last year's incoming class). The group includes 10 freshmen and a junior college transfer.
The Gators had seven signees from June's Draft who are now enrolled in school, as catcher JJ Schwarz was chosen in the 17th round with the 506th choice by the Milwaukee Brewers, catcher Mike Rivera was taken in the 33rd round with the 1,002nd pick by the Oakland Athletics, outfielder/left-hander Logan Browning was tabbed 1,085th overall in the 36th round by the Cincinnati Reds, infielder Dalton Guthrie was chosen by the Minnesota Twins in the 40th round with the 1,190th choice, right-hander Taylor Lewis was taken in the 40th round by the Colorado Rockies at No. 1,193, infielder Taylor Lane was chosen by the Milwaukee Brewers with the 1,196th pick in the 38th round and right-hander Alex Faedo was picked in the 40th round by the Detroit Tigers at No. 1,210.
“We have seven drafted players in school after having a school-record eight draftees come to Florida last year so that has given us a strong foundation in back-to-back years,” O'Sullivan said. “This group complements our needs going forward.”
LSU also continued a trend where a school from the Southeastern Conference has won the recruiting title in 11 of the last 12 years.
The rankings are based on players who enroll at school each fall. Athletes who initially signed letters of intent with a school but then signed a pro contract after being drafted do not count in the overall evaluation.
Last season, the Gators claimed the SEC Championship for the third time in five years and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the school-record seventh year in a row. Florida is scheduled to begin fall practice on Thursday, Oct. 16, at McKethan Stadium and will open its 2015 campaign on Feb. 13 in Gainesville versus Rhode Island.
For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on to GatorZone or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorZoneBB.
Collegiate Baseball's 2014 Recruiting Results
| Rank | School |
| 1. | LSU |
| 2. | Wichita State |
| 3. | FLORIDA |
| 4. | San Diego |
| 5. | Oklahoma State |
| 6. | Mississippi State |
| 7. | Texas |
| 8. | Stanford |
| 9. | Virginia |
| 10. | Cal State Fullerton |
| 11. | North Carolina |
| 12. | Oregon State |
| 13. | Texas Tech |
| 14. | Kentucky |
| 15. | Ole Miss |
| 16. | Arkansas |
| 17. | UCLA |
| 18. | Long Beach State |
| 19. | Oregon |
| 20t. | Miami (FL) |
| 20t. | Florida State |
| 22. | TCU |
| 23. | Rice |
| 24. | South Carolina |
| 25. | Vanderbilt |
| 26. | Louisville |
| 27. | Arizona State |
| 28. | Arizona |
| 29. | FIU |
| 30. | Michigan |
| 31. | Missouri |
| 32. | San Diego State |
| 33. | Houston |
| 34. | Tennessee |
| 35. | Clemson |
| 36. | Duke |
| 37. | Stetson |
| 38. | Florida Gulf Coast |
| 39. | California |
| 40t. | Texas A&M |
| 40t. | Auburn |
Other Top Recruiting Classes: Georgia Tech, Nevada, Dallas Baptist, Alabama, Maryland, Indiana, UC Irvine, UNLV, Southern California, NC State, Oklahoma, UCF, UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly, Kennesaw State, Notre Dame, Kansas, Loyola Marymount, UL-Lafayette, Georgia, Missouri State, Maine, Nebraska, Baylor, Hawaii, Minnesota, Southeastern Louisiana, South Alabama, Kansas State, Liberty, Kent State, Lipscomb, Fresno State, Sam Houston State, Pepperdine, North Florida, Old Dominion, Seton Hall, St. John's, Middle Tennessee, Oral Roberts, Georgia State, Tennessee Tech, UAB, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Virginia Tech, Washington, Washington State, Ball State, Western Michigan, Sam Houston State, West Virginia, Winthrop, Coastal Carolina, Connecticut, Central Michigan, Texas State, Southern Miss, Wake Forest, Tulane, USF, Jacksonville, San Francisco, Stony Brook, Ohio State, Purdue, New Mexico, Georgia Southern, Creighton, Illinois, UC Riverside, James Madison, William & Mary, East Carolina, Troy, Nicholls State
