Gators Ranked No. 2 in Inaugural D1Baseball Preseason Poll
Monday, January 19, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida was ranked No. 2 in the inaugural D1Baseball poll released on Monday. The Internet's premier destination for college baseball scores, schedules and standings for the last 12 years, D1Baseball is adding comprehensive coverage of college baseball through the additions of ESPN personality Kyle Peterson, national writers Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers, and regional bloggers Mark Etheridge (Southeast), Dustin McComas (Southwest), Michael Baumann (North), and Eric Sorenson and Shotgun Spratling (West).
Defending national champion Vanderbilt headlines the publication's top five, followed by the Gators, Virginia, UCLA and South Carolina. The Orange and Blue will begin the 2015 campaign on Feb. 13 at McKethan Stadium, when Rhode Island visits for the opener of a three-game series.
Last season, Florida won its third SEC title in the past five seasons and advanced to NCAA Regionals for the seventh year in a row, the longest run in school history. The Gators have also reached the College World Series in three of the past five campaigns. UF has close to half of its games versus opponents who advanced to the 2014 NCAA Tournament, including home series against Alabama, Kentucky, Miami and South Carolina, and will have a pair of road series against teams that advanced to Omaha (Ole Miss and Vanderbilt). The Gators return 22 letterwinners and are bolstered by the nation's No. 3 recruiting class from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game.
Florida joins several other SEC programs in the poll, as seven other teams are either ranked (Vanderbilt, 1st; South Carolina, 5th; LSU, 9th; Texas A&M, 17th; Ole Miss, 18th; Alabama, 20th; Tennessee, 25th. Senior left-hander Bobby Poyner (pictured right) is one of two seniors for the Orange and Blue.
The contest with the Rams begins the 35-game home schedule at McKethan Stadium, where the Gators boast a 198-63 (.759) mark in Kevin O'Sullivan's tenure.
2015 D1Baseball's Preseason Poll
| Rank | School ('14 Final Record) |
| 1. | Vanderbilt (51-21) |
| 2. | FLORIDA (40-23) |
| 3. | Virginia (53-16) |
| 4. | UCLA (25-30-1) |
| 5. | South Carolina (44-18) |
| 6. | North Carolina (35-27) |
| 7. | Houston (48-18) |
| 8. | TCU (48-18) |
| 9. | LSU (46-16-1) |
| 10. | Texas (46-21) |
| 11. | Louisville (50-17) |
| 12. | Oklahoma State (48-18) |
| 13. | Rice (42-20) |
| 14. | Maryland (40-23) |
| 15. | Miami (FL) (44-19) |
| 16. | Texas Tech (45-21) |
| 17. | Texas A&M (36-26) |
| 18. | Ole Miss (48-21) |
| 19. | Cal State Fullerton (34-24) |
| 20. | Alabama (37-24) |
| 21. | Florida State (43-17) |
| 22. | Oregon (44-20) |
| 23. | Nebraska (41-21) |
| 24. | Arizona State (33-24) |
| 25. | Tennessee (31-23) |
Season tickets for the 2015 Gator Baseball season are on sale and can be purchased online through GatorZone or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on to GatorZone or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorZoneBB at www.twitter.com/GatorZoneBB.
