Gators Ranked No. 6 In Baseball America Preseason College Top 25 Poll
Monday, January 26, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida was ranked No. 6 in Baseball America's Preseason College Top 25 released on Monday. Head coach Kevin O'Sullivan's club begins its season on Feb. 13 against Rhode Island at McKethan Stadium. Defending national champion Vanderbilt headlines the top five, followed by LSU, Houston, Virginia and Texas Tech. The Gators had previously been ranked No. 2 by D1Baseball.com, No. 4 by Perfect Game and No. 6 by Collegiate Baseball.
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 four other teams are ranked in the Top 15: Vanderbilt, 1st; LSU, 2nd; South Carolina, 13th; Mississippi State, 14th.
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 Baseball America Preseason Poll
| Rank | School ('14 Final Record) | 2014 Rank |
| 1. | Vanderbilt (51-21) | 1 |
| 2. | LSU (46-16-1) | 22 |
| 3. | Houston (48-18) | 11 |
| 4. | Virginia (53-16) | 2 |
| 5. | Texas Tech (45-21) | 9 |
| 6. | FLORIDA (40-23) | 18 |
| 7. | TCU (48-18) | 5 |
| 8. | Oklahoma State (48-18) | 10 |
| 9. | Miami (FL) (44-19) | 23 |
| 10. | Texas (46-21) | 4 |
| 11. | UCLA (25-30-1) | NR |
| 12. | Louisville (50-17) | 6 |
| 13. | South Carolina (44-18) | 25 |
| 14. | Mississippi State (39-24) | NR |
| 15. | Rice (42-20) | NR |
| 16. | Maryland (40-23) | 14 |
| 17. | North Carolina (35-27) | NR |
| 18. | Arizona State (33-24) | NR |
| 19. | Kennesaw State (40-24) | 16 |
| 20. | Oregon (44-20) | NR |
| 21. | Florida State (43-17) | 19 |
| 22. | UCF (36-23) | NR |
| 23. | Cal State Fullerton (34-24) | NR |
| 24. | Clemson (36-25) | NR |
| 25. | Liberty (41-18) | NR |
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.
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