Gators Ranked No. 5 In USA Today Preseason Top 25 Coaches’ Poll
Thursday, January 29, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Florida was ranked No. 5 in USA Today's Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll released on Thursday. 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 Virginia, TCU, LSU and the Gators. UF had previously been ranked No. 2 by D1Baseball.com, No. 4 by Perfect Game and No. 6 by both Baseball America and 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 six other teams are ranked: Vanderbilt, 1st; LSU, 4th; South Carolina, 10th; Ole Miss, 18th; Texas A&M, 23rd; Mississippi State, 25th.
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 USA Today Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll
| Rank | School ('14 Final Record) | 2014 Rank |
| 1. | Vanderbilt (51-21) | 1 |
| 2. | Virginia (53-16) | 2 |
| 3. | TCU (48-18) | 5 |
| 4. | LSU (46-16-1) | 16 |
| 5. | FLORIDA (40-23) | 24 |
| 6. | Texas (46-21) | 3 |
| 7t. | Louisville (50-17) | 6 |
| 7t. | Oklahoma State (48-18) | 10 |
| 9. | UCLA (25-30-1) | NR |
| 10. | South Carolina (44-18) | 22 |
| 11. | Houston (48-18) | 11 |
| 12. | Florida State (43-17) | 21 |
| 13. | Texas Tech (45-21) | 8t |
| 14. | Miami (FL) (44-19) | 23 |
| 15. | North Carolina (35-27) | NR |
| 16. | Oregon (44-20) | NR |
| 17. | Rice (42-20) | 25 |
| 18. | Ole Miss (48-21) | 4 |
| 19. | Cal State Fullerton (34-24) | NR |
| 20. | Maryland (40-23) | 13 |
| 21. | Arizona State (33-24) | NR |
| 22. | Stanford (35-26) | 15 |
| 23. | Texas A&M (36-26) | NR |
| 24. | Cal Poly (47-12) | 18 |
| 25. | Mississippi State (39-24) | 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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