Following a College World Series run last season the Florida Gators will enter the 2016 season as the No. 1 team in the country according to Collegiate Baseball’s Fabulous 40 NCAA Division I Preseason Poll released on Monday.
This is the eighth consecutive season that the Gators have been ranked in the nation’s oldest college baseball poll and began last season as the No. 6 ranked team in the country.
The Gators lost key players like Harrison Bader, Richie Martin, Taylor Lewis and Josh Tobias but they get back a lot of talent, specifically on the mound.
Logan Shore and A.J. Puk will lead the Gators on the weekend and both are projected as first round picks when the Rule 5 Amateur Draft takes place this season. The Gators pitching staff is deep with returners Dane Dunning, Alex Faedo, Kirby Snead and newcomer Brady Singer. The Gators also welcome back Buddy Reed, who is projected as one of the top draft eligible college players this season, Dalton Guthrie, Mike Rivera, JJ Schwarz, Pete Alonzo and Ryan Larson.
Kevin O’Sullivan’s squad is no stranger to high expectations and their No. 1 ranking goes right along with an Omaha or bust mentality in 2016.
2016 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s NCAA Division I Preseason Poll
Rank | School (’15 Final Record) | Points |
FLORIDA (52-18) | 495 | |
Louisville (47-18) | 492 | |
Vanderbilt (51-21) | 489 | |
Miami (FL) (50-17) | 487 | |
Texas A&M (50-14) | 484 | |
UL-Lafayette (42-23) | 483 | |
LSU (54-12) | 481 | |
Oregon State (39-18-1) | 480 | |
Virginia (44-24) | 475 | |
UCLA (45-16) | 473 | |
Mississippi State (24-30) | 469 | |
Cal State Fullerton (39-25) | 467 | |
California (36-21) | 466 | |
Oregon (38-25) | 463 | |
TCU (51-15) | 461 | |
Florida State (44-21) | 460 | |
Missouri State (49-12) | 457 | |
Houston (43-20) | 455 | |
Tulane (35-25) | 453 | |
Rice (37-22) | 451 | |
Georgia Tech (32-23) | 449 | |
North Carolina (34-24) | 446 | |
Michigan (39-25) | 444 | |
Arkansas (40-25) | 443 | |
Oklahoma State (38-20) | 438 | |
Stony Brook (35-16-1) | 436 | |
Notre Dame (37-23) | 434 | |
Maryland (42-24) | 432 | |
Kentucky (30-25) | 430 | |
Pepperdine (32-29) | 427 | |
Dallas Baptist (46-15) | 425 | |
College of Charleston (45-15) | 423 | |
Coastal Carolina (39-21) | 421 | |
Missouri (30-28) | 419 | |
South Carolina (32-25) | 417 | |
San Diego State (41-23) | 414 | |
South Alabama (37-20) | 411 | |
Winthrop (40-19) | 409 | |
Texas Tech (31-24) | 407 | |
Texas (30-27) | 405 |
Other Teams Receiving Votes: Southern California (39-21), Southeastern Louisiana (42-17), Arizona State (35-23), Florida Atlantic (42-19), Arizona (31-24), Oklahoma (34-27), Stanford (24-32), Auburn (36-26), Ole Miss (30-28), Tennessee (24-26), Alabama (32-28), Georgia (26-28), San Diego (33-22), Iowa (41-18), Clemson (32-29), UC Irvine (33-23), Long Beach State (28-26), UC Santa Barbara (40-17-1), Kent State (31-22), Creighton (32-19), North Florida (45-16), Southern Miss (36-18-1), Nevada (41-15), Illinois (50-10-1), East Carolina (40-22), Wichita State (26-33), New Mexico (32-27), Grand Canyon (32-22), Gonzaga (24-28), Loyola Marymount (33-21-1), Troy (30-25), Texas State (24-32-1), Oral Roberts (41-16), Sam Houston State (31-28), Wofford (39-22), Mercer (35-22), Samford (32-26), UCF (31-27), USF (34-26-1), Southeast Missouri (36-23), Bryant (29-25), Fresno State (31-28), Central Michigan (35-22), Ball State (33-25), Wright State (43-17), UNC Wilmington (41-18), Indiana (35-24), Radford (45-16), Liberty (33-23), St. John’s (41-16), Seton Hall (25-25), St. Louis (35-21), Stetson (29-30), Florida Gulf Coast (30-26-1), Lipscomb (39-20), Wake Forest (27-26), NC State (36-23), Connecticut (35-25).
Gators’ 2016 opponents in Bold Italics