Gators ranked No. 16

Florida finished 29-30 in 2013, the first sub .500 team under head coach Kevin O’Sullivan. However, bolstered by back-to-back top rated recruiting classes, O’Sullivan has his Gators team poised to make a comeback in 2014 and the nation’s oldest college baseball poll sees Florida’s potential.

Collegiate Baseball’s Fabulous 40 NCAA Division I Preseason Poll — a yearly poll since 1958 — released on Friday and ranked the Gators as the No. 16 team in the country. Florida was the only team listed in the top-40 that had more losses than wins last season.

This marks the sixth straight season that O’Sullivan’s Gators have been ranked in the top-40 in this poll. Florida was ranked No. 25 (2009), No. 9 (2010), No. 2 (2011), No. 1 (2012) and No. 24 (2013). Florida is one of eight SEC teams listed in the top-40 and all 14 clubs from the Southeastern Conference are either listed or mentioned in other teams receiving votes.

Florida will kick off their season with a three game home stand against an unranked Maryland team, the first three games of 34 that will be played at McKethan Stadium this season. The Gators will play 21-of-56 games this season against teams that are ranked in the Collegiate Baseball Poll.

 

Rank School (’13 Final Record) Points
1. Cal State Fullerton (51-10) 495
2. Mississippi State (51-20) 493
3. LSU (57-11) 491
4. Oregon State (52-13) 487
5. Florida State (47-17) 485
6. Oregon (48-16) 483
7. Indiana (49-16) 481
8. Louisville (51-14) 479
9. Vanderbilt (54-12) 477
10. NC State (50-16) 474
11. North Carolina (59-12) 471
12. Virginia (50-12) 468
13. Miami (FL) (37-25) 465
14. South Carolina (43-20) 463
15. UCLA (49-17) 460
16. FLORIDA (29-30) 457
17. Rice (44-20) 455
18. Oklahoma State (41-19) 454
19. TCU (29-28) 451
20. Texas (27-24) 450
21. Clemson (40-22) 447
22. Arizona State (37-22-1) 445
23. UL-Lafayette (43-10) 443
24. Arizona (34-21) 441
25. Texas A&M (34-29) 437
26. Stanford (32-22) 435
27. Cal Poly (40-19) 432
28. Kansas State (45-19) 430
29. Alabama (35-28) 423
30. Ole Miss (38-24) 421
31. Western Carolina (39-20) 419
32. Oklahoma (43-21) 417
33. San Diego (37-25) 414
34. Wichita State (39-28) 411
35. Liberty (36-29) 409
36. Tennessee Tech (40-17) 404
37. New Mexico (37-22) 403
38. East Carolina (31-26) 400
39. UC Santa Barbara (34-23) 396
40. Coastal Carolina (37-23) 395

 

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC