The Gators checked in at No. 6 in Baseball America’s preseason poll, which was released on Monday morning.
They have now been ranked in all four preseason polls that have been released so far, including three appearances in the top-10. UF was previously ranked No. 6 by Collegiate Baseball, No. 9 by D1Baseball and No. 23 by Perfect Game.
The Gators are the third-highest ranked team from the SEC, which leads the nation with eight teams in the Baseball America poll.
Florida has eight preseason top-25 teams on its schedule: No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 3 Mississippi State, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 10 LSU, No. 12 Florida State, No. 14 Georgia, No. 17 Tennessee and No. 25 Miami.
Florida returns 19 players from the 2021 squad that earned the opportunity to host a regional but went 0-2 in the postseason. Among those returnees are six offensive starters and ace pitcher Hunter Barco.
Additionally, the Gators have welcomed in a 16-player freshmen class that was ranked No. 1 in the country by Perfect Game and No. 2 by D1Baseball and Baseball America.
The Gators will begin practice on Friday in advance of their season opener against Liberty on Feb. 18.
Here’s the complete Baseball America preseason poll:
1. Texas
2. Vanderbilt
3. Mississippi State
4. Notre Dame
5. Virginia
6. Florida
7. Stanford
8. Arkansas
9. Ole Miss
10. LSU
11. Oregon State
12. Florida State
13. Arizona
14. Georgia
15. East Carolina
16. NC State
17. Tennessee
18. UC Irvine
19. Oklahoma State
20. Nebraska
21. Georgia Tech
22. UCLA
23. Texas Tech
24. Old Dominion
25. Miami