FLORIDA NO. 1 IN CB’S PRE-SEASON POLL
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida is ranked No. 1 in Collegiate Baseball’s Fabulous 50 NCAA Division I pre-season poll presented by Big League Chew bubble gum.
Last season the Gators (16-1) won their first 16 games of the season before losing to Florida St., 2-0. It was the third longest win streak in program history.
Then the season was abruptly halted by the COVID-19 pandemic with the Gators ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball.
Florida was so dominating that the Gators outscored opponents 123-46 and utilized a pitching staff that averaged 11 strikeouts a game (187 total in 17 games) and had an ERA of 2.41 with only 47 walks.
Returning from that amazing ball club are eight position player starters and the entire weekend starting rotation along with key relief pitchers, including closers.
The team features six Collegiate Baseball pre-season All-Americans.
Note: The Collegiate Baseball pre-season All-American teams will be announced tomorrow morning.
The Gators also landed the fifth best recruiting class last fall, according to Collegiate Baseball, with a class of 10 exceptional athletes.
Florida returns an offense that averaged 7.2 runs per game last year and hit 21 homers and 32 doubles in just 17 games while stealing 24 of 28 bases.
The Gators had a fielding percentage of .984 and only committed 10 errors.
The Southeastern Conference led all leagues with five teams in the top 10 and 12 teams in the top 37.
The Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll. Its birth took place during the 1959 college baseball season.
The Jan. 8, 2021 College Preview edition of Collegiate Baseball newspaper is now available which features top players from every NCAA Division I Conference and projected Players and Pitchers Of The Year in each league.
Plus, Collegiate Baseball has an in-depth report on the top 40 pre-season teams in NCAA Division I, the top 78 draft eligible college players projected to be chosen in the top two rounds of the 2021 MLB Draft next June and rundowns on each level of college baseball.
In addition, a special feature story was written on how Vanderbilt was built into a juggernaut by Head Coach Tim Corbin. Prior to his arrival in 2003, the Commodores had losing records for five straight years. In 116 years of baseball, Vanderbilt never won more than 37 games during a season, and that happened only once. The program had never won an SEC regular-season title. With Corbin, the Commodores have won two national titles and posted a 753-359-1 record.
To purchase the Jan. 8, 2021 edition of Collegiate Baseball or subscribe, CLICK HERE.
Collegiate Baseball’s
2021 Pre-Season
NCAA Div. I Baseball Poll
(As of Dec. 21, 2020)
Presented By
www.bigleaguechew.com
| Rank | Team (2020 Final Record) | Points |
| 1. | Florida (16-1) | 498 |
| 2. | Vanderbilt (13-5) | 493 |
| 3. | UCLA (13-2) | 491 |
| 4. | Texas Tech. (16-3) | 488 |
| 5. | Mississippi (16-1) | 484 |
| 6. | Miami, Fla. (12-4) | 482 |
| 7. | Louisiana St. (12-5) | 480 |
| 8. | U.C. Santa Barbara (13-2) | 477 |
| 9. | Mississippi St. (12-4) | 474 |
| 10. | Arizona (10-5) | 473 |
| 11. | Louisville (13-4) | 470 |
| 12. | Georgia (14-4) | 469 |
| 13. | N.C. State (14-3) | 465 |
| 14. | Virginia (14-4) | 462 |
| 15. | Arizona St. (13-4) | 461 |
| 16. | East Carolina (13-4) | 457 |
| 17. | Oklahoma St. (13-5) | 454 |
| 18. | Michigan (8-7) | 453 |
| 19. | Texas Christian (11-4) | 451 |
| 20. | Texas (14-3) | 449 |
| 21. | South Carolina (12-4) | 447 |
| 22. | Arkansas (11-5) | 445 |
| 23. | Coastal Carolina (11-5) | 442 |
| 24. | Dallas Baptist (12-4) | 438 |
| 25. | Clemson (14-3) | 436 |
| 26. | Texas A&M (15-3) | 435 |
| 27. | Alabama (16-1) | 431 |
| 28. | Florida St. (12-5) | 430 |
| 29. | Southern Mississippi (12-4) | 427 |
| 30. | Texas St. (14-4) | 426 |
| 31. | Stetson (11-4) | 423 |
| 32. | Central Florida (15-3) | 421 |
| 33. | Pepperdine (12-3) | 418 |
| 34. | Georgia Tech. (11-5) | 416 |
| 35. | Tennessee (15-2) | 413 |
| 36. | Duke (12-4) | 409 |
| 37. | Auburn (13-5) | 405 |
| 38. | Central Michigan (11-6) | 402 |
| 39. | Indiana (9-6) | 399 |
| 40. | Winthrop (11-4) | 396 |
| 41. | Oklahoma (14-4) | 394 |
| 42. | U.C. Irvine (8-7) | 392 |
| 43. | Tulane (15-2) | 389 |
| 44. | Long Beach St. (10-5) | 385 |
| 45. | Wichita St. (13-2) | 382 |
| 46. | Minnesota (8-10) | 377 |
| 47. | Notre Dame (11-2) | 373 |
| 48. | Houston (6-9) | 370 |
| 49. | Oregon St. (5-9) | 368 |
| 50. | Stanford (5-11) | 365 |
Other Teams Receiving Votes: Kentucky (11-6), Southern California (10-5), North Carolina (12-7), Samford (13-2), Mercer (13-3), Belmont (14-3), San Diego St. (10-6), Fresno St. (9-7), New Mexico (14-4), Connecticut (8-5), Creighton (5-10), Stony Brook (6-9), West Virginia (11-5), Kansas St. (10-7), Washington (9-6), California (5-11), Oregon (8-7), Washington St. (9-7), Baylor (10-6), San Diego (12-4), Sacramento St. (9-7), Cal. St. Fullerton (4-12), U.C. San Diego (17-4), Cal. Poly (5-11), College of Charleston (12-2), Louisiana Tech. (11-6), Florida Atlantic (10-6), Texas-Arlington (12-4), Missouri (11-5), N.C. Greensboro (12-5), East Tennessee St. (12-3), Wofford (14-3), The Citadel (10-6), South Alabama (8-10), Grand Canyon (9-9), New Mexico St. (12-4), Georgia Southern (11-5), Louisiana-Lafayette (8-9), Appalachian St. (11-6), Louisiana-Monroe (12-5), Brigham Young (7-9), Troy (9-8), Sam Houston St. (7-7), McNeese St. (10-7), Northwestern St. (12-4), Kent St. (7-7), Ball St. (7-9), Western Michigan (9-6), Miami, OH (8-7), Yale (3-7), Wright St. (6-9), N.C. Wilmington (11-5), Illinois (8-5), Iowa (10-5), Ohio St. (6-8), Maryland (10-5), Nebraska (7-8), Campbell (7-9), S.C. Upstate (13-5), Liberty (10-7), Gonzaga (6-10), Loyola Marymount (8-8), Portland (12-4), Santa Clara (12-5), Virginia Commonwealth (9-8), Davidson (13-3), Cal. St. Northridge (10-5), Hawaii (11-6), Seton Hall (6-8), Illinois St. (7-9), Missouri St. (9-8), Rhode Island (8-5), Navy (14-1), Army (6-9).
Source: Collegiate Baseball
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