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| |
College Baseball
Poll -
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:
Monday, Dec. 19, 2011
FLORIDA NO. 1 IN
COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER PRE-SEASON POLL
TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of
Florida is the overwhelming favorite to capture the 2012 NCAA Division I College
World Series, according to Collegiate Baseball’s Fabulous 40 NCAA
Division I pre-season poll.
The Gators return one of the
strongest teams in college baseball history after finishing second at the CWS
last season to South Carolina. Florida brings back seven players who are
Louisville Slugger pre-season All-Americans, an all-time record. In addition,
seven players have the potential of being drafted in the first three rounds of
next June’s Free Agent Draft.
The talent level is so high
that up to 14 players could be drafted next June, according to Head Coach Kevin
O’Sullivan. The Gators landed Collegiate Baseball’s No. 1 recruiting
class in the nation during the fall of 2009 with many of these players key
components of the 2012 team. That class featured seven drafted players among the
11-man class.
Florida followed that with a
recruiting class ranked fifth in 2010 with six players being drafted among the
eight brought in. The headliner in that class was RHP Karsten Whitson (Chipley
H.S., FL) who was a first round draft pick of the Padres. The 6-foot-4,
190-pounder’s fastball topped out at 96 mph. Last season as a freshman for
Florida, he was 8-1 with a 2.40 ERA, 92 strikeouts and only 28 walks. According
to news accounts, Whitson turned down a signing bonus close to $2 million to be
a Gator.
Florida then landed a
recruiting class ranked eighth nationally in 2011 (four drafted players).
The high profile players who
are expected to go in the first three rounds of the 2012 draft include:
 | C Mike Zunino (SEC Player of The Year in
2011, .371, 19 HR, 23 2B, 67 RBI). |
| LHP/1B Brian Johnson (8-3, 3.62 ERA, 72
K, 15 BB, .307, 5 HR, 11 2B, 29 RBI). |
| RHP/1B Austin Maddox (5 SV, 3-0, 0.67
ERA, .280, 6 HR, 3 2B, 35 RBI). |
| RHP Hudson Randall (11-3, 2.17 ERA, 73 K,
13 BB). |
| SS Nolan Fontana (great defense, .289, 5
HR, 12 2B, 49 RBI). |
| RF Preston Tucker (.308, 15 HR, 23 2B, 74
RBI). |
| LHP Steve Rodriguez (4-2, 2 SV, 1.91 ERA,
44 K, 12 BB). |
And you could go on and on
about the superb athletes Florida can bring to the table.
Florida has extraordinary
starting pitchers, relievers and closers for any potential hitting matchup.
Offensively, the team hit .307 with 69 home runs last season and belted 143
doubles as the Gators averaged 6.3 runs per game. In the final 2011 national
NCAA statistics, Florida ranked No. 1 in hits by its offense (755), No. 5 in
doubles, and No. 5 in homers.
The pitching staff ranked No.
1 in the nation in walks allowed per nine innings at 1.82. The staff had a 2.95
team ERA and had more than a 4:1 strikeout to walk ratio (547 strikeouts and 130
walks).
Opponents had a difficult time
running on the Gators last season with an All-American catching in Zunino and a
pitching staff that kept runners close. Only 31 bases were stolen off the Gators
last season in 47 attempts over 72 games.
For a detailed rundown on the
top 40 teams, see the Jan. 6, 2012 edition of Collegiate Baseball
newspaper which also includes a complete look at every NCAA Division I
Conference with pre-season rankings and a listing of top players in each league,
including projected pitchers and players of the year.
In addition, this issue of
Collegiate Baseball features a draft preview of all potential college
players who may be picked in the first two rounds of the 2012 Free Agent Draft
next spring and Louisville Slugger pre-season All-American teams.
- The "Collegiate Baseball"
Newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll. Its birth took
place during the 1958 college baseball season.
-
|
Collegiate
Baseball Newspaper's |
|
NCAA Div. I Pre-Season Poll (As
of Dec. 19, 2011) |
|
www.baseballnews.com |
|
Rank School (’11 Final
Record) |
Points |
|
1. Florida (53-19) |
497 |
|
2. South Carolina
(55-14) |
494 |
|
3. Stanford (35-22) |
490 |
|
4. North Carolina
(51-16) |
488 |
|
5. Texas (49-19) |
485 |
|
6. Texas A&M (47-22) |
484 |
|
7. Rice (42-21) |
482 |
|
8. Arkansas (40-22) |
479 |
|
9. Georgia Tech. (42-21) |
476 |
|
10. Texas Christian
(43-19) |
474 |
|
11. St. John's (36-22) |
470 |
|
12. Louisiana St.
(36-20) |
468 |
|
13. Florida St. (46-19) |
465 |
|
14. Miami, Fla. (38-23) |
464 |
|
15. Louisville (32-29) |
460 |
|
16. Oklahoma (41-19) |
458 |
|
17. Arizona St. (43-18) |
457 |
|
18. Georgia (33-32) |
455 |
|
19. UCLA (35-24) |
454 |
|
20. Arizona (39-21) |
452 |
|
21. Cal. St. Fullerton
(41-17) |
449 |
|
22. California (38-23) |
447 |
|
23. Vanderbilt (54-12) |
445 |
|
24. Oregon St. (41-19) |
443 |
|
25. Clemson (43-20) |
437 |
|
26. Stetson (43-20) |
435 |
|
27. Oregon (33-26-1) |
432 |
|
28. Baylor (31-28) |
430 |
|
29. U.C. Irvine (43-18) |
425 |
|
30. Southern Miss.
(39-19) |
422 |
|
31. Missouri St. (33-23) |
419 |
|
32. College of
Charleston (39-22) |
417 |
|
33. Virginia (56-12) |
413 |
|
34. Georgia Southern
(36-26) |
412 |
|
35. Texas St. (41-23) |
408 |
|
36. Central Florida
(39-23) |
406 |
|
37. Wichita St. (39-26) |
403 |
|
38. Jacksonville (37-24) |
400 |
|
39. Florida
International (40-20-1) |
397 |
|
40. Southern California
(25-31) |
395 |
|
Other Teams
Receiving Votes: Coastal Carolina, Oklahoma St., Charlotte,
East Carolina, Kent St., Creighton, Oral Roberts, Troy, South
Alabama, San Diego, Gonzaga, San Francisco, Fresno St., Hawaii,
Dallas Baptist, N.C. State, Alabama, Mississippi St., Auburn,
Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Stony Brook, Maine, Connecticut,
Seton Hall, Notre Dame, South Florida, Liberty, Winthrop, Purdue,
Michigan St., Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas St., Texas
Tech., Missouri, Cal Poly, Long Beach St., U.C. Riverside, James
Madison, Tulane, Houston, Manhattan, Rider, Central Michigan,
Illinois St., New Mexico, San Diego St., Nevada-Las Vegas, Austin
Peay St., Samford, Elon, N.C. Greensboro, S.E. Louisiana, Stephen F.
Austin, Louisiana-Lafayette, Western Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, San
Jose St., New Mexico St., Cal. St. Bakersfield.
Source:
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper |
|
