The Florida Gators open the 2021 season as the No. 1 ranked program in the D1Baseball Top 25 poll, starting the new campaign exactly where they ended in 2020.
This is the third time in the six-year history of the D1Baseball Top 25 that Florida is starting a new campaign as the preseason top-ranked team.
The Gators, who went 16-1 last term before the season was halted prematurely in the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic, are returning several talents, especially on the mound and around the diamond, making the SEC outfits the team to beat in college baseball.
In fact, six of the Florida returners are ranked in Baseball America’s 2021 Major League Baseball Draft Top 200 Prospects.
UCLA starts the season at No. 2 and is followed by Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, and Louisville in the Top 5. There are five SEC teams ranked in the Top 10, with No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 Mississippi State, and No. 8 Arkansas following the Gators and Commodores.
Big 12 outfits Texas and TCU rounded out the Top 10.
UC Santa Barbara is No. 11 and is followed by LSU, NC State, West Virginia and Georgia Tech in the Top 15, while the next five are No. 16 Virginia, Wake Forest, South Carolina, Tennessee and Oklahoma State.
The last five are completed by Miami, Arizona, Auburn, Florida State and East Carolina.
D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings
| RANK | TEAM | 2020 RECORD | 2020 FINAL RANK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | 16-1 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 13-2 | 5 |
| 3 | Texas Tech | 16-3 | 4 |
| 4 | Vanderbilt | 13-5 | 6 |
| 5 | Louisville | 13-4 | 2 |
| 6 | Ole Miss | 16-1 | 8 |
| 7 | Mississippi State | 12-4 | 17 |
| 8 | Arkansas | 11-5 | 14 |
| 9 | Texas | 14-3 | NR |
| 10 | TCU | 11-4 | NR |
| 11 | UC Santa Barbara | 13-2 | 23 |
| 12 | LSU | 12-5 | 19 |
| 13 | NC State | 14-2 | 11 |
| 14 | West Virginia | 11-5 | NR |
| 15 | Georgia Tech | 11-5 | NR |
| 16 | Virginia | 14-4 | 25 |
| 17 | Wake Forest | 10-8 | NR |
| 18 | South Carolina | 12-4 | NR |
| 19 | Tennessee | 15-2 | NR |
| 20 | Oklahoma State | 13-5 | NR |
| 21 | Miami | 12-4 | 7 |
| 22 | Arizona | 10-5 | NR |
| 23 | Auburn | 13-5 | 18 |
| 24 | Florida State | 12-5 | 15 |
| 25 | East Carolina | 13-4 | NR |
