Florida Opens at No. 4 in PG Preseason Rankings
Florida returns 14 players from its 2023 SEC Championship squad.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The reigning SEC Champion Florida Gators debuted at No. 4 in the Perfect Game Preseason Top 25 as announced by the publication on Friday.
The ranking marks a notable improvement from last year, when Florida opened at No. 8 on Perfect Game’s list and went on to make a run to the NCAA College World Series Finals.
Florida is one of eight SEC programs to earn mention in the top 25, which is the most of any conference: Arkansas (No. 2), LSU (No. 3), Vanderbilt (No. 6), Texas A&M (No. 7), Tennessee (No. 11), South Carolina (No. 13) and Auburn (No. 15).
Florida returns 14 players from its 2023 NCAA Runner-Up squad including positional starters Jac Caglianone<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jac-caglianone/15489>, Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/15514>, Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/15522>, Tyler Shelnut<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/tyler-shelnut/15515> and Ty Evans<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ty-evans/15491> in addition to returning contributors Michael Robertson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/michael-robertson/15505> and Dale Thomas<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/dale-thomas/15512>. Along with All-American Brandon Neely<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brandon-neely/15499> and Freshman All-American Cade Fisher<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-fisher/15513>, Caglianone slots back into a talented pitching staff that welcomes the returns of Ryan Slater<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ryan-slater/15506>, Blake Purnell<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/blake-purnell/15502> and Fisher Jameson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/fisher-jameson/15496>. A deep class of 22 newcomers bolsters the 2024 roster, anchored by seven transfers as the Gators look to make a repeat trip to the College World Series.
The Gators open up the 2024 season<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/schedule> with a three-game series against St. John’s spanning from Friday, Feb. 16 through Sunday, Feb. 18 at Condron Family Ballpark.
Below is a complete breakdown of PG’s Preseason Top 25 with Florida’s 2024 opponents in bold.
1. Wake Forest
2. Arkansas
3. LSU
4. FLORIDA
5. TCU
6. Vanderbilt
7. Texas A&M
8. Texas
9. Oregon State
10. Virginia
11. Tennessee
12. Stanford
13. South Carolina
14. North Carolina
15. Auburn
16. Iowa
17. East Carolina
18. UCLA
19. NC State
20. Kansas State
21. Clemson
22. Oklahoma State
23. Duke
24. UC Santa Barbara
25. Coastal Carolina
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