Florida returns 17 players featuring five positional starters from last year’s College World Series team.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Fresh off a second-straight trip to the Men’s College World Series, the Florida Gators were tabbed as the No. 11 team in Perfect Game’s preseason rankings for the 2025 campaign.
Although not the default rankings used widely across college baseball, Perfect Game’s top 25 represents the first preseason list from a national publication. Expected in February, D1Baseball will provide the standard top-25 rankings that are accepted and utilized across the sport’s landscape.
Per usual, the Southeastern Conference paced all leagues with 10 teams on the preseason list, followed by the Atlantic Coast Conference with six. Other SEC programs inside the top 25 include No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 2 LSU, No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 Tennessee, No. 7 Texas, No. 13 Arkansas, No. 15 Vanderbilt, No. 20 Oklahoma and No. 22 Auburn.
Florida returns 17 total players from last year’s College World Series team, featuring five positional starters in designated hitter/catcher Brody Donay<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/brody-donay/16621>, outfielder Ty Evans<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ty-evans/16368>, catcher Luke Heyman<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-heyman/16370>, second baseman Cade Kurland<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/cade-kurland/16372> and shortstop Colby Shelton<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/colby-shelton/16639>. Postseason star Ashton Wilson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/ashton-wilson/16638> and rising sophomore outfielder Hayden Yost<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/hayden-yost/16633> look to take another step forward in year two in Orange & Blue.
The Gators also bring back nine pitchers headlined by projected staff ace Liam Peterson<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/liam-peterson/16631>, southpaw Pierce Coppola<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/pierce-coppola/16367>, right-hander Jake Clemente<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/jake-clemente/16366> and righty Luke McNeillie<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/luke-mcneillie/16629>. The former three figure to be in line for starting work, whereas McNeillie, lefty Frank Menendez<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/frank-menendez/16627> and right-hander Alex Philpott<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/alex-philpott/16632> will construct the framework of the bullpen in addition to Clemson transfer Billy Barlow.
Other blue-chip transfers in Gainesville include Bobby Boser (USF), Blake Cyr (Miami), Kyle Jones (Stetson), Justin Nadeau (Jacksonville) and Landon Stripling (Texas Tech). Cyr and Jones appear to have locked up starting spots in the UF outfield alongside Evans. At the hot corner, Boser projects to receive the bulk of the starts after three strong seasons at USF.
Florida opens the 2025 regular season<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/schedule> at home on Friday, Feb. 14 against Air Force, hosting the Falcons for a three-game series (Feb. 14-16) for the first time in program history. Season tickets<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/buy/virtual-venue/QlMyNQ==?utm_source=WEB&utm_medium=STORY&utm_campaign=BASE-SEASON&camefrom=CFC_GATORS_WEB_STORY_BASE-SEASON> and SEC Five-Pack Mini-Plans<https://am.ticketmaster.com/gators/en/buy/flexplan/10312?utm_source=WEB&utm_medium=STORY&utm_campaign=BASE-MINI&camefrom=CFC_GATORS_WEB_STORY_BASE-MINI> are currently on sale now.
###
