UF BSB: Gators Earn Consensus Top-Two Recruiting Class

Florida is the only program in the nation to be ranked inside the top two by D1Baseball, Baseball America and Perfect Game and the only school to make the top 10 in all seven years of D1Baseball’s rankings.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida baseball program’s 2021 recruiting class was ranked No. 2 nationally and as the top class in the Southeastern Conference, as announced by D1Baseball on Friday.

D1Baseball is the third publication to rank the Gators’ 2021 class inside the top two, joining Baseball America<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_news_2021_9_8_gators-2Dranked-2Dno-2D2-2Din-2Dbaseball-2Damericas-2D2021-2Dtop-2Drecruiting-2Dclasses.aspx&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=0Ola2nkETvIAVTJRSqRf2fl29WmIF3Uy4ZXbeCco4ly3-zJ_TDUI9Ya6ctC_g8l7&s=bnIhvc56DawOM2WstZQA0u-9lw5Rp7e4D6RXQ4aebzo&e= > in putting Florida second while Perfect Game<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_news_2021_9_27_baseball-2Dfloridas-2D2021-2Drecruiting-2Dclass-2Dranked-2Dno-2D1-2Dby-2Dperfect-2Dgame.aspx&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=0Ola2nkETvIAVTJRSqRf2fl29WmIF3Uy4ZXbeCco4ly3-zJ_TDUI9Ya6ctC_g8l7&s=dodmPUMOF_KvDMi0hiHf8hvk08Bu64iA0P3fUhfsWBM&e= > tabbed the Orange & Blue as the best in the land. No other college program was ranked inside the top two by all three publications.

With the announcement, Florida is the only NCAA program to land inside the top 10 in all seven years of D1Baseball’s rankings, peaking at No. 1 in 2019. Dating back to the 2015-16 season, Florida has ranked inside the top six in six out of seven seasons and within the top two nationally on four occasions.

From D1Baseball: “The Gators are a fixture near the top of these rankings, landing in the top 10 in each of the seven years we have ranked recruiting classes and topping the list in 2018. Florida has been a recruiting juggernaut ever since Kevin O’Sullivan and Craig Bell arrived in Gainesville, but this class stacks up with any of the best classes they have brought in. It’s built around the nation’s best group of freshman arms and another strong collection of freshman position players.”

2021: No. 2
2020: No. 6
2019: No. 1
2018: No. 10
2017: No. 2
2016: No. 5
2015: No. 2

As the top-ranked program in the conference, Florida’s No. 2 status leads a group of a nation-leading nine schools inside the top 25 for the SEC. The remaining SEC schools trailing Florida in the top 25 are Arkansas (No. 3), Mississippi State (No. 4), Texas A&M (No. 5), LSU (No. 9), Georgia (No. 12), Tennessee (No. 15), Vanderbilt (No. 17) and Alabama (No. 19). Only UCLA (No. 1) of the Pacific-12 Conference topped Florida in the rankings.

Despite having each of its top-three ranked signees ink Major League Baseball contracts this summer, the Gators still managed to recruit an impressive collection of sixteen freshmen and one transfer to Gainesville. Florida’s highly-touted crop of newcomers can be found below.

2021-22 Florida Baseball Newcomers
Name    Position        B/T     Class   Hometown        High School/Previous
Philip Abner    LHP     L/L     Freshman        Charlotte, N.C. Charlotte Christian
Jac Caglianone  LHP/1B  L/L     Freshman        Tampa, Fla.     Plant HS
Pierce Coppola  LHP     L/L     Freshman        Verona, N.J.    Verona HS
Jorge De Goti   INF     R/R     Freshman        Miami, Fla.     Belen Jesuit Prep
Carsten Finnvold        LHP     L/L     Freshman        Boca Raton, Fla.        American Heritage HS
Ty Evans        OF      R/R     Freshman        Lakeland, Fla.  Lakeland Christian School
Deric Fabian    INF     R/R     Freshman        Ocala, Fla.     North Marion HS
Karl Hartman    RHP     R/R     Freshman        Merritt Island, Fla.    Rockledge HS
Fisher Jameson  RHP     R/R     Freshman        Lake Worth, Fla.        Park Vista Community HS
Rene Lastres    C       R/R     Freshman        Hialeah Gardens, Fla.   Calvary Christian Academy
Brandon Neely   RHP     R/R     Freshman        Seville, Fla.   Spruce Creek HS
Matt Prevesk    OF      L/L     Freshman        Apopka, Fla.    Apopka HS
BT Riopelle     C       L/R     Junior* Belleair, Fla.  Coastal Carolina (transfer)
Michael Robertson       OF      L/R     Freshman        Venice, Fla.    Venice Senior HS
Corey Robinson  OF      R/R     Freshman        Port Orange, Fla.       Spruce Creek HS
Sam Sloan       RHP     R/R     Freshman        Bartow, Fla.    Lakeland Senior HS
Anthony Ursitti RHP     R/R     Freshman        Fort Myers, Fla.        Canterbury HS

Florida is set to open the 2022 season at home the weekend of Feb. 18-20 in the form of a three-game series against Liberty of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Ticket Information
Season and single-game tickets are currently on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__floridagators.com_sports_2015_12_10_-5Ftickets-5Fbaseball-5F.aspx&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=0Ola2nkETvIAVTJRSqRf2fl29WmIF3Uy4ZXbeCco4ly3-zJ_TDUI9Ya6ctC_g8l7&s=5rsBGoXvAVfpohRF-yRJH_-Sr8fetVAB4W4SvcUitxE&e= > or by contacting the Gator Ticket Office at (352) 375-4683. Season ticket prices and availability can be accessed directly here<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__am.ticketmaster.com_gators_virtual-2Dvenue_QlMyMg-3D-3D&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=0Ola2nkETvIAVTJRSqRf2fl29WmIF3Uy4ZXbeCco4ly3-zJ_TDUI9Ya6ctC_g8l7&s=ZHcvUnrIHTE3dFiy6IF4wciip4cChOkzlO9lyTX8jiE&e= >, while single-game tickets can be purchased here<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ticketmaster.com_florida-2Dgators-2Dbaseball-2Dtickets_artist_1294070&d=DwIF-g&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=0Ola2nkETvIAVTJRSqRf2fl29WmIF3Uy4ZXbeCco4ly3-zJ_TDUI9Ya6ctC_g8l7&s=ZAaRC2oyOWCitXFe6Njg5RHRcfxv8lWx2uBfs-JW9-Q&e= >.