Florida returns 17 players and five positional starters for their pursuit of a third-straight College World Series berth.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Gators will open the 2025 campaign as the No. 10 team in the country, as D1Baseball unveiled its preseason top-25 rankings on Monday morning.
Accepted as the default rankings across college baseball, D1Baseball’s top 25 marks the second preseason list to be released this January. Florida was tabbed as the preseason No. 11 team<https://floridagators.com/news/2025/1/6/baseball-perfect-game-ranks-florida-no-11-in-first-preseason-poll-of-2025.aspx> per Perfect Game on Jan. 6.
As sport’s premier league, the Southeastern Conference again led the way with nine programs in the preseason rankings. Florida was joined by No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 8 Georgia, No. 16 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Mississippi State and No. 19 Texas.
Florida will play seven preseason top-25 teams over the course of the regular season.
Below is a complete breakdown of D1Baseball’s preseason top 25 with Florida’s 2025 opponents in bold.
1. Texas A&M
2. Virginia
3. LSU
4. Tennessee
5. Arkansas
6. North Carolina
7. Oregon State
8. Georgia
9. Florida State
10. FLORIDA
11. Duke
12. Oregon
13. NC State
14. Wake Forest
15. Clemson
16. Vanderbilt
17. Oklahoma State
18. Mississippi State
19. Texas
20. Dallas Baptist
21. Arizona
22. UC Santa Barbara
23. TCU
24. Nebraska
25. Troy
Looking to advance to the program’s third-straight NCAA Men’s College World Series, Florida returns 17 total players from last year’s Omaha squad. Featured in that contingent are 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<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/billy-barlow/17355> and Sante Fe College newcomer Matthew Jenkins<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/matthew-jenkins/17361>.
Other blue-chip transfers in Gainesville include Bobby Boser<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/bobby-boser/17349> (USF), Blake Cyr<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/blake-cyr/17347> (Miami), Kyle Jones<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/kyle-jones/17345> (Stetson), Justin Nadeau<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/justin-nadeau/17342> (Jacksonville) and Landon Stripling<https://floridagators.com/sports/baseball/roster/landon-stripling/17351> (Texas Tech). Cyr and Jones will get the bulk of the playing time in the UF outfield alongside Evans. Boser will also be a mainstay in the lineup out of the corner infield.
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.
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