GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators baseball team will start the 2025 season ranked No. 10 in the country, according to D1Baseball.com.
Widely 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 according to Perfect Game.
The Gators had a turbulent 2024 campaign before finishing the season in a flurry winning the Stillwater Regional and Clemson Super Regional in dramatic fashion on their way to the College World Series. Florida’s title run came up just short. Florida ended the 2024 season ranked No. 8 in the country according to D1Baseball.
The Gators return 17 total players from last year’s ballclub. That includes five positional starters in designated hitter/catcher Brody Donay, outfielder Ty Evans, catcher Luke Heyman, second baseman Cade Kurland and shortstop Colby Shelton. Postseason star Ashton Wilson and rising sophomore outfielder Hayden Yost look to take another step forward in their second seasons with the Gators.
Florida also brings back nine pitchers headlined by projected staff ace Liam Peterson, lefty Pierce Coppola, right-hander Jake Clemente, and righty Luke McNeillie. The former three figure to be in line for starting work, whereas McNeillie, lefty Frank Menendez, and right-hander Alex Philpott will construct the framework of the bullpen in addition to Clemson transfer Billy Barlow and Sante Fe College newcomer Matthew Jenkins.
The Gators also brought in transfers Bobby Boser (USF), Blake Cyr (Miami), Kyle Jones (Stetson), Justin Nadeau (Jacksonville) and Landon Stripling (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.
The complete top 25 is below, with the Gators’ 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
