DURHAM, N.C. – The UCF baseball team has been ranked No. 39 in Baseball America’s preseason Top 50 collegiate baseball poll announced Thursday. Despite winning two consecutive Atlantic Sun Championships, the Golden Knights were ranked behind conference foes Stetson (No. 18) and Florida Atlantic (No. 24).
This is the second preseason poll that UCF has been ranked in, after Collegiate Baseball News tabbed the Golden Knights No. 26 in its preseason top 40 rankings.
UCF finished 2002 with a 41-22 mark after the Golden Knights won their sixth A-Sun title and earned their eighth trip to the NCAA Championships.
The Golden Knights return 14 letterwinners in 2003 including two players that garnered Freshman All-America honors in 2002. Both Dee Brown (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball News) and Clay Timpner (Collegiate Baseball News) were tabbed Freshman All-Americans after Brown hit .397 in 2002 while Timpner batted .361.
The two, along with the A-Sun’s leading hitter David Mann (.410 BA) and a host of talented pitchers should give UCF one of the nation’s elite teams this season.
UCF opens the 2003 slate Friday, February 8 at home vs. Florida International.
Baseball America's Preseason Top 50
1. *Georgia Tech (52-16)
2. *Rice (52-14)
3. *Stanford (47-18)
4. Florida State (60-14)
5. *Texas (57-15)
6. Southern California (37-24)
7. Wake Forest (47-13)
8. Arizona State (37-21)
9. Louisiana State (44-22)
10. Baylor (36-26)
11. Houston (48-17)
12. *Notre Dame (50-18)
13. Cal State Fullerton (37-22)
14. *South Carolina (57-18)
15. Richmond (53-13)
16. Long Beach State (39-21)
17. Mississippi State (34-24)
18. Stetson (42-19)
19. *Clemson (54-17)
20. *Nebraska (47-21)
21. Auburn (34-26)
22. North Carolina (43-21)
23. South Alabama (42-19)
24. Florida Atlantic (46-21)
25. Va. Commonwealth (38-27)
26. Tulane (36-27)
27. Southwest Mo. State (43-21)
28. James Madison (44-16)
29. Georgia (32-29)
30. Mississippi (37-19)
31. Miami (34-29)
32. California (29-27)
33. Oklahoma State (37-21)
34. Texas A&M; (35-24)
35. Ohio State (38-20)
36. Texas Tech (42-20)
37. Alabama (51-15)
38. Oklahoma (35-27)
39. UCF (41-22)
40. South Florida (35-29)
41. Wichita State (47-17)
42. Georgia Southern (39-25)
43. Pepperdine (31-32)
44. Fla. International (41-20)
45. San Diego State (43-23)
46. Louisiana-Lafayette (39-23)
47. Washington (33-27)
48. San Jose State (45-17)
49. UC Irvine (33-26)
50. Kent State (37-22)