Defending National Champion Florida Claims No. 1 Spot in USA Today/NFCA Division I Preseason Top 25 Poll

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Defending National Champion Florida will start the 2015 campaign at No. 1 as the Gators (55-12) received 20 first-place votes and totaled 699 points to claim the top spot in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Preseason Top 25.

Coming off its first WCWS title, Florida, under the direction of Tim Walton, opens the season at No. 1 for the second time (2009) in program history. In 2014, the Gators spent five straight weeks in the top spot (Feb. 18-Mar. 18) before returning there at the end of the season.

Oregon (56-9-1), which reached the WCWS semifinals, was a mere five points (694) behind Florida after receiving eight first-place votes. National runner-up Alabama (53-13) chimed in at No. 3 with 648 points, while Oklahoma (51-13) received a first-place vote and 613 points and Florida State rounded out the top-5 with 571 points.

Coming in at No. 6 was Kentucky (50-19) with 565 points and at No. 7 with 536 points, UCLA. Rounding out the top-10 were Michigan (47-15), Louisiana (49-10-1) and national semifinalist Baylor (49-16).

To view the complete USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll, please click this LINK.

The Southeastern Conference led the way with nine total selections, while the Pacific-12 Conference added five and the Big 10 Conference three teams in the preseason rankings. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference and Sun Belt Conference boasted a pair of programs, respectively, while the Big East Conference and American Athletic Conference each had one squad represented.

The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Final 2014 records are shown, first-place votes are in parentheses.