Louisville Ninth in Perfect Game Preseason Top 25
January 20, 2015 | Baseball
Sophomore Nick Solak connects for a home run during the 2014 NCAA Super Regional.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville baseball team added another preseason national ranking on Tuesday landing at No. 9 in the 2015 Perfect Game preseason Top 25.
The Cardinals are ranked in the top 10 of a preseason poll for the third straight season after opening 2014 at No. 8 in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll and ranking No. 4 in the Baseball American preseason poll in 2013. Overall, it is the third preseason top 12 ranking in 2015 for Louisville, which is at No. 11 in the D1Baseball Top 25 and at No. 12 in the Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll.
After ending the 2014 season at the College World Series and with a No. 6 national ranking in multiple national polls, Louisville enters 2015 ranked in the preseason top 25 for the eighth consecutive season. Louisville is among five ACC schools in the Perfect Game preseason Top 25. The ACC is led in the poll by No. 2 Virginia followed by the ninth-ranked Cardinals, No. 10 Miami, No. 11 Florida State and No. 17 North Carolina.
Reigning NCAA champion Vanderbilt is atop the Perfect Game Top 25 followed by No. 2 Virginia, No. 3 TCU, No. 4 UCLA and No. 5 Florida. Overall, five teams in the top 25 in the preseason poll are on the Cardinals' schedule in 2015 - No. 1 Vanderbilt, No. 2 UVA, No. 10 Miami, No. 11 Florida State and No. 19 Cal State Fullerton.
The Cardinals will open the 2015 season at the Clearwater (Fla.) Tournament against Alabama State (Feb. 13), USF (Feb. 14) and Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 15) at Bright House Field. Louisville's 33-game home slate at Jim Patterson Stadium is set to begin on Feb. 18 against Eastern Kentucky.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
2015 Perfect Game Preseason Top 25
| Rk. | Team | Conf. | 2014 Rec. | 2014 Rk. |
| 1 | Vanderbilt | SEC | 51-21 | 1 |
| 2 | Virginia | ACC | 51-21 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas Christian | Big 12 | 48-18 | 5 |
| 4 | Florida | SEC | 40-23 | 22 |
| 5 | UCLA | Pac-12 | 25-30-1 | NR |
| 6 | Texas | Big 12 | 46-21 | 3 |
| 7 | Louisiana State | SEC | 46-16-1 | 21 |
| 8 | Houston | American | 48-18 | 12 |
| 9 | Louisville | ACC | 50-17 | 7 |
| 10 | Miami | ACC | 44-19 | 24 |
| 11 | Florida State | ACC | 43-17 | 23 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 45-21 | 9 |
| 13 | Oklahoma State | Big 12 | 48-18 | 11 |
| 14 | South Carolina | SEC | 44-18 | 25 |
| 15 | Oregon | Pac-12 | 44-20 | NR |
| 16 | Arkansas | SEC | 40-25 | NR |
| 17 | North Carolina | ACC | 35-27 | NR |
| 18 | UC Santa Barbara | Big West | 34-17-1 | NR |
| 19 | Cal State Fullerton | Big West | 34-24 | NR |
| 20 | Arizona State | Pac-12 | 33-24 | NR |
| 21 | Rice | C-USA | 42-20 | NR |
| 22 | Stanford | Pac-12 | 35-26 | 15 |
| 23 | Mississippi State | SEC | 39-24 | NR |
| 24 | Kennesaw State | Atlantic Sun | 40-24 | 18 |
| 25 | Texas A&M | SEC | 44-19 | NR |
