Louisville Ranked No. 2 in Preseason NCBWA Poll
February 01, 2016 | Baseball
Cardinals earn their sixth No. 2 preseason ranking of 2016; ACC with six nationally ranked teams
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville baseball team will enter the 2016 season as the unanimous choice as the nation's No. 2-ranked club after landing in the second position in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association preseason poll released on Monday afternoon.
The Cardinals are ranked No. 2 in each of the six preseason national polls, including the Baseball America Top 25, Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll, D1Baseball.com Top 25, Perfect Game Top 25 and USA Today Top 25 coaches poll.
The top-ranked team in the NCBWA poll was Florida, the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation having held down that position in each of the six polls. Following the No. 2 Cardinals in the NCBWA poll was No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Oregon State. Louisville leads six ACC schools in the NCBWA poll, including three in the top eight spots with Miami at No. 6 and Virginia at No. 8. They are joined by No. 14 Florida State, No. 20 NC State and No. 21 North Carolina.
The No. 2 ranking is the highest preseason ranking in program history for Louisville, two spots better than their previous preseason high of No. 4 by Baseball America during the 2013 College World Series season. The No. 2 ranking also equals the best overall ranking in school history matching the high point last season when the Cardinals were second in the nation in back-to-back weeks on May 4 (D1Baseball.com and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association) and May 11 (D1Baseball.com, NCBWA, USA Today & Perfect Game).
The Cardinals have received a preseason top 10 ranking in four straight seasons (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) and have earned a preseason national ranking in nine straight seasons (2008-2016) overall. Monday's ranking extends a record-setting run for the Louisville baseball program, which has remained ranked in at least one major national poll every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings -- the longest such stretch in school history.
No. 2 Louisville will open the 2016 season on Friday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m., ET at Jim Patterson Stadium in the first game of a weekend series at home against SIU Edwardsville.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
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2016 PRESEASON NCBWA POLL
1.        Florida
2.        Louisville
3.        Vanderbilt
4.        Texas A&M
5.        Oregon State
6.        Miami
7.        LSU
8.        Virginia
9.        UCLA
10.      California
11.      Oklahoma State
12.      TCU
13.      Louisiana-Lafayette
14.      Florida State
15.      Houston
16.      Cal State Fullerton
17.      Oregon
18.      USC
19.      Mississippi State
20.      NC State
21.      North Carolina
22.      Arkansas
23.      Coastal Carolina
24.      South Carolina
25.      Michigan
26.      Rice
27.      Maryland
28.      Missouri State
29.      Texas
30.      Oklahoma
31.      Dallas Baptist
32.      Kentucky
33.      Ole Miss
34.      College of Charleston
35.      Tulane
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The Cardinals are ranked No. 2 in each of the six preseason national polls, including the Baseball America Top 25, Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll, D1Baseball.com Top 25, Perfect Game Top 25 and USA Today Top 25 coaches poll.
The top-ranked team in the NCBWA poll was Florida, the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation having held down that position in each of the six polls. Following the No. 2 Cardinals in the NCBWA poll was No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 5 Oregon State. Louisville leads six ACC schools in the NCBWA poll, including three in the top eight spots with Miami at No. 6 and Virginia at No. 8. They are joined by No. 14 Florida State, No. 20 NC State and No. 21 North Carolina.
The No. 2 ranking is the highest preseason ranking in program history for Louisville, two spots better than their previous preseason high of No. 4 by Baseball America during the 2013 College World Series season. The No. 2 ranking also equals the best overall ranking in school history matching the high point last season when the Cardinals were second in the nation in back-to-back weeks on May 4 (D1Baseball.com and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association) and May 11 (D1Baseball.com, NCBWA, USA Today & Perfect Game).
The Cardinals have received a preseason top 10 ranking in four straight seasons (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) and have earned a preseason national ranking in nine straight seasons (2008-2016) overall. Monday's ranking extends a record-setting run for the Louisville baseball program, which has remained ranked in at least one major national poll every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings -- the longest such stretch in school history.
No. 2 Louisville will open the 2016 season on Friday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m., ET at Jim Patterson Stadium in the first game of a weekend series at home against SIU Edwardsville.
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
Â
2016 PRESEASON NCBWA POLL
1.        Florida
2.        Louisville
3.        Vanderbilt
4.        Texas A&M
5.        Oregon State
6.        Miami
7.        LSU
8.        Virginia
9.        UCLA
10.      California
11.      Oklahoma State
12.      TCU
13.      Louisiana-Lafayette
14.      Florida State
15.      Houston
16.      Cal State Fullerton
17.      Oregon
18.      USC
19.      Mississippi State
20.      NC State
21.      North Carolina
22.      Arkansas
23.      Coastal Carolina
24.      South Carolina
25.      Michigan
26.      Rice
27.      Maryland
28.      Missouri State
29.      Texas
30.      Oklahoma
31.      Dallas Baptist
32.      Kentucky
33.      Ole Miss
34.      College of Charleston
35.      Tulane
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