The UCLA Bruins have been ranked number 11 in D1Baseball's Preseason Top-25, it was announced today. This is the Bruins' second top-11 ranking, coming in at number 10 in the Collegiate Baseball News Preseason Top-40 released last month.
In 2016, the Bruins will face a total of eight teams who are ranked in the D1Baseball top-25 including Oregon State who comes in at number five. The remaining seven ranked teams UCLA will play are California (9), USC (12), Oregon (14), Mississippi State (15), North Carolina (16), Cal State Fullerton (21) and Texas (23).
The Bruins are one of four Pac-12 schools ranked in the preseason poll and come in third-highest among conference teams behind Oregon State and California.
The Bruins coaching staff welcomed the nation's No. 3 ranked recruiting class (as ranked by Baseball America) to Westwood this fall and will look for those players to make an immediate impact in 2016. The freshman class features five pitchers, one first baseman, two infielders and two outfielders.
UCLA also returns a strong group of veterans this season, including six position player starters from last year's team. The Bruins are coming off one of their best seasons in program history, recording a school-record 22 conference wins en route to the Pac-12 Championship and the number one overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
UCLA opens the season with a three-game weekend series against the North Carolina Tar Heels beginning on February 19. To purchase season tickets, please visit uclabruins.com/tickets, call 310-UCLA-WIN, or stop by the Central Ticket Office Monday-Friday 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.
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2016 D1Baseball Preseason Top-25 Rankings
| Rank | Team | 2015 Record |
| 1 | Florida | 52-18 |
| 2 | Louisville | 47-18 |
| 3 | Vanderbilt | 51-21 |
| 4 | Texas A&M | 50-14 |
| 5 | Oregon State | 39-18 |
| 6 | Miami (Fla.) | 50-17 |
| 7 | LSU | 54-12 |
| 8 | Oklahoma State | 38-20 |
| 9 | California | 36-21 |
| 10 | NC State | 36-23 |
| 11 | UCLA | 45-16 |
| 12 | USC | 39-21 |
| 13 | Virginia | 44-24 |
| 14 | Oregon | 38-25 |
| 15 | Mississippi State | 24-30 |
| 16 | North Carolina | 34-24 |
| 17 | South Carolina | 32-25 |
| 18 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 42-23 |
| 19 | TCU | 51-15 |
| 20 | Florida State | 44-21 |
| 21 | Cal State Fullerton | 39-25 |
| 22 | Houston | 43-20 |
| 23 | Texas | 30-27 |
| 24 | Coastal Carolina | 39-21 |
| 25 | Arkansas | 40-25 |