LOS ANGELES – The UCLA baseball team received its third top-five preseason ranking of the offseason, as the Bruins were tabbed No. 5 in the country on Monday morning by respected national outlet D1Baseball.  

Earlier this winter, UCLA was ranked No. 3 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 4 by Perfect Game.

UCLA is the highest-ranked Pac-12 team in the D1 poll, ahead of No. 8 Oregon State and No. 12 Stanford.

The Bruins were 38-21 last season, advancing to the Minnesota Regional in the NCAA Tournament. UCLA returns a strong nucleus of position players including Preseason All-Americans in second baseman Chase Strumpf, first baseman Michael Toglia, and outfielder Jeremy Ydens. Ryan Garcia, whose 2.23 ERA was second-best in the Pac-12 last year, leads the pitching staff. UCLA also brought in the No. 6 recruiting class in the country, featuring first-round MLB draft pick Matt McLain.

Vanderbilt topped D1Baseball's rankings, followed by LSU, Texas Tech, and Louisville. Several of UCLA's scheduled non-conference opponents were ranked inside the top-25, including No. 11 East Carolina, No. 17 Michigan, and No. 25 Cal State Fullerton. 

UCLA opens the 2019 season at Jackie Robinson Stadium on Feb. 15 by hosting St. John's. Single-game and season tickets for the upcoming campaign are now available, and can be purchased by calling 310-UCLA-WIN or clicking here.

The complete D1Baseball Preseason Top-25 can be viewed here.