The Gators closed the 2012 season ranked No. 6 by Perfect Game after going two-and-out following the program’s third straight College World Series appearance. Florida will open the 2013 season as the No. 7 team in the country on February 15th by hosting Duke.
The ranking also puts Florida as the fourth-highest ranked Southeastern Conference team with Arkansas at No. 2, Vanderbilt at No. 3 and LSU at No. 5.
The SEC has eight teams ranked in the top 25.
The only non-conference opponent on the list is Florida State at No. 17. North Carolina will start as the No. 1 team in the country.
In the ten teams to watch outside of the top 25, Miami was the only Florida opponent listed by Perfect Game. New SEC member Texas A&M was also in that group.
Perfect Game ranked Florida right-hander Jonathon Crawford a preseason second team All-American on Monday.