Canes Ranked No. 24 in USA TODAY Coaches' Poll

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The University of Miami baseball team checked in at No. 24 in the USA TODAY Sports Top 25 baseball preseason coaches’ poll released Thursday.
 
The top-25 ranking is Miami’s third of the preseason; the Hurricanes were ranked No. 20 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in December and No. 9 by Perfect Game earlier in January.
 
Miami added a recruiting class ranked No. 8 nationwide by Baseball America to a group of 15 returning letterwinners from a 2017 team that finished 31-27 overall and 16-13 in ACC play.
 
The Hurricanes will be led by infielder Romy Gonzalez (11 home runs, 38 RBI), lefthander and All-ACC ace Jeb Bargfeldt (7-3, 2.28 ERA) and impressive reliever Andrew Cabezas (2.15 ERA, 80 strikeouts). Other returning veterans include outfielder Michael Burns (four home runs, 32 RBI), righthander Greg Veliz (3.38 ERA, 66 strikeouts) and reliever Frankie Bartow (12 saves).
 
Two members of Miami’s recruiting class were selected in the 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft; righthanded pitcher Chris McMahon was taken by Milwaukee in the 33rd round while infielder Ray Gil was picked in the 37th round by Oakland. McMahon (No. 76), first baseman Alex Toral (No. 199), outfielder Gabe Rivera (No. 329) and first baseman Connor Allen (No. 440) were all ranked among Baseball America’s top 500 draft-eligible prospects.
 
Miami opens its 25th and final season under the direction of head coach Jim Morris on Feb. 16 with the opener of a three-game series against Rutgers (Feb. 16-18).
 
The Hurricanes’ home schedule also includes series with Florida (Feb. 23-25), Notre Dame (March 9-11), Virginia (March 23-25), North Carolina (April 6-8) and Boston College (May 17-19), among others.
 
Miami’s road schedule includes trip to Georgia Tech (March 30 – April 1), Clemson (April 13-15) and Florida State (April 27-29).