Baseball Adds Third Top-10 Preseason Ranking
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – With fewer than three weeks until opening day, the Miami Hurricanes earned their third top-10 preseason ranking ahead of the 2021 season.
The Canes came in at No. 10 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s Preseason Top 35 Rankings. The Hurricanes, who brought in Baseball America’s No. 1 recruiting class, are ranked No. 6 in Collegiate Baseball’s Fabulous 50 NCAA Division I Pre-Season Poll and No. 7 in Perfect Game’s preseason rankings. Miami is also ranked No. 11 by Baseball America and No. 21 in D1 Baseball’s preseason poll.
Miami is one of nine teams from the ACC earning a position in the NCBWA’s initial poll of 2021, joining No. 6 Louisville, No. 11 NC State, No. 15 Virginia, No. 16 Florida State, No. 18 Georgia Tech, No. 27 Duke, No. 30 Wake Forest and No. 32 Clemson. The complete poll can be viewed here.
A quartet of preseason All-Americans is expected to lead Miami this season, headlined by Baseball America first-team selections Adrian Del Castillo and Alex Toral. Two-way player Ben Wanger has also earned preseason All-America accolades, picking up a second-team distinction by Collegiate Baseball, while fellow two-way standout JP Gates garnered third-team honors from Perfect Game.
A year ago, under the direction of head coach Gino DiMare, the Canes went 12-4 (3-0 ACC) in the shortened season. Miami finished the season ranked as high as No. 5 by Baseball America and was in the top 15 of all six major polls. The Canes came in at No. 7 in the D1 Baseball Top 25, USA TODAY Coaches Poll and NCBWA Top 25, No. 9 in the final Collegiate Baseball poll and No. 11 in Perfect Game’s final top 25.
Miami brings back one of the deepest lineups in the country, with eight of its nine starting hitters from a season ago returning to Coral Gables for the 2021 season.
Del Castillo headlines the potent Miami offense, as the third-year catcher is considered among the best prospects in the 2021 MLB Draft class. The Miami native has been a hitting machine in his two years at
The U, hitting .336 with 24 doubles, 14 home runs and 87 RBI over 77 games played.
Toral, who was the ACC home run king with 24 round-trippers in 2019, brings his big bat back to the heart of Miami’s lineup after hitting .296 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 16 games a year ago. Infielder Anthony Vilar (.297, 5 2B, 15 RBI) will look to continue his success in his third season at Miami, while outfielder Gabe Rivera, Tony Jenkins and Jordan Lala all return for another season with the Canes.
Veteran Daniel Federman brings experience to the pitcher’s mound, as the right-hander is back for a fourth season with the Hurricanes. A year ago, Federman had a 2.08 ERA, three saves and 11 strikeouts over 8.2 innings pitched as Miami’s closer, but he is expected to transition to a starter’s role in 2021. Wanger, a graduate transfer who was a second-team All-American a year ago at USC (3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 8 K), is expected to take over as Miami’s closer this season.
In addition to the talented returners on Miami’s roster, the Hurricanes brought in the top recruiting class in the nation according to both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. The Hurricanes landed five top-200 players, including three top-100 recruits, among Baseball America’s individual player rankings – leading the nation in both categories.
Right-handed pitcher Victor Mederos is Miami’s top-rated recruit according to Baseball America, coming in at No. 59 overall. Fellow right-hander Alejandro Rosario (60) and shortstop Yohandy Morales (77) make up the trio of top-100 prospects
Catcher Carlos Perez (137) and right-handed pitcher Jake Smith (146) round out the top-200 prospects, while outfielder/first baseman CJ Kayfus (344) gives Miami six of the top 350 prospects in the 2020 MLB Draft class, according to Baseball America.
