U of L baseball ranked No. 13 in USA Today preseason poll

The University of Louisville baseball team received its fifth and highest 2018 preseason ranking on Thursday landing at No. 13 in the USA Today Sports Top 25 preseason coaches poll.

Ranked 14th in the Perfect Game Top 25, No. 15 by D1Baseball, No. 19 in the Baseball America Top 25 and 21st in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll, the Cardinals have remained ranked in at least one major national poll every week since the release of the 2012 preseason rankings -- the longest such stretch in school history. The 11 consecutive years (2008-2018) with a preseason national ranking is also a school record streak for Louisville.

Atop the USA Today Top 25 is reigning NCAA champion Florida, while No. 2 Oregon State, No. 3 Texas Tech, No. 4 TCU and No. 5 Florida State round out the top five. Louisville is among seven ACC programs in the USA Today Top 25 joining No. 5 FSU, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 18 Virginia, No. 21 Clemson, No. 24 Miami and No. 25 NC State.

The Cardinals enter the 2018 season having advanced to an NCAA Super Regional in five straight seasons, the nation’s longest active streak. Louisville closed its 2017 season ranked fifth in every major national poll after advancing to the College World Series for the fourth time in school history, setting a school record for wins with a 53-12 mark and earning the program’s third straight ACC Atlantic Division championship.

No. 13 Louisville will open the 2018 season on Feb. 16-18 in Charleston, South Carolina with a trio of games at The Charleston Crab House Challenge hosted by The Citadel at Joseph P. Riley Park. The Cardinals will face Richmond on Feb. 16 at noon ET, The Citadel on Feb. 17 at 3 p.m., and George Mason on Feb. 18 at 11 a.m. The 2018 home-opener for Louisville is set for Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 3 p.m., ET at Jim Patterson Stadium against Eastern Kentucky.