Top 25 Consideration: 15 More Teams To Watch
From D1baseball. No mention of UConn. IMO this is probably a reflection of our lack of power this year and somewhat unproven pitching.
On the bright side, with our extremely strong OOC slate and relatively under-the-radar preseason (nationally speaking), we have the opportunity to sneak up on some teams.
I think you're spot on here. Offensively you're most likely plugging in Padilla. Dalena and Kron/TC for Dom, Huber, and Smitty. This is using the jump-off point from Gainesville. You're going to lose production there it's a question of how much and can the remaining shortfall be "mostly" backfilled from other positions. Of course, someone can emerge and/or improve and things will change.
I'm excited for the starting pitching under the caveat that it stays healthy. As you said schedule is tough and the record won't be as gaudy as last year but it might turn out to be a more well-balanced team than in 2023. They are going to be challenged in Feb/early March so have to get out of the gate well.
Looking forward to getting down to Tampa. Interesting opening weekend against 3 good but beatable opponents. 2 out of 3 would be nice. FYI - St. John's is going to play 3 @ Gainesville with Florida opening weekend. Jumping right into the deep end. Haha.
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