University of Georgia debuts at No. 5 in the D1Baseball.com preseason top 25 announced Wednesday.

The top five featured Louisville at No. 1 followed by Vanderbilt, Miami, Florida and the Bulldogs. Texas Tech, Arkansas, Auburn, Arizona State, and Mississippi State round out the top 10. The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences with nine teams in the top 25 including six in the top 10. D1Baseball editors Aaron Fit and Kendall Rogers determined the Top 25 rankings.

Georgia is one of only two schools to earn a national top-eight seed in each of the past two NCAA Championships. In 2019, the Bulldogs went 46-17 including a school-record 21 Southeastern Conference wins during the regular season. They were a No. 4 national seed in 2019 and a No. 8 national seed in 2018. 

In 2020, the Bulldogs will feature one of the nation’s best rotations including a pair of projected MLB first-round draft picks in right-handers Emerson Hancock and Cole Wilcox. Junior left-handers C.J. Smith and Ryan Webb along with senior right-handers Will Proctor and Logan Moody round out the Bulldog pitchers with starting experience. Also, Georgia welcomes back seven veterans around the diamond. Catcher Mason Meadows, first baseman Patrick Sullivan, shortstop Cam Shepherd, outfielders Tucker Bradley and Randon Jernigan and utility players Riley King and Chaney Rogers all have started at least 35 games in their career. The Gold-Glove winning Shepherd leads the group with 180 consecutive starts.

Georgia set a school record with a .980 Fielding Percentage last year, and the 3.24 Earned Run Average was the second-best in school history. In 2019, the Bulldogs batted .272 with 75 home runs.

Georgia resumes full team practice on Friday, Jan. 24. In other 2020 preseason top 25 rankings, Georgia came in at No. 7 in the Collegiate Baseball poll and No. 10 in Perfect Game.

The 2020 season, under the direction of Ike Cousins head coach Scott Stricklin, begins on Feb. 14. Season tickets are available HERE.