Being ranked No. 1 is an honor bestowed on few. But entering the 2011 season, the top-ranked Gators couldn’t care less.
“I don’t think anyone in the locker room is even thinking about it,” said Brian Johnson. “The goal is to be No. 1 at the end of the year, not the beginning.”
Johnson will toe the rubber tonight against South Florida senior right-hander Randy Fontanez at 7, after he and his teammates have been bombarded for weeks with questions about being the top-ranked team in the nation.
When Baseball America tabbed Florida as the preseason favorite, it sparked unfavorable memories of the last time the Gators were ranked No. 1.
In 2006, fresh off a second-place finish in the College World Series, former UF manager Pat McMahon’s squad entered the season with the top ranking. But the Gators vastly underachieved and handled the expectations poorly, finishing a disappointing .500 on the season.
According to several players, this season will be different. They said they’re relishing the opportunity, but not buying into the hype.
“We don’t pay much attention to it,” catcher Mike Zunino said.
“I’m indifferent,” Austin Maddox added. “Rankings don’t mean much. It’s all about execution.”
Kevin O’Sullivan, entering his fourth season as Florida’s skipper, has spoken openly about how the rankings won’t be a distraction and said that his team is concentrating on playing the game, not their standing in the polls.
“Every year we go into it with the expectation to go to Omaha and win a national championship,” he said. “The polls are the polls. We’re going to accept the challenge. We’ve got a good team, and we know we have a good team.”
UF enters the 2011 campaign as the defending Southeastern Conference Champions and the preseason pick to repeat in the SEC, as voted by the league’s 12 coaches.
Despite playing in a conference with defending national champion South Carolina, the Gators have the larger expectations.
Knowing they are likely to get every team’s best effort, the Gators are ready to stop talking about the exposure and just play.
“It’s going to bring the best out of us,” said Hudson Randall, Saturday’s starter.
“It’s kind of hard to ignore No. 1 and all the other hype, but the real No. 1 is at the end of the season.”
