DALLAS, Texas – When the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association released its 2015 Preseason Division I Poll on Monday, the FGCU baseball team received votes towards a national ranking for the second time this preseason. The Eagles also received votes from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper last month.

"This is a nice recognition and shows that our program is headed in the right direction," FGCU head coach Dave Tollett said. "We have a lot of talent returning to our roster and a good mix of young guys that will help us out all over the field. We're looking forward to getting started on Friday."

The Eagles return all three starting pitchers from the 2014 rotation from last season's Atlantic Sun regular season championship squad including All-American, A-Sun Pitcher of the Year and 2014 Golden Spikes Award nominee Mike Murray (West Palm Beach, Fla./Forrest Hill HS). National Freshman of the Year Jake Noll (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte HS) also returns for the Green and Blue. Both players have been selected as Preseason All-Americans by multiple publications. The 2015 season gets underway on Friday when Central Michigan visits Swanson Stadium for the first of a four-game series at 6:30 p.m.

Defending National Champion Vanderbilt is ranked No. 1 in the poll with Virginia following in second followed by TCU, LSU and in-state rival Florida rounding out the top five. Defending A-Sun Tournament Champion Kennesaw State checks in at No. 26 while 2015 opponents Miami, Florida State and Nebraska check in at 13, 16 and 31, respectively.

Rank - School
1 - Vanderbilt
2 - Virginia
3 - TCU
4 - LSU
5 - Florida
6 - Texas
7 - Houston
8 - Oklahoma State
9 - UCLA
10 - Louisville
11 - South Carolina
12 - Texas Tech
13 - Miami (Fla.)
14 - North Carolina
15 - Rice
16 - Florida State
17 - Oregon
18 - Cal State Fullerton
19 - Ole Miss
20 - Maryland
21 - Arizona State
22 - Mississippi State
23 - Cal Poly
24 - Stanford
25 - Texas A&M
26 - Kennesaw State
27 - Clemson
28 - Alabama
29 - Tennessee
30 - Liberty
31 - Nebraska
32 - Oregon State
33 - UC Irvine
34 - UCF
35 - College of Charleston

Others receiving votes (listed alphabetically): Arizona, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Ball State, Dallas Baptist, FGCU, FIU, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisiana-Lafayette, Loyola Marymount, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Pepperdine, Sam Houston State, San Diego, San Diego State, Seton Hall, Southeast Missouri State, St. John's, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UC Santa Barbara, UNLV, Washington, Wichita State.

DAVE TOLLETT
In 12 seasons of work, FGCU head coach Dave Tollett has compiled a 434-238-2 record as the only head coach in the program's history. He is a four-time Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year and has guided the Green and Blue to four A-Sun Regular Season Championships. His team has been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets and has coached 35 All-Conference selections, 22 draft picks, 14 current minor leaguers, four A-Sun Pitchers of the Year, three All-Americans, one National Freshman Player of the Year, one National Player of the Year and one MLB All-Star.

#WINGSUP
Fans are encouraged to download the brand-new Wings Up mobile app in conjunction with SuperFanU. The fully-customized loyalty-rewards platform allows fans to check in at each of FGCU's sporting events to earn points throughout the school year toward exclusive prizes that can't be offered anywhere else.

FOLLOW ALONG
For constant, news, photos, videos and updates you can follow the baseball team on Twitter @FGCU_Baseball or on Facebook: Facebook.com/FGCUBaseball. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/FGCUEagles.

#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.