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The North Carolina Tar Heels will enter the 2013 baseball season in familiar territory as the nation's top-ranked team in the Perfect Game Preseason College Top 25.
As a program that has competed for the national title in the College World Series title series twice in the last decade, the Tar Heels are very much used to a lofty ranking.
Now comes the hard part of meeting expectations. The Tar Heels have room to improve offensively this spring after hitting just .276 last season, but their situation is looking up with the return of several key cogs, including Preseason All-American third baseman and top prospect Colin Moran.
The most impressive aspect of this team is the pitching staff. The Tar Heels have a terrific weekend rotation including Benton Moss, Kent Emanuel and Hobbs Johnson. They also have yet another stellar bullpen with Chris McCue, Tate Parrish, Chris O'Brien, Shane Taylor, Mason McCullough and Luis Paula back for another campaign, along with Chris Munnelly, who will serve as midweek starter and spot reliever during the weekend.
The Tar Heels might lead the way, but they're joined by some outstanding teams in the top five with Arkansas (2), Vanderbilt (3), Stanford (4) and LSU (5) part of the group.
In terms of conference representation, here's the breakdown:
SEC: 8
Pacific 12: 6
ACC: 4
Big 12: 3
Big East: 1
Big West: 1
WCC: 1
Conference USA: 1
The Perfect Game Top 25 will be released each Monday morning throughout the college baseball season.
ALSO SEE: College Top 25 team breakdowns
| Rank |
Team |
2012 W-L |
Conference |
2012 rank |
| 1. |
North Carolina
|
46-16 |
Atlantic Coast |
18 |
| 2. |
Arkansas
|
46-22 |
Southeastern
|
5 |
| 3. |
Vanderbilt |
35-28 |
Southeastern
|
24 |
| 4. |
Stanford
|
41-18 |
Pacific 12 |
13 |
| 5. |
Louisiana State
|
47-18 |
Southeastern |
11 |
| 6. |
UCLA
|
48-16 |
Pacific 12 |
4 |
| 7. |
Florida
|
47-20
|
Southeastern |
6 |
| 8. |
Oregon State
|
40-20 |
Pacific 12 |
23
|
| 9. |
N.C. State |
43-20
|
Atlantic Coast |
12 |
| 10. |
Oregon
|
46-19
|
Pacific 12 |
10
|
| 11. |
South Carolina
|
49-20 |
Southeastern |
2 |
| 12. |
Georgia Tech
|
38-26 |
Atlantic Coast
|
NR
|
| 13. |
Kentucky
|
45-18
|
Southeastern |
21
|
| 14. |
Texas Christian
|
40-22 |
Big 12
|
14 |
| 15. |
Louisville |
41-22 |
Big East
|
NR |
| 16. |
Mississippi State
|
40-24 |
Southeastern |
22 |
| 17. |
Florida State |
50-17 |
Atlantic Coast
|
3 |
| 18. |
San Diego
|
40-17 |
West Coast |
NR |
| 19. |
Mississippi |
37-26 |
Southeastern
|
NR |
| 20. |
Oklahoma
|
42-25 |
Big 12 |
15 |
| 21. |
Rice |
41-19 |
Conference USA
|
19 |
| 22. |
Arizona
|
48-17 |
Pacific 12 |
1 |
| 23. |
Cal State Fullerton |
36-21 |
Big West
|
NR |
| 24. |
Texas
|
30-22 |
Big 12 |
NR |
| 25. |
Arizona State |
36-20 |
Pacific 12
|
17 |
Ten to watch: Clemson, Texas A&M, Southern Mississippi, Miami, Virginia, Kent State, UC Irvine, New Mexico, Tulane, Baylor.