Ricardo Ratliffe: A Young Man with Options

Central Florida power forward Ricardo Ratliffe has a big decision to make over the course of this year, and he has plenty of great options to choose from. Sometime this spring, the All-American sophomore will select a four-year school to transfer to after his stellar Patriots career is done. I talked with him at practice Wednesday, and he listed the following front-runners.

Alabama

Arkansas

Clemson

Memphis

Missouri

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

That's not to say that Ratliffe will end up at one of those seven schools. Keep in mind that he won't decide until spring, so a lot of things can change. Plus, while some players lean towards the schools that recruited them the earliest, Ratliffe said he'll listen to late pitches if the situation is right. Just to give you an idea of who's on his mind right now.

For Gator fans, Ratliffe said Florida has had some communication with him, but won't unleash its full recruiting efforts until spring, since that's when he'll make his decision.

State Basketball Rankings Announced

Maybe my math's off, but generally the best team in the nation is also the best team in its state. Stands to reason, anyway.

The FCCAA has determined otherwise with the preseason rankings it released today. First-place votes in parentheses, then total points in voting:

1. Tallahassee (10) 152

2. Miami Dade (1) 128

3. Central Florida (2) 123

4. Northwest Florida State 117

5. Chipola (4) 116

6. Gulf Coast (1) 89

7. Hillsborough 74

8. Santa Fe 47

9. Broward 42

10. Polk 36

Preseason polls are of course very subjective and are often informed as much by the personal preferences and biases of the voters as by an impartial survey of each team's talent. Besides, the games haven't started, so it's all guesswork at this point. Regardless, whatever ranking they start out at, the Patriots will have to prove themselves on the court. And this unusual snub can't hurt in the motivation department.

Here's the women's poll:

1. Gulf Coast (12) 155

2. Chipola (1) 116

3. Northwest Florida State (1) 100

4. Pensacola 99

5. Tallahassee (1) 88

6. Indian River State 81

7. Santa Fe 73

8. Daytona State 54

9. Central Florida 51

10. Miami Dade (1) 32

 

The ladies' rankings are predictably dominated by the Panhandle powers, but our Lady Patriots are right there in the mix.

CF Baseball Assistant Adds to Resume

Patriots assistant baseball coach Daniel Hersey has landed a nice gig for the summer of 2010. Hersey will take over as field manager of the Duluth Huskies of the Northwoods League, a summer baseball league similar to the Central Florida-based Florida Collegiate Summer League.

Ebert Set Up for Huge Senior Season

Patriot baseball alumnus Nick Ebert is tearing things up in Columbia, S.C. To wit:

After falling in the opener on Thursday night, the Garnet squad came back on Sunday with victories of 7-6 and 8-2 in a doubleheader to win South Carolina's Garnet & Black World Series to close out fall scrimmages at Carolina Stadium. Senior first baseman Nick Ebert was stellar at the plate this afternoon with a combined five hits in both games including a pair of home runs.

Ebert had already established himself with a second-team all-SEC season last spring, but he's poised for a major breakout in 2010. Expect to hear a lot from him in the near future.

National Preseason No. 1: Your Central Florida Patriots

Central Florida Community College has earned the top ranking in the National Junior College Athletics Association Men's Division I Basketball Poll, the NJCAA announced today.

Led by head coach Tim Ryan, the Patriots return all five starters and seven total players from last year's 21-11 state-semifinalist team. Ricardo Ratliffe headlines the list of returning players: the 6-foot-9 power forward set a school single-season scoring record and earned first-team NJCAA All-American status as a freshman and is being recruited heavily by many major Division I programs.

Only three Florida teams ranked among the NJCAA's preseason top 30. Tallahassee Community College is ranked seventh, while defending state champion Chipola College is ranked 13th. Iowa Westen Community College, Midland College (Texas), Three Rivers Community College (Mo.), and North Idaho College round out the national top five.

The Florida Community College Activities Association will release its state poll on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The 2009-2010 NJCAA Basketball Preseason All-America Teams will be announced Thursday, Oct. 29. The first regular-season team rankings will be released Nov. 17.

The Patriots open their regular season Nov. 3 at St. Petersburg College. Their home opener is set for Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 7:30 p.m. against Hillsborough Community College.