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Football wasn’t anything to write home about. Basketball has been even worse.
At least the ACC still has baseball to look forward to.
The conference tied a College World Series record and matched the SEC by sending 4 teams to Omaha last year. And it promises to be just as competitive and even deeper this season with the return of several potential first-round MLB Draft picks and the addition of West Coast schools Stanford and Cal.
As we count down the hours until the first pitch is thrown, let’s take a look at what to expect.
2025 ACC baseball power rankings
Virginia, North Carolina, Florida State and NC State all made it to Omaha in 2024 and they’re among the favorites to return again this year. SMU is the only ACC team that doesn’t play baseball.
Here’s how the ACC shakes out heading into Friday’s season-openers:
16. Boston College
Todd Interdonato led Wofford to 8 30-win seasons in 9 years before coming to BC last year. But he found the going much tougher in the ACC. His Eagles finished last in the league with an 8-22 record. And the outlook isn’t much better for the coming season. They were picked to finish at the bottom of the league again in the ACC’s preseason poll. The best thing BC has going for it is the return of DH Kyle Wolff (.315, 44 RBIs), left fielder Adam Magpoc (.289) and first baseman Nick Wang (.280, 11 HR, 44 RBIs) – 3 of their top 4 hitters.
15. Notre Dame
Pitching will be the key to whatever comeback the Irish hope to make after going just 9-21 in the ACC a year ago.The rotation is anchored by right-handers Jack Radel, who compiled a 4-3 record with a 4.58 ERA in 10 starts as a freshman, and Rory Fox while the bullpen is loaded with veteran arms. The offense is much more of a question mark, Junior shortstop Estevan Moreno hit 17 homers, 13 doubles and drove in 40 runs last season. But newcomers will be counted on heavily to improve a lineup that hit just .268 in 2024.
14. Pittsburgh
The Panthers finished last in ACC Coastal last season, thanks to an offense that hit .246 and delivered 68 extra-base hits. The good news is that their best power hitter, catcher Jayden Melendez, returns after hitting 16 homers. And on-base percentage leader Luke Cantwell is also back after hitting .333 a year ago. The outlook isn’t as bright for a pitching staff that carried Pitt in 2024. With all 3 weekend starters gone, Pitt’s hopes will rest with the arms of transfers Patrick Gardner (Fairleigh Dickinson), Drew Lafferty (Kentucky) and Noah Czajkowski (St. Bonaventure).
13. Cal
The Bears went 36-19 (17-13 Pac-12) last season, but were decimated by graduation, the draft and transfers. Of the 11 pitchers who threw more than 15 innings in 2024, only junior right-hander Austin Turkington is back. The retention rate among position players is only slightly better, though second baseman Jarren Advincula and shortstop PJ Moutzouridis are a solid duo around which to build. Advincula hit .325 out of the leadoff spot as a freshman last season while his classmate Moutzouridis hit .299 with 6 homers and 15 doubles.
12. Virginia Tech
The Hokies have fallen off since hosting a Super Regional and falling just 1 win short of a trip to Omaha in 2022. But coach John Szefc has a reason for optimism this spring. His returning core includes 17 members of last year’s freshman class, including budding ace Brett Renfrow, graduate outfielder Ben Watson and first baseman Garrett Michel, who hit .339 with 11 homers 2 seasons ago before missing all but 9 games with a wrist injury in 2024.
11. Miami
JD Arteaga’s rookie season at his alma mater didn’t go well. The Hurricanes went 27-30 while finishing 6th in the ACC’s 7-team Coastal Division. In an effort to prevent a similar disappointment in his second season, the Miami coach has almost completely retooled his roster around first-team All-ACC third baseman Daniel Cuvet. The additions include 15 transfers and a highly-rated recruiting class highlighted by right-hander Lazaro Collera, whose fastball has topped out at 98 MPH and who turned down a $500,000 offer after being drafted in the fifth round by the Phillies last summer.
10. Louisville
The Cardinals are flying under the radar after missing the past 2 NCAA Tournaments. But coach Dan McDonnell has the makings of a team that could get back to the postseason this year. Especially if Friday night ace Patrick Forbes can stay healthy, something he wasn’t able to do in 2024. At the plate, Louisville returns 5 hitters from a lineup that hit .311 and averaged 8 runs per game, including outfielders Eddie King Jr. (.332, 14 HR, 43 RBIs) and Zion Rose (.380, 5 HR, 32 RBIs).
9. Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets have the ACC’s best hitter in first-team All-American Drew Burress, the D1Baseball Freshman of the Year who hit .381 with 25 homers last season, and a solid lineup that’s good enough to get them back to the NCAA Tournament. The question is whether they have enough consistent pitching to complement all that offensive firepower. Right-hander Tate McKee is being counted on to build off a promising freshman season and become an effective Friday night starter while Citadel transfer Sam Swygert will add a veteran arm to a rotation that is very much a work in progress.
8. Stanford
The Cardinal are looking forward to a fresh start in their ACC debut after a disappointing final Pac-12 season that saw them go 22-33 after 3 straight CWS appearances. Not only do they return 7 of the 9 players in their everyday lineup, but they’ve added the nation’s most heralded freshman in Japanese slugger Rintaro Sasaki, who hit 140 home runs for the same high school that produced Shohei Ohtani. On the mound, Stanford features a trio of power arms in projected first-round pick Matt Scott, Freshman All-American Christian Lim and hard-throwing Joey Volchko.
7. NC State
The Wolfpack will go as far as their arms will take them this season. It’s a group bolstered by the return of Matt Willadsen, an ace-worthy right-hander who missed all last season with an injury, and returning left-handed starters Dominic Fritton and Ryan Marhon. But the strength of the staff is its bullpen – particularly the back end manned by hard-throwing Jacob Dudan and closer Derrick Smith. The batting order is almost completely new other than sophomore Alex Sosa, who moves to his natural position behind the place after DHing a year ago, and second baseman Luke Nixon.
6. Wake Forest
The Deacons lost 6 players to the MLB Draft, including ACC Pitcher of the Year Chase Burns and 2 other first-rounders. While there is still some returning talent on hand, including shortstop Marek Houston and bullpen workhorse Will Ray, Wake’s ability to stay at or near the top of the ACC standings will depend on the quality of reinforcements coach Tom Walter has brought in to replenish the roster. He’s attracted a pair of former SEC arms in Missouri’s Logan Lunceford and Tennessee’s Matthew Dallas while Marist transfer Ethan Conrad is the top offensive addition.
5. Duke
The Blue Devils have won 2 ACC Tournament championships over the past 4 seasons, including last year. But they have yet to get over the hump and return to Omaha for the first time since 1961. Chris Pollard’s team will be knocking on the door again this spring with a potent lineup centered around All-ACC slugger AJ Gracia, third baseman Ben Miller and an influx of grad transfers. The big question is the pitching staff, which will need 2-way star Kyle Johnson, Andrew Healy or someone else to step up and become a reliable ace at the top of the rotation.
4. Florida State
The Seminoles missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977 2 seasons ago but bounced back last year to earn a trip to Omaha. Their ability to get back will depend on several variables, including the availability of rehabbing right-hander Cam Leiter. If healthy, he’ll team with ace lefty Jamie Arnold to form one of the best 1-2 punches in the country. The other question mark is how well coach Link Jarrett recruited to replace a majority of his starting lineup. Including ACC Player of the Year James Tibbs III.
3. Clemson
The Tigers are poised to make a strong run at their first CWS appearance since 2010 after winning 44 games, earning a No. 6 national seed and falling 1 game short of the goal a year ago. Coach Erik Bakich has bolstered an already potent batting order headlined by Golden Spikes Award candidate Cam Cannarella with a strong transfer class that includes 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Luke Gaffney from Purdue. The pitching staff, anchored by Freshman All-American Aidan Knaak, is also formidable.
2. North Carolina
The Tar Heels made it to Omaha last season despite losing 2 key starting pitchers to injury. With the healthy return of Jake Knapp and Folger Boaz, along with sophomore ace Jason DeCaro, they head into 2025 with arguably the best weekend rotation in the ACC. That’s in addition to a deep, talented bullpen that includes right-hander Matthew Matthijs, who won 12 games in relief. The offense is in need of a rebuild. But power-hitting catcher Luke Stevenson, a projected first-round MLB pick, is a good place to start.
1. Virginia
Brian O’Connor has built one of the nation’s best, most consistent programs with 7 trips to the College World Series and a championship over the past 15 seasons. So even though the the Cavaliers lost MLB Draft picks Griff O’Ferrall, Ethan Anderson and Casey Saucke, they have more than enough offensive firepower in the person of potential first-rounders Henry Ford and Henry Godbout, to go along with the pitching of ace Evan Blanco and Jay Woolfolk, to return to Omaha for the third straight year.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
