GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Louisville, which returns a strong cast from last year’s team that made a deep run in the College World Series, has been selected as the 2020 Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball preseason favorite by the league’s 14 head coaches. The coaches voted Miami as the favorite to win the Coastal Division.
Louisville is also favored to repeat as Atlantic Division champion with 97 total points, followed by Florida State (79) and NC State (68). Clemson and Wake Forest tied for fourth place in the voting with 52 points each, followed by Boston College (27) and Notre Dame (17). The Cardinals were selected as division favorites by 13 coaches, with Clemson receiving one first-place vote.
Twelve coaches picked Miami to win the Coastal Division, with defending ACC champion North Carolina and reigning Coastal champ Georgia Tech each receiving one first-place vote. Miami tallied 93 total points. Balloting for the next three spots was tight as North Carolina (68) placed second, followed by Georgia Tech (66) and Duke (65). Virginia (55 points), Virginia Tech (27) and Pitt (18) rounded out the Coastal preseason voting.
The ACC has placed at least one team in the College World Series for 14 consecutive years and at least six teams in the NCAA tournament each of the past 16 years. Sixty-nine league players were selected in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft, and at least one ACC player has been picked in the first round for 29 straight years.
Nine different ACC teams have been ranked in at least one major poll during the 2020 preseason, including eight in the NCBWA rankings released earlier this week.
Louisville, coming off a 51-18 season in which it reached the final bracket of the CWS, has been picked No. 1 nationally in three major preseason polls and is ranked among the nation’s top two by every publication. Miami is ranked among the top 10 in every major preseason poll and as high as No. 3 by D1Baseball.
All 14 ACC teams open their seasons on Friday, February 14, with conference play set to begin on Friday, March 6. The 15-game ACC Baseball Championship will be held May 19-24 at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Full results of the 2020 ACC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll, with first-place votes in parenthesis:
Overall Champion
Louisville
Atlantic Division
1. Louisville (13) – 97
2. Florida State – 79
3. NC State – 68
4t. Clemson (1) – 52
4t. Wake Forest – 52
6. Boston College – 27
7. Notre Dame – 17
Coastal Division
1. Miami (12) – 93
2. North Carolina (1) – 68
3. Georgia Tech (1) – 66
4. Duke – 65
5. Virginia – 55
6. Virginia Tech – 24
7. Pitt – 18
