North Carolina is known for having a long history of great baseball teams, but this year there are four different teams all garnering attention. In the first poll released by D1Baseball, NC State, UNC, ECU and UNCW all cracked the list.The Wolfpack topped the list for in-state teams at No. 6. Elliott Avent’s team bowed out in the Raleigh Regional last season against eventual College World Series champion Coastal Carolina, but has a solid core with Brett Kinneman, Evan Mendoza and Joe Dunand to compete in a strong ACC — which had seven teams ranked by D1Baseball.Just behind NC State was UNC, which comes in at No. 9. The Tar Heels weren’t ranked in the final D1Baseball poll after missing out on the postseason. Carolina finished last season 34-21 (13-17 ACC), but the return of players like Brian Miller, Adam Pate and Logan Warmoth gives the Heels a powerful offense.East Carolina was one spot behind the Heels at No. 10 following a Super Regional appearance last season. The Pirates have experienced players in Travis Watkins and Jacob Wolfe to go along with young talent like Dwanya Williams-Sutton, giving ECU one of the most well-rounded lineups in the country.Rounding out the top 25 was UNCW, which came in at No. 24 overall. The Seahawks lose their most consistent hitter from last year in Steven Linkous, but get back Golden Spikes finalist Nick Feight along with Brian Mims and Casey Golden. A year after coming one win short, the Diamond Hawks are looking to reclaim their CAA title and make some noise in the NCAA Tournament this season.
