North Carolina has been picked as the baseball preseason favorite to win the Coastal Division in a vote of the ACC’s 14 coaches.
The Tar Heels picked up 12 first place mentions and 96 points in the balloting that was announced Tuesday to easily outdistance Virginia and Duke in the divisional poll. Coach Mike Fox’s team, however, placed second to Atlantic Division favorite Florida State in the voting for the league’s overall championship.
The Blue Devils received 62 points to finish third in the preseason Coastal Division poll, followed by Miami, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh,
In the Atlantic Division, NC State and Wake Forest were picked to finish fourth and fifth respectively behind Florida State, Louisville and Clemson. Coach Elliott Avent’s Wolfpack picked up 53 points while Tom Walter’s Deacons tallied 52 points while receiving the only other first place vote that didn’t go to the Seminoles.
Nine ACC teams have been ranked in the five national polls that have been announced so far, led by Florida State and UNC both of which have been in the top 10 in every poll.
2018 ACC Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
Overall Champion
Florida State (10)
North Carolina (3)
Wake Forest (1)
Atlantic Division
- Florida State (13) – 95
- Louisville – 78
- Clemson – 70
- NC State – 53
- Wake Forest (1) – 52
- Boston College – 25
- Notre Dame – 19
Coastal Division
- North Carolina (12) – 96
- Virginia (2) – 83
- Duke – 62
- Miami – 60
- Georgia Tech – 46
- Virginia Tech – 27
- Pitt – 18
