D1Baseball ranks the Blue Devils as a top-30 program in the country

D1Baseball moved the Duke Blue Devils within their top 30 programs this week, the latest step in a meteoric rise.

With each passing year, the Duke baseball team moves closer and closer to the national forefront.

D1Baseball ranked the Blue Devils as the No. 28 program in the country this week, a far cry from being left off the rankings just nine years ago.

“It wasn’t too long ago that Duke was a proverbial punching bag in the ACC,” D1Baseball co-owner Kendall Rogers wrote. “Now, it is routinely one of the league’s best programs.”

Duke hired head coach Chris Pollard for the 2013 season, and the progress has been steady over the 11 years since. After just two 30-win seasons in the 14 years before Pollard’s arrival, the Blue Devils have reached that threshold in nine of their last 10 full seasons.

The growth culminated with a 40-win 2024 season that included Duke’s second ACC Tournament title in four years. Six different members of the team averaged at least .300 at the plate with more than 10 home runs, and closer Charlie Beilenson finished with a 2.01 ERA in 34 appearances.

The Blue Devils climbed up to 82nd in the 2017 D1Baseball rankings, broke into the top 50 as the No. 39 team in 2019, and finished 33rd in the 2022 edition of the rankings.