Perfect Game USA released its 2025 preseason college baseball rankings on Monday afternoon, and the Duke Blue Devils begin the season at the No. 9 spot.
Duke won 40 games last season, culminating in a dominant run through the conference tournament. The Blue Devils won all four games against Virginia Tech, NC State, Miami, and the Florida State Seminoles by a combined score of 43-15. Duke hit three home runs against FSU in the title game, scoring five runs in the second and sixth innings en route to a 16-4 victory.
The Blue Devils failed to advance out of the Norman Regional, losing to Connecticut in the first round before losing to the hosting Oklahoma Sooners in the elimination bracket.
A trio of First Team All-ACC talents, second baseman Zac Morris and pitchers Jonathan Santucci and Charlie Beilenson, left the program this offseason, but one stuck around. Third baseman Ben Miller (.360 batting average, 15 HRs, 49 RBIs) is back for his second year with the Blue Devils, and freshmen AJ Gracia (.305, 14 HRs, 58 RBIs) and Kyle Johnson (3 HRs, 11 RBIs, and a 4.38 ERA in 49.1 innings pitched) return after making the conference’s All-Freshman team. Gracia even worked his way onto the Third Team with his numbers.
The Virginia Cavaliers (No. 3), Seminoles (No. 6), Clemson Tigers (No. 8), Wake Forest Demon Deacons (No. 16), and North Carolina Tar Heels (No. 19) joined Duke as ACC representatives in the rankings.