Tag: acc baseball

12 ACC players drafted in the opening night of 2024 MLB Draft

The ACC had some top draft picks in 2024.

ARLINGTON, Texas (theACC.com) –  The Atlantic Coast Conference had 12 student-athletes, including seven first-round picks, hear their names called on Sunday evening as the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft opened in Arlington, Texas. The seven selections in the first round were the league’s highest total since 2020 and are tied for the second-most in ACC history. The seven first-round selections are tied for the most of any conference in the country.

This marks the 33rd consecutive year that at least one ACC player has been selected in the opening round of the MLB Draft and the ninth straight year that the ACC has placed at least one draftee among the top 15 picks.

Three Wake Forest Demon Deacons were selected in the top 10 of the 2024 MLB Draft, becoming just the second team ever to achieve the feat, joining the 2004 Rice Owls. The Demon Deacons saw Chase Burns, Nick Kurtz and Seaver King fly off of the board and begin their professional careers early in the evening.

Burns became the first ACC student-athlete taken in the draft, going second overall to the Cincinnati Reds. Burns became the highest draft pick in Wake Forest history and the second consecutive Demon Deacon to be selected by the Reds in the first round, joining Rhett Lowder in 2023. Burns becomes the fifth Demon Deacon pitcher to be picked in the first round since 2018, the most of any school in that span. The ACC Pitcher of the Year posted a 10-1 record and a 2.70 ERA on the mound while setting the Wake Forest single-season strikeout record with 191.

Just two picks later, Kurtz was selected fourth overall by the Oakland Athletics. Burns and Kurtz became the first teammates to be chosen with the first two ACC selections since 2014 when NC State’s Carlos Rodon and Trea Turner did so. The power-hitting first baseman hit .306 on the season with 22 home runs and 57 RBI. Kurtz is also Wake Forest’s single-season (78) and career (189) record holder in walks drawn.

King became the third Demon Deacon off the board at No. 10 overall to the Washington Nationals. In 60 games with Wake Forest, King launched a career-best 16 home runs and notched a team-leading 78 hits. With King’s selection, Wake Forest became the first ACC school with at least three first-round draft picks in the same draft since Louisville in 2016 (Corey Ray, Zach Burdi and Will Smith).

James Tibbs III, the 2024 ACC Player of the Year, was taken 13th overall by the San Francisco Giants, becoming the fourth ACC selection. Tibbs became the Seminoles’ highest draft pick since 2008 when the Giants selected Buster Posey at No. 8 overall. Tibbs started all 66 games for the Seminoles this season, hitting .387 with 91 hits, including 28 home runs, 18 doubles, 75 runs scored, and 95 runs batted in. Earlier this summer, Tibbs was also named the ACC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Just one pick later, Tibbs’ Florida State teammate Cam Smith was selected No. 14 overall by the Chicago Cubs. Smith’s selection marked the first time since 1995 that Florida State had multiple players taken in the first round of the draft. It also marked the first time that two Florida State players were selected in the top 15 picks of the same draft in program history.

The infield prospect helped lead the Seminoles to the Men’s College World Series and a 49-win season. Last summer, Smith was named the Most Outstanding Pro Prospect in the Cape Cod League—the nation’s premier collegiate summer league.

North Carolina’s all-time home run leader, Vance Honeycutt, was selected at No. 22 by the Baltimore Orioles. The two-time ACC Defensive Player of the Year and ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner posted a mark of 16.9 defensive runs saved, which led all NCAA Division I outfielders. The outfielder became a household name throughout the NCAA Tournament with several clutch performances that helped lead the Tar Heels to the Men’s College World Series.

Malcolm Moore of ACC newcomer Stanford was selected at No. 30 overall by the Texas Rangers. Moore was the 2023 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and earned five separate Freshman All-America honors. Moore played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in the summer of 2023 before hitting .255 with 16 home runs, eight doubles, and 36 runs batted in for the Cardinal in 2024.

Virginia shortstop Griff O’Ferrall was selected in the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) round of the draft, falling into the No. 32 overall slot. O’Ferrall and the Cavaliers made a trip to the Men’s College World Series. O’Ferrall finishes his time in Charlottesville with the most career hits (270) and runs scored (196) of any three-year player in Virginia history. O’Ferrall also won the Brooks Wallace Award in 2024, bestowed annually to the nation’s top shortstop. While picking up his second-straight First-Team All-ACC honor, the sure-handed infielder was also named an ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner.

Caleb Lomavita, a catcher from ACC newcomer California, heard his name called in the Competitive Balance round at No. 39 overall. The Ewa Beach, Hawai’i, native hit .322 for the Golden Bears in 2024, adding 15 home runs, 13 doubles, and 52 RBIs while posting a .989 fielding percentage behind the plate. Lomavita was a two-time All-Pac-12 First Team selection and also earned a Third-Team All-America nod from Perfect Game in 2024.

In the second round, three more ACC stars were drafted: Duke’s Jonathan Santucci went to the New York Mets at No. 46, NC State’s Jacob Cozart went to Cleveland at No. 48, and Virginia’s Ethan Anderson was picked by Baltimore at No. 61. Anderson became the third ACC student-athlete to be selected by Baltimore in the 2024 draft.

The 2024 MLB Draft continues Monday afternoon with rounds three through 10 and concludes Tuesday with rounds 11 through 20.

2024 MLB Draft Picks from the ACC
Round/Overall
1/2 – Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest, Cincinnati Reds
1/4 – Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest, Oakland Athletics
1/10 – Seaver King, SS, Wake Forest, Washington Nationals
1/13 – James Tibbs III, OF, Florida State, San Francisco Giants
1/14 – Cam Smith, 3B, Florida State, Chicago Cubs
1/22 – Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina, Baltimore Orioles
1/30 – Malcolm Moore, C, Stanford*, Texas Rangers
PPI/32 – Griff O’Ferrall, SS, Virginia, Baltimore Orioles
CB-A/39 – Caleb Lomavita, C, California*, Washington Nationals
2/46 – Jonathan Santucci, LHP, Duke, New York Mets
2/48 – Jacob Cozart, C, NC State, Cleveland Guardians
2/61 – Ethan Anderson, C, Virginia, Baltimore Orioles

*- Played in the Pac-12 during the 2024 season

Two-way player commits to Clemson

Clemson picked up a commitment from this two-way recruit Tuesday.

Erik Bakich added another piece to his 2025 recruiting class earlier this week when two-way prep standout Dan Margolies announced his commitment to Clemson.

Margolies made the announcement in a social media post to X on Tuesday. He is a left-handed pitcher and first baseman/outfielder from The Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, Conn., who received preseason 2024 Rawlings/Perfect Game Underclass All-American honors.

“Excited to announce my new commitment to attend school & play D1 baseball at Clemson University. I would like to thank my family, friends, coaches & teammates! Thank you Coaches Bakich, Belanger & the rest of the Clemson baseball staff for giving me this opportunity. #GoTigers,” Margolies wrote on X.

Perfect Game lists Margolies as the 12th player to commit to Clemson in the class of 2025. Margolies joins Noonan, Ga., infielder Dax Kilby, left-hander Nicholas Frusco (Miller Place, N.Y.), right-handed pitcher and infielder Jason Fultz (Harborcreek, Pa.), right-handed pitcher and infielder Peyton Miller (Phoenix, Md.), right-hander Danny Nelson (Hershey, Pa.), catcher Skyler Hegler (Lancaster, S.C.), and right-hander and first baseman Eston Simpson (Jefferson, Ga.).

Infielder Jackson Taylor (Marietta, Ga.), right-hander Landon Fowler (Easley, S.C.), right-handed pitcher and first baseman Dylan Harrison (Fontana, Calif.) and outfielder Logan Struk (Charleston, S.C.) have also verbally pledged to the Tigers.

Follow us @Clemson_Wire on X and on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news, notes and commentary. 

Where did Duke baseball finish in the final Coaches Poll?

The Blue Devils failed to advance to the College World Series, but an ACC Tournament title kept them inside the coaches’ final top 25.

The Duke baseball season finished short of Omaha in 2024, winning one game but unable to advance from the Norman Regional.

The final USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll came out last week, reflecting the final results from the College World Series and the season as a whole. The Blue Devils tumbled down eight spots but kept a foothold within the top 25, finishing 18th.

Duke finished the season with a 40-20 record. They spent much of the season in contention for regional hosting duty, but a late-season slide dropped them behind the pace to snag one of the top 16 seeds. The Blue Devils surged through the ACC Tournament, however, scoring 16 runs in the championship game against Florida State to take their second conference tournament title in four years.

However, the selection committee still passed Durham over as a regional hosting site, producing questions and outrage from the college baseball world as analysts questioned if the decision stemmed from resources and facilities more than performance.

Tennessee, who came back after an opening loss for the national title, maintained a hold as the top team in the country.

The Seminoles (fourth), North Carolina (fifth), Virginia (seventh), NC State (eighth), and Clemson (ninth) all cracked the top 10 for the ACC.

Did Duke baseball do enough at the ACC Tournament to host a regional?

Duke outscored its final three ACC Tournament opponents 32-7 en route to its second title in program history, but was it enough for a top-16 seed?

The Duke Blue Devils did all they needed to do this week in Charlotte.

After a 6-7 close to the regular season left Duke outside of the top 16 seeds in most postseason projections, the Blue Devils swept their way through the ACC Tournament for the second title in program history.

Not only did Duke win, but head coach Chris Pollard’s team dominated. The Blue Devils scored 43 runs in four games and outscored its final three opponents 32-7.

Duke’s offense mashed 12 home runs over the four-game postseason run, including eight from the trio of Devin Obee, Ben Miller, and Zac Morris. Obee earned Tournament MVP honors after he hit a home run in each of the last three games.

The Blue Devils dropped down to a No. 2 seed in every projection after the clunky close to the regular season, but five ACC teams were considered safe bets to host a region before the tournament began. Duke emerging from one of the deepest conferences in the nation can’t be taken for granted, especially now that it means the Blue Devils sport a 39-18 record for the season.

The team certainly thinks it did enough, as evidenced by an amusing post from the team account on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

The selection show starts at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday with the 16 regional hosts announced.

If fans want the official Duke Wire prediction, I think the Blue Devils did enough to earn one of the spots. Expect them to be one of the last three seeds on the board, somewhere between 14th and 16th in the country, but expect postseason baseball in Durham.

Duke centerfielder Devin Obee named ACC Baseball Tournament MVP after three home runs

Obee hit a grand slam during Sunday’s dominant victory over Florida State, his third home run over the last three games en route to MVP honors.

Duke baseball took home its second ACC Tournament title in program history on Sunday with a 16-4 win over Florida State, and centerfielder Devin Obee earned Tournament MVP honors after he mashed three home runs over the Blue Devils’ final three games.

The junior outfielder finished Duke’s four-game tournament run with three home runs, seven hits, and eight RBIs after batting .500 for the week.

After one hit during an opening victory over Virginia Tech, he mashed a two-run home run in the sixth inning during Thursday’s winner-take-all game against NC State to advance out of pool play. The ball initially got ruled a double because it clanged off of some scaffolding right above the wall and back into the outfield, but in an amusing twist of fate, the UNC baseball team protested the call from the stands and prompted a video review that awarded Obee a home run.

He produced similar heroics against the Hurricanes during Saturday’s semifinal victory, another blowout in Duke’s favor. In the middle of a six-run eighth inning that busted the Blue Devils out of a tie game, Obee lofted his second two-run homer in two games.

His grand slam against the Seminoles on Sunday, his third home run in three games, busted the game apart to give Duke a 10-run lead.

Duke ended up winning its last three games of the tournament by 25 combined runs partially thanks to Obee’s offensive display, and the ACC recognized him as the best player of the week.

Duke baseball’s ACC tournament victory and celebration in photos

The Blue Devils offense blazed through Charlotte, culminating in a runaway win over Florida State in Sunday’s title game. Check out the week’s best photos here.

For the second time in four years, Duke baseball took home the ACC tournament title.

The Blue Devils absolutely burned their way through Truist Field in Charlotte, scoring 43 runs in four games. The effort culminated in a 16-4 blowout over Florida State on Sunday, a team that defeated Duke in a weekend series just weeks earlier. Ben Miller and Devin Obee both hit grand slams, the latter serving as Obee’s third home run in three days.

The Duke pitching staff did its part, too. After giving up eight runs during a narrow win over Virginia Tech to open pool play, they held NC State, Miami, and the Seminoles to seven combined runs over the final 27 innings. Duke outscored its last three opponents by more than eight runs per game.

Duke now awaits the selection show to see if they earned one of the 16 regional host spots for this postseason, but a conference crown gives them favorable odds.

Here are the best photos from the team’s statement weekend.

Duke baseball will play Florida State in Sunday’s ACC championship game

The Blue Devils, fresh off back-to-back offensive explosions, will play the Seminoles with a conference tournament title on the line.

Duke baseball, with an offense in full form, will battle Florida State in Sunday’s ACC championship game.

After winning a pool with NC State and Virginia Tech thanks to a six-run fifth inning against the Wolfpack on Thursday, the Blue Devils hung six runs on Miami in the eighth inning en route to a semifinal victory on Saturday.

Across its last 25 innings at the plate (no bottom of the ninth against Virginia Tech or the Hurricanes), the Blue Devils have raked in 27 runs and mashed nine home runs. Centerfielder Devin Obee and catcher Alex Stone each have two, with Obee cranking one in each of the last two games, and second baseman Zac Morris has already hit three.

A Sunday victory could be enough for Duke to host a regional in Durham, too. After a rocky end to the regular season saw Duke lose seven of its last 13 games and each of its last three conference series (including one to the Seminoles), D1Baseball and other projections dropped the Blue Devils down to a No. 2 seed. A tournament win over what has been the deepest conference in college baseball this season could vault Duke back into the top 16 spots.

Sunday’s first pitch is scheduled for noon Eastern time.

Four first-inning home runs lead UNC in ACC Baseball Championship rout of Pitt

Can the North Carolina Tar Heels ride their power hitting to a second ACC Baseball Championship title in three seasons?

All season long, the North Carolina Tar Heels’ baseball team has been defined by its strong hitting ability.

UNC entered its first ACC Baseball Championship clash – Thursday afternoon against Pitt – with a .310 team batting average that ranks 24th in Division I. Seven Diamond Heels are mashing .300, with Georgia transfer Parks Harber owning a team-best .358.

North Carolina also hits for power, as star center fielder Vance Honeycutt is one of five players with double-digit home runs (team-high 22), while five hitters have a minimum 50 RBIs.

That power was on display in full force during Thursday’s ACC Championship opener against Pitt, as Harber, Anthony Donofrio, Casey Cook and Alberto Osuna all mashed first-inning home runs en route to a 12-2 victory.

After blowing the game open early, UNC added a fifth run on Donofrio’s fourth-inning single. The Panthers closed their deficit to 5-2 in the bottom of the fourth, only for Cook to mash a 2-run homer in the sixth.

The Diamond Heels then added on to their lead with an Osuna groundout (sixth) and a Jackson Van De Brake single (ninth inning), capping their scoring later in the ninth on Cook’s 3-run bomb.

North Carolina also got a rockstar outing from freshman ace Jason DeCaro on the mound, as he pitched seven innings of 2-run, 5-hit baseball with six strikeouts. Connor Bovair and Kyle Percival finished the game and allowed just two hits.

UNC next lines up with Wake Forest on Friday, May 24 at 7 p.m. ET for a trip to the ACC Semifinals. The Demon Deacons, whom the Diamond Heels swept in Winston-Salem late March, dominated Pitt 8-1 on Wednesday.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Duke baseball wins high-scoring opener against Virginia Tech in ACC tournament

The Duke baseball team defeated the Hokies 11-8 to win their first game of the ACC Championship after a sixth-run third inning and two home runs from Zac Morris.

The Duke baseball team won its first game of pool play in the ACC Championship on Tuesday night, an 11-8 victory over Virginia Tech powered by the bat of second baseman Zac Morris.

The Blue Devils trailed early after starting pitcher Ryan Higgins completely unraveled in the second inning. After four straight outs to start the game, including three strikeouts in a row after he fanned the leadoff batter in the second.

Higgins, then, walked the next batter. And the one after that. And the one after him, too. Then he walked a fourth straight Virginia Tech batter, bringing a run around without a single hit.

James Tallon came in to pitch from there, but bases loaded with one out is not an enviable starting spot. A sacrifice fly on his first batter made it a 2-0 game before Hokies third baseman Carson DeMartini mashed a ball over the wall for a three-run homer.

The Blue Devils roared back in the third with six runs of their own. A leadoff triple from Devin Obee and a Wallace Clark walk put runners on the corners for Morris, who lofted his first home run of the evening to cut the lead to 5-3.

The run continued with RBI singles from Logan Bravo and Chase Krewson, the latter bringing home a pair with his two-out poke into the outfield.

The lead stayed at one run for a while, but a solo shot from catcher Alex Stone in the fifth doubled it. Morris put the game out of reach for good when he blasted his second home run of the day, a two-run shot giving him five RBIs and giving Duke a 9-5 lead.

Virginia Tech tried to claw back with a run of their own in the seventh, but the Blue Devils threw on two more in the bottom of the frame to make matters worse.

First Team All-ACC closer Charlie Beilenson came in for the final nine outs, and although he coughed up a two-run homer in the eighth, it proved to mean nothing for the outcome. He struck out two batters in the ninth, a three-up, three-down inning to put a stamp on his 12th save of the season.

Duke now waits for NC State, the top seed in their pool, on Thursday. The game will effectively control Duke’s chances to reach the semifinals, as the Wolfpack hold the tiebreaker over the Blue Devils as the higher seed. Duke either needs to win both games or needs NC State to lose both games.

The second game of pool play will start at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

UNC baseball locker room explodes as Scott Forbes named ACC Coach of the Year

Does head coach Scott Forbes help lead the UNC baseball team to its first College World Series title this season?

Scott Forbes had some major shoes to fill when taking over as the UNC baseball program’s head coach.

He replaced longtime North Carolina head coach Mike Fox months after the 2020 season, which COVID ended early. Forbes, a longtime Fox assistant, led the Diamond Heels to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of his first three head coaching campaigns.

This year, however, Forbes is arguably overseeing his most talented group of players.

UNC won its first ACC Regular Season Title since 2018, going 41-12 (22-8). North Carolina is a Top-25 hitting team in the nation, with seven players hitting a minimum .300. Forbes brought in the ACC’s top recruiting class, headlined by Georgia transfer Parks Harber and freshman catcher Luke Stevenson.

The most impressive thing that I think Forbes is doing this year? Helping the Diamond Heels play this well with – essentially – an entirely brand new pitching staff.

With all the success Forbes helped UNC to in the regular season, it’s no surprise he was named the ACC Coach of the Year.

Look how much North Carolina players love their head coach, as evident by Monday’s locker room celebration:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7My8oBA_gU/?img_index=1

Forbes played his announcement perfectly: taking congratulations from his guys, then essentially telling them to lock in for the postseason.

The Diamond Heels begin their quest for the ACC Championship on Thursday afternoon, facing Pitt at 3 p.m. ET. UNC then turns around to battle Wake Forest, the country’s preseason number one team, on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

After the ACC Baseball Championship ends, I have no doubt North Carolina will set its sights one the first College World Series title in program history.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.