Tag: All-ACC

Seven Duke baseball players named to All-ACC teams

Duke baseball set a team record with seven Blue Devils named to the All-ACC teams, including four First Team members.

Duke baseball set a program record on Monday with seven Blue Devils named to the All-ACC teams, including four First Team members.

Starting pitcher Jonathan Santucci, reliever Charlie Beilenson, third baseman Ben Miller, and second baseman Zac Morris all made the top squad in the conference.

Miller, who transferred from Penn before the 2024 season, led the Blue Devils with a .383 batting average this season. He racked up 17 doubles and 13 home runs in 48 games, and he finished the regular season with 42 runs batted in and an on-base percentage of .465.

Morris, another 2024 transfer who joined from VMI, had a batting average of .335 and an on-base percentage of .432 in his own right. In 53 games, he raked in 49 RBIs and mashed 15 home runs for a slugging percentage of .600.

On the mound, Beilenson finished the season with a 1.88 ERA across 29 appearances, ending up with a 6-3 record and 11 saves on his resume. He struck out 78 batters in 52.2 innings pitched, and he allowed just 50 walks and hits combined. Opposing batters finished with an average of .178 against the closer.

Santucci, Duke’s ace southpaw, sat out the North Carolina series as he nursed a rib injury on his non-throwing side. However, he finished with a 6-1 record and a 3.54 ERA in 12 starts. He averaged 13.82 strikeouts per nine innings, and he surrendered 1.30 walks and hits per inning pitched.

Catcher Alex Stone made the All-ACC Second Team after he batted .326 with 11 home runs.

Newcomers AJ Gracia (.311, 12 HRs, and 51 RBI) and Kyle Johnson (.295, 5 HRs, and 9 RBI as a batter, 4.47 ERA and a 3-1 record as a pitcher) both made the Freshman Team, with Gracia making the All-ACC Third Team.

Duke’s postseason starts on Tuesday against Virginia Tech, the first game in pool play of the conference tournament.

First Team All-ACC forward Liatu King transfers to Notre Dame

The Irish thought big in the portal, and they got who they wanted.

[autotag]Liatu King[/autotag] faced Notre Dame six times during her four seasons at Pittsburgh and lost every single time. They say if you can’t beat them, join them. But while it’s unlikely that the Irish’s dominance in their rivalry with the Panthers played a factor, King nonetheless is coming to the Irish for the 2024-25 season via the transfer portal.

The paint still was drying on the news that former Marquette forward [autotag]Liza Karlen[/autotag] had transferred to the Irish when the news about King broke. So in less than 24 hours, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] has added two standout forwards who will turn what had been a roster weakness into a real strength. The expectations for the 2024-25 Irish couldn’t possibly be higher now, and anything less than a Final Four berth will be a big disappointment.

This past season, King was the ACC’s Most Improved Player and made First Team All-ACC. She nearly doubled her scoring average from 9.4 the previous season to 18.7. Her 10.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks a game would have led the Irish. She and [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag] will be a fantastic post duo and make life miserable for smaller teams.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Women’s golf earns two All-ACC honors

ICYMI: Two players for Clemson women’s golf team earned All-Conference honors this week.

The ACC released its Women’s Golf All-ACC team on Thursday, and two Tigers made the cut, Chloe Holder and Annabelle Pancake.

The ACC uses a mixture of NCAA-approved individual national rankings, a coaches’ vote, and, if not already included, the individual ACC champion to form the team.

Holder earned the honor based on her rankings. The No. 76 player in the nation had an outstanding year, leading the team in almost every category. Notably, she had 13 rounds below par, including nine rounds in the 60s on a 71.42 stroke average and a hole-in-one. In her best round of the season, she scored 63 at Landfall Traditions in October and finished the year -3 vs Par.

On the other hand, Pancake picked up her second accolade in as many years and was one of two players selected by the coaches. She led the team in round below par with 14 and birdies with 94, all while averaging 71.54.

The Tigers will take the course again between May 6-9 in the NCAA Regionals Tournament. Clemson will be the lone ACC member in the Bryan Regional Site, playing against teams like LSU, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt. The top-five teams and six individuals not on advancing teams will play for the National Championship on May 17-22 in Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.

 

Two Duke women’s golfers make All-ACC team

Emma McMyler and Katie Li took two of the 15 spots on the 2024 All-ACC Women’s Golf Team, making Duke one of four teams with multiple nominees.

Two Blue Devils, graduate student Emma McMyler and freshman Katie Li, made the 2024 All-ACC Women’s Golf Team revealed on Thursday.

McMyler and Li took two of the 15 spots up for grabs among the entire conference.

McMyler posted a team-best 71.67 scoring average across her eight individual performances. She finished in the top 10 twice, including a tie for fourth at the Windy City Collegiate Classic after a second-round 67 and a final-round 69. She also finished in a tie for 17th at the ACC Championship.

Li finished her debut Duke season with a scoring average of 72.67, and she claimed the Florida State Match Up for her first collegiate win. She fired back-to-back rounds of 66 in the opening two rounds en route to a -12 performance, winning by three strokes over Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Lottie Woad.

The Blue Devils won the Florida State Match Up by 10 strokes over the hosting Seminoles, and McMyler finished in a tie for ninth.

Only three other teams in the conference had multiple players nominated. Clemson and Florida State both had two nominees while Wake Forest had four.

Maddy Westbeld will return to Notre Dame for 2024-25 season

Big news for an Irish team expected to do big things next season.

Michael Jordan famously announced his first return to basketball with the iconic fax simply reading, “I’m back.” Well, times have changed, and sports figures can make announcements about their futures on social media. While [autotag]Maddy Westbeld[/autotag]’s two-word tweet Monday won’t become nearly as famous as Jordan’s fax, it nonetheless will thrill Notre Dame fans:

Yes, this means Westbeld will use her remaining college eligibility to return to the Irish for a fifth and final season in 2024-25. There had been questions lately about whether she would do so, but those can be put to rest now. It gives the Irish a veteran presence down low and a mentor for incoming big [autotag]Kate Koval[/autotag].

Still unknown is the future of fellow Irish big [autotag]Kylee Watson[/autotag], especially given the knee injury she suffered during this year’s ACC Tournament, but at least Westbeld will be on next year’s team. She is coming off her third All-ACC selection and a season in which she averaged 14.4 points, 1.1 blocks and a career-high 8.7 rebounds a game. She has started all 120 games she has played for the Irish over her first four seasons with the program, and there’s no reason to think that will change.

Westbeld clearly wants to be part of an Irish team that is expected to go far. Her presence will make that a lot easier to happen.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo named Wooden Award finalist

She had an incredible season, no?

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] racked up one record and honor after another during her freshman season at Notre Dame. Now, she’s going about as far as she can go as far as awards in women’s basketball. She has been announced as one of five finalists for the Wooden Award, which is given to the best player in the country.

Even though the winner will be announced Monday, merely being a finalist means Hidalgo will be invited to the ceremony April 12 in Los Angeles regardless if she wins the award or not. She also is one of 10 Wooden Award All-Americans.

In 35 games this season, Hidalgo became one of the country’s top scorers with 33.9 points a game. She also led the country in steals at 4.6 a game, and she averaged 5.5 assists a game. All that and more made her a First Team All-American and First Team All-ACC selection as well as the top rookie and defensive player in the ACC.

Hidalgo faces some incredibly stiff competition for this award. Iowa’s Caitlin Clark is the clear favorite to win it for the second straight year, but Hidalgo also is up against 2021 winner Paige Bueckers of UConn, fellow freshman phenom JuJu Watkins of USC and Stanford’s Cameron Brink. Still, the fact that she can be in the conversation with these players is a good indicator that she’ll keep the South Bend faithful coming to Purcell Pavilion for the next few years.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

All-ACC first teamer Hunter Sallis latest transfer portal success for Steve Forbes at Wake Forest

Hunter Sallis was named to the All-ACC first team, another successful transfer portal guard addition for Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes.

Wake Forest junior guard Hunter Sallis was among the five players selected to the All-ACC first team on Monday, becoming the third consecutive Demon Deacons guard to earn that honor after transferring to Steve Forbes’ team.

Sallis, who spent the first two years of his career out west at Gonzaga, was joined on the All-ACC first team by RJ Davis at North Carolina, PJ Hall at Clemson, Kyle Filipowski at Duke, and Blake Hinson at Pitt.

This has become a trend at Wake Forest under coach Forbes. First it was Jake Laravia, who transferred from Indiana State and earned All-ACC honors in 2021-22 – and was selected 19th overall in the 2022 NBA draft. Then it was Tyree Appleby, a grad transfer from Florida who averaged 18.8 points for the Demon Deacons in 2022-23 on his way to an All-ACC nod as well.

Now the honor goes to Sallis, who paced Wake Forest in scoring at 18.3 points per night, while adding 4.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.0 steals per game on 41.6% shooting from three – a huge increase from the 25.8% he shot from distance in two years with the Zags.

Wake’s second leading scorer this year is Kevin Miller, another transfer guard coming over from Central Michigan and averaging 15.4 points per game.

Forbes’ success with transfer portal guards is no accident, as he has been able to find players who fit his system and help them thrive both offensively and defensively.

However, the influx of talented guards has yet to result in an NCAA Tournament for the Demon Deacons under Forbes, and this year’s team is squarely on the bubble heading into the ACC Tournament which gets underway this week.

Notre Dame’s Markus Burton named ACC Rookie of the Year

Congrats, Markus!

Notre Dame has a brighter future than it did a year ago, and a lot of that has to do with [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag]. The freshman “from next door in Mishawaka” as he’s introduced before home games now has some serious hardware. Burton has been named the ACC Rookie of the Year.

This is the first time a first-year Notre Dame player has earned this honor in the ACC. The Irish had two Big East Rookies of the Year in [autotag]Chris Thomas[/autotag] (2002) and [autotag]Troy Murphy[/autotag] (1999), the latter of whom just had his program rookie freshman scoring record broken by Burton (535).

Burton also tied with Duke’s Jared McCain for the most votes on the ACC All-Rookie Team. This is the third straight year a Notre Dame freshman has been so honored after JJ Starling in 2023 and [autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] in 2022.

Burton, who is averaging 17.6 points, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals a game, also made the All-ACC Third Team. This marks the Irish’s return to the all-conference team after being shut out from it a year ago.

Here are some images from Burton’s impressive freshman campaign:

Jeremy Roach chosen as member of All-ACC Third Team

Duke senior and captain Jeremy Roach was named to All-ACC Third Team on Monday.

With the regular season officially over, it’s award season as teams in the ACC prepare and make their way toward Washington, DC, for the 2024 ACC Tournament.

Duke will head to the nation’s capital with three All-ACC talents as the league office honored Kyle Filipowskiu, Jared McCain, and Jeremy Roach.

Roach, in particular, was named an All-ACC Third Team member for his efforts during the season. Roach, a two-time captain for the Duke team, ranked third in the ACC in assist/turnover ratio (2.51) while dishing out 3.1 assists per contest. He finished the regular season 16th in the ACC with 14.3 points per game, eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in November, and is currently at 1,408 points for his career.

He shot a blistering 48.4% from the field, including 44.2% from long distance, made 50 3-pointers, and converted 85.7% of his free throws. He served as much more of a combo guard this year, and while the Blue Devils have a talented backcourt, Roach remained the late-game option to get a basket if the ball wasn’t in the hands of All-ACC First Team member Kyle Filipowski.

Roach has at most nine games left for the remainder of this season before making a decision on his future. The Blue Devils honored Roach for senior night this past weekend against UNC, but Roach could still use his COVID year of eligibility to return for one final season.

Projecting the five highest-rated Blue Devils in EA Sports’ College Football 25

With EA Sports College Football 25 on the horizon, here’s our ranking of who we think will be the five highest-rated Duke players in the game.

EA Sports has officially done it. They have successfully built the momentum for the latest installment in their beloved college football video game series. It’s been a long wait, but with the teaser trailer they dropped earlier in February and the confirmation early this week that every FBS team had opted in for the video game, it’s finally starting to feel real. The official reveal of the game will come in May.

According to ESPN, Thursday was also the first day that college football players could begin opting to participate in the video game. The report said players would receive $600 and a free game copy.With the momentum of this game hitting a fever pitch and the fact that we are getting closer to release, we decided to look at how Duke may look when the game is released.Without further ado, here’s a look at who we think will be the five highest-rated Blue Devils in the new game when it releases this summer.