20-05-2025
Where does UNC baseball land in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll entering ACC Tournament?
Where does UNC baseball land in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll entering ACC Tournament? Can UNC keep its positive momentum going into the ACC Baseball Tournament?
The North Carolina Tar Heels head into this week's ACC Baseball Tournament with plenty of momentum, having just won a weekend series at Top-10 Florida State.
UNC had a chance to clinch the ACC Regular Season Title with a win in Saturday's finale, but faltered late in a 5-4 defeat. North Carolina still ended its regular season in third place, clinching a double-bye for its conference tournament.
Regardless of how the Diamond Heels perform this week in Durham, they'll be hosting an NCAA Tournament Regional the following week.
On Monday, May 19 in USA TODAY Sports' latest Coaches' Poll, UNC rose one spot to third. North Carolina trails just top-seeded LSU and Texas in the Coaches' Poll, plus North Carolina is one spot ahead of Arkansas.
The ACC is well-represented in the Coaches' Poll, taking up an entire fifth of the Top 25. Florida State is sixth, Clemson is 12th, Georgia Tech is 16th and NC State is 23rd.
At this point in the season, rankings don't matter too much. We have a good idea which automatic qualifiers will be in the NCAA Tournament, while teams from smaller conferences need conference tournament titles to make the Regional Round.
The Diamond Heels are hitting the ball well this year, highlighted by four starters mashing a minimum .300, but pitching is their hallmark. Jake Knapp is a name all eyes should be focused on, with UNC's ace carrying an 11-0 win-loss record into conference tournament week, while the bullpen is even deeper than last year's talented bunch.
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