30-01-2025
Duke baseball comes in fifth in the ACC preseason poll
Duke baseball comes in fifth in the ACC preseason poll
The Duke baseball team, the defending ACC Tournament champions, finished fifth in the conference's preseason media poll released on Thursday.
The Blue Devils earned 182 points, not garnering a single first-place vote amid the 16 ballots cast. The total left them behind the Virginia Cavaliers, Florida State Seminoles, North Carolina Tar Heels, and Clemson Tigers in order.
Duke won 40 games in 2024, winning its four conference tournament games by 28 combined runs. The Blue Devils saw their season come to a close at the Norman Regional, dropping games against the Connecticut Huskies and Oklahoma Sooners, before three of the team's four First Team All-ACC nominees left the program.
Third baseman Ben Miller (.360 batting average, 15 home runs, 18 doubles, 49 RBIs) and sophomore outfielder AJ Gracia (.305, 14 HRs, 14 2Bs, 58 RBIs) both return to Jack Coombs Field as members of the D1Baseball Preseason All-America team.
Duke gets its 2025 season underway on February 14 against the Cincinnati Bearcats, the first part of a three-game home series. The first conference series starts on March 7 against the California Golden Bears.
