Is The ACC Led By UNC On The Road To Omaha?
Following a win for North Carolina, 14-4 over Clemson, the Tar Heels won their ninth baseball championship. This, from the ACC Baseball Tournament in Durham, was a product of strong pitching and hitting in a dominant championship game performance. In addition to this win, we will analyze how the Atlantic Coast Conference will be represented in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.
Carolina Sits Atop The ACC
In what was a lopsided win, the Tar Heels scored their runs on 13 hits, including six extra-base hits, as their offensive prowess was on full display. Led at the plate as seven Tar Heels smacked a base hit, with four recording a multi-hit game. Leading these were Gavin Gallagher {3-for-4, 2B, BB, 5 RBI, run} and Alex Madera {3-for-5, 2B, RBI, 2 runs, SB} as the duo set the tone while others, such as Jackson Van De Brake, Hunter Stokely, and Tyson Bass, who all homered to open the lead to one the Tigers could not come back from.
On the mound for UNC was Ryan Lynch. The right-hander whiffed seven Tigers over his four innings of work. In relief, Olin Johnson, who picked up the win, entered the game in the fifth and worked 2.2 innings. In the win, Johnson allowed two runs on four hits, along with two walks and two strikeouts.
The win for North Carolina marks the second all-time in championship games versus the Tigers. Clemson won in 1980, 1981, and 1989 versus UNC. Entering Sunday, North Carolina had only defeated the Tigers in 1983. Under head coach Todd Forbes, North Carolina is now 11-3 in games in the Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament.
With UNC holding the automatic bid with the tournament win, who else could we see make the 64-team bracket?
Conference Continues Success
As much as the SEC is discussed as the best conference in the nation, the ACC can also boast about its success. In what is the 21st consecutive season for the conference to have landed at least six teams, the ACC, for the first time since 2022, will have nine programs in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. Included are the above-discussed Tar Heels and Tigers, along with the Seminoles of Florida State.
The Tar Heels will host a regional for the 14th time in program history. Included in Chapel Hill will be the No. 2 seed Oklahoma Sooners, the No. 3 seed and Big Ten champion Nebraska Cornhuskers, and Patriot League champion Holy Cross. The hosting Tar Heels will face Holy Cross in their opener.
In the Clemson regional, this is becoming a habit, as this is the third consecutive season the Tigers have hosted. This is the 47th NCAA Tournament appearance, and 19th time to host since the 1980 season. The appearances are the fifth most in NCAA history. Visiting Clemson, South Carolina will be the No. 2 seed West Virginia Mountaineers, the No. 3 seed Kentucky Wildcats, and the No. 4 seed USC Upstate Spartans. The hometown Tigers will face in-state foe USC Upstate to begin the weekend.
The Florida State Seminoles will host at Dick Howser Stadium for the 37th time in tournament history, which is the most by any program in the nation. Following a return to Omaha and the Men’s College World Series, the No. 9-ranked Noles are looking to return in 2025. To do this, FSU will have to dispose of No. 2 seed Northeastern Huskies, No. 3 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs, and No. 4 seed Bethune-Cookman Wildcats. FSU will begin the regional against the in-state foe, Bethune-Cookman.
As we now look to the programs traveling, we start with the Duke Blue Devils. The road takes us to Athens, Georgia, and the Athens Regional. Duke will face the No. 3 seed Oklahoma State Cowboys on day one of the regional. Georgia will open with No. 4 seed Binghamton.
We now head to Oxford, Mississippi, as the host Ole Miss Rebels will welcome ACC Regular Season Champion Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The No. 2 seed Jackets will face No.. 3 seed Western Kentucky, also the CUSA Champion. The hosting Rebels will face the No. 4 seed and Missouri Valley Champion, the Murray State Racers.
We now head to the top of the bracket and the number one overall seed Vanderbilt Commodores. While in Nashville, we find the No. 2 seed Louisville Cardinals. In their opening contest, Louisville will face No. 3 seed and SoCon Champion East Tennessee State. The top-seeded Vandy faces the No. 4 seed and Horizon League Champion, Wright State.
Keeping with the SEC road trips, we now make the trek to Auburn, Alabama. The hometown Tigers welcome the No. 2 seed NC State Wolfpack, Stetson, and Central Connecticut. The Wolfpack will meet the Hatters, while the Tigers will face the Blue Devils to open competition.
In what is almost comical now, we head to Knoxville, Tennessee. Wake Forest makes the trek as the Tennessee Vols welcome a quartet of programs. To start their play, Wake will face Cincinnati. The hometown Vols will tangle with Miami of Ohio as they round out play in Knoxville.
We now head to… wait, it’s not all SEC. Hattiesburg, Mississippi, is the site of the final ACC team in the field. The Miami Hurricanes sit in perhaps the most difficult bracket of all conference teams as they are flanked by the hometown Golden Eagles of Southern Miss, Alabama, and Columbia. To make things worse, Miami draws SEC battle-tested Alabama to start play. The Golden Eagles will face the Lions to start the weekend.
At least one ACC team has reached the Men’s College World Series each of the previous 18 years in which it has been held, and multiple ACC teams reached the MCWS 12 times during that span. The ACC has placed a total of 35 teams in the past 18 Men’s College World Series, an average of just under two per season.
In closing, we detailed how this conference deserves to be spoken of with respect across the nation. Does the ACC have the last four national champions? No. But, the conference has had at least one team reach the Men’s College World Series in each of the previous 18 years it has been held. Moreover, multiple teams have reached 12 times during that span. The ACC has put a total of 35 teams in Omaha in this timeframe, which averages just under two teams per season. This #RoadToOmaha will be fun and fast!
