The first two weeks of the 2024 college baseball season are in the books and a lot went down. And while there’s still much more baseball to be played this spring, several teams have stood out over the early goings. Here are our takeaways from the first two weekends.
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Camels Are for Real
The Campbell Camels came into 2024 with a tall task. Campbell began the year with four straight games against ranked opponents, three against UC Santa Barbara, and a weekday tilt with East Carolina. The Camels went 3-1 with those first four games, then completed their second weekend with a sweep against Ohio.
Campbell’s 6-1 start pushed the Camels to #23 in the USA Today/Coaches poll as of February 26. The offense was a likely strength thanks to Lawson Harrill and Grant Knipp. But the pitching, though, has been key. Derek Vartanian rebounded after a tough Opening Day tilt and a deep bullpen led by standout freshman Simon Bargo has Campbell looking good and poised to do well in the CAA.
LSU Stands Tall
The first two weekends for LSU have been a roller coaster. The Tigers’ offense wasn’t as potent in LSU’s games against Central Arkansas during the first weekend and then sputtered in a surprising loss to Stony Brook on February 23. Still, the reigning NCAA champions finished the first two weekends with a 7-1 record.
Look, there are some concerns with LSU, namely the early struggles of Thatcher Hurd. On the other hand, Luke Holman has been dominant (18:1 K:BB through two games), Jared Jones already has four home runs, and Steven Milam and Paxton Kling are batting .400. The Tigers should be fine.
Vandy, Santa Barbara Struggle
Vanderbilt started the year with two weekend series against FAU and Gonzaga. The Commodores exited the first two weeks with a 5-3 record and questions to answer. The bats are fine, in particular Jack Bulger and RJ Austin. However, the pitching is a different story. Carter Holton hasn’t looked sharp, while Greysen Carter walked seven through his first six innings.
The Commodores went down eight spots in the USA Today poll to #14, while the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are no longer ranked. Aside from losing two of three to the Campbell Camels, the Gauchos lost a Friday night tilt to Sacramento State on February 23. Zander Darby and the Gauchos will look to back on track against Oregon from March 1-3.
Duke is No Fluke
Duke got off to a hot start on Opening Day thanks to ace and likely 2024 first-round pick Jonathan Santucci and the Blue Devils haven’t cooled off since. The #10 team in the nation then knocked off Coastal Carolina two days later and then took care of Northwestern this past weekend. Duke is off to a perfect 7-0 start.
Duke’s pitching has been excellent to this point. Santucci has 17 strikeouts through his first 11 innings, and Kyle Johnson and Charlie Beilenson. And on the offensive side of things, highly-touted 2023 recruit AJ Gracia already has three home runs to his name. However, the schedule will pick up fast for Duke. On March 8, the Blue Devils will kick off a three-game series against the #1 team in the nation: Wake Forest.
Demon Deacons Lead the Charge
Aside from a slip against UNC Greensboro last week, the 2024 campaign has gotten off to a good start for Wake Forest. The trio of Michael Massey, Josh Hartle and Chase Burns have been excellent in the rotation, while Adam Tellier and Austin Hawke helped pace the offense over the first two weeks.
Wake Forest still sits at #1 with a 7-1 record, and what’s scary is that Nick Kurtz and Seaver King — two potential 2024 first-round picks — haven’t hit their stride just yet.
We’ll get a better idea of what Wake Forest can do once ACC play starts. But thus far, it’s hard to find a better pitching staff.