Much like the other power conferences, the ACC received a significant shake-up last summer. Two West Coast schools joined the ACC, making things very interesting for a group now considered a true national conference. The ACC sent several schools to the 2024 College World Series — and there’s no reason to think that can’t happen again in 2025. Here’s our 2025 ACC college baseball preview.
Boston College
We’ll start with the Boston College Eagles, who finished last overall in the ACC a year earlier. BC went 8-22 in conference action, as the Eagles are in the midst of a program rebuild after a coaching change and talent going pro. The Eagles lost their 2024 ace, John West, to the pros.
Boston College won’t have it easy in 2025, either. However, the Eagles will have a largely experienced group in Boston. Adam Magpoc, who we noted as a name to watch in 2024, hit .289 as a freshman last season. Kyle Wolff, Vince Cimini, and Nick Wang, their of their leading batters, are also back.
As for their freshman class, the Eagles landed infielder Julio Solier, ranked #212 by Perfect Game in their rankings list of high schoolers from 2024.
California
Yes, California is in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Cal is one of two former Pac-12 schools joining the fray in the ACC, and will do so without Caleb Lomavita. Lomavita was the notable departure from the Golden Bears, as the 22-year-old posted a .981 OPS en route to becoming a first-round pick by Washington. Peyton Schulze (Texas Tech) and Rodney Green (MLB) are also no longer with the team.
California’s 2025 roster still looks fine, from a talent perspective. Two of their best freshman players, infielders Jarren Advincula and P.J. Moutzouridis, are back for 2025. Advincula is a name to watch come the 2026 MLB Draft, as the second baseman hit .326 as a freshman, then .392 at the Cape.
Pitching-wise, the Bears will look very different. Andres Galan and Christian Becerra both went pro, while Luke Short is now in independent ball. Trey Newman, their appearance leader from 2024, is now a coach for Cal.
Clemson
The ACC was home to several standout freshman pitchers last season and Aidan Knaak was one of them. Knaak, a hot prospect in the 2023 MLB Draft, opted to go to Clemson and dominated right away, striking out 108 over 83 frames with the Tigers. He paced a deep pitching staff, one that included now-pro talents Austin Gordon and Tristin Smith.
Clemson’s offense was somewhat of a quandary, thanks to inconsistent results from Will Taylor. However, Cam Cannarella — named to the Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List –hit .337 as a sophomore and figures to be highly important to Clemson’s chances this season. Cannarella will be joined by Purdue transfer Luke Gaffney, who batted .359 with 13 home runs last season.
Clemson also landed several big-time freshman recruits. Pitchers Dane Moehler and Talan Bell both ranked among the top-300 prospects in last year’s draft, per MLB.com.
Duke
Duke landed arguably the most underrated freshman, A.J. Gracia, two summers ago out of New Jersey. Gracia broke out quickly with Duke, hitting 305 with 14 home runs and a .440 on-base percentage. He was part of a deep Blue Devils lineup, one that included Zac Morris, Ben Miller, Alex Stone, and Logan Bravo.
Miller is back, meaning Gracia won’t have to shoulder all the load. Duke also got some help in the transfer portal, getting Georgetown infielder Jake Hyde.
Duke’s offense should be just fine. However, the pitching staff will be critical, led by another potential 2026 first-round pick in Kyle Johnson. Johnson, a two-way player, struck out 53 as a freshman.
Florida State
Head coach Link Jarrett worked the transfer portal two summers ago with great success, grabbing Carson Dorsey, Cam Leiter, and Daniel Cantu, three pieces who helped the Seminoles immensely. Those two, coupled with the infrastructure in place, with names like Jamie Arnold, James Tibbs, Cam Smith, and Marco Dinges, helped take FSU back to Omaha.
Heading into 2025, expectations are high yet again. The Seminoles lost a lot of hitters to the pros but retained arguably their best player, in Arnold. The left-hander is incredibly deceptive and has great stuff, making him quite possibly the best pitcher heading into 2025. And offensively, Florida State retained Alex Lodise, Drew Faurot, Cam Fisher, and Max Williams.
The Seminoles also landed big names as freshman recruits. Pitcher Matt Hoag is in Tallahassee, as is infielder Noah Sheffield. Sheffield is the son of former All-Star Gary Sheffield.
Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech got extremely lucky to lure Drew Burress away from pro ball two summers ago. Burress tore up the ACC as a freshman, hitting .381 (1.333 OPS) with 25 home runs over 58 contests. The only downside to Burress’ 2024 campaign was the fact he underperformed in the Cape. He only hit .125 over 18 games in the wood-bat league.
Burress will take up most of the oxygen regarding Georgia Tech this season. However, the Jackets will need reliable pitching to succeed. The school did return lefty Tate McKee, who struck out 61 over 47 frames as a freshman.
As for the newcomers, the Yellow Jackets landed Kyle Lodise, who tore it up in Division II last season. Lodise hit .369 woth 12 home runs with Augusta University. He’ll be joined by freshmen Connor Shouse and Alex Hernandex, both top-100 recruits per Perfect Game.
Louisville
After a tough 2023 campaign, Louisville rebounded last year. The Cardinals finished in the middle of the pack in the ACC, thanks to strong performances from pitcher Sebastian Gongora and infielder Gavin Kilen. Both left after 2024, as Gongora went pro while Kilen transferred to Tennessee. Catcher Zion Rose, a top recruit two summers ago, hit .380 as a freshman and is a name to watch again this season.
But arguably the best player on Louisville’s roster is pitcher Patrick Forbes, who struck out 32 over 29 innings in an injury-shortened season. Forbes has pitched very well in the Cape each of the last two summers and projects to be a Day 1 pick this coming July.
Aside from Forbes, Louisville’s pitching staff also includes enigmatic sophomore Colton Hartman and freshman Jake Gregor.
Miami
Much like Georgia Tech, Miami (FL) had their own standout freshman in 2024. Daniel Cuvet went off in his first season with the Hurricanes, as he belted 24 home runs and hit .351. Cuvet followed it up by hitting .314 in the Cape Cod League, establishing himself as a potential top-15 pick come 2026.
Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, Miami (FL) took deep hits in the summer. Pitchers Gage Ziehl and Herick Hernandez both went pro, while the school lost Blake Cyr (Florida) and Jason Torres (Alabama) in the transfer pool.
Those moves leave Miami in a tight position heading into 2025. Although, the school did land coveted high school recruit Ethan Puig, plus transfers Todd Hudson and Bobby Marsh.
NC State
The 2024 season for NC State wasn’t easy but the Wolfpack did make it Omaha. NC State had a largely experienced offense, led by Alec Makarewicz and catcher Jacob Cozart. Both are gone but luckily NC State has a replacement for the latter in Alex Sosa. Sosa played in 35 games last season and was a top high school recruit two years ago.
The Wolfpack’s pitching staff is led by Dominic Fritton and reliever Jacob Dudan. Fritton was one of NC State’s weekend starters last season. Dudan, meanwhile, struck out 56 over 48 frames as a 19-year-old last season.
NC State’s roster also includes notable freshmen, including Anderson Nance, Kaden Morris, and Aden Knowles.
North Carolina
The Tar Heels made it to Omaha last June in what was a fantastic 2024 campaign. North Carolina was buoyed by a deep lineup, led by Parks Harber, Vance Honeycutt, Alex Madera, Luke Stevenson, and Gavin Gallaher. Harber and Honeycutt are gone but the other three remain.
North Carolina’s pitching staff last season was filled with current and future pitching talent. That remains true in 2024, as UNC brought back Aidan Haugh after he didn’t sign with Minnesota, plus grad student Jake Knapp. However, the star of the team is Jason DeCaro, the Long Island kid who threw 89 frames last season and looked like a budding ace. And, DeCaro did that in a year where he spent half of it as a 17-year-old.
UNC’s recruit class included highly-touted freshmen Perry Hargett and Cameron Seagraves.
Notre Dame
The cold-weather schools will generally have trouble competing in the ACC on a yearly basis. The Fighting Irish couldn’t muster much in the conference last season, going 9-21 in the ACC.
Notre Dame retained Jack Radel and Rory Fox, two of their three main starters in 2024. The Fighting Irish lost Matt Bedford, now a grad student, to Wake Forest. Their offense will also look quite different, with David Glancy and Simon Baumgardt gone.
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh finished last in the now-defunct Coastal Division, with a 10-20 mark in ACC play. It’s never easy for the cold-weather school to compete against their peers and that will likely continue again in 2025.
The good news for the Panthers is there talent on this team. Outfielder Derrick Tarpley comes over from Youngstown State. Tarpley, a Pennsylvania native, was drafted in the 18th round by the A’s back in 2023. He’ll be joined by former St. Bonaventure pitcher Noah Czajkowski, who struck out 48 over 53 frames last season.
Seniors Luke Cantwell and Jayden Melendez, two of Pitt’s best hitters from 2024, are back.
Stanford
After a strong 2023, 2024 was a rebuilding year for Stanford. The Cardinal went 22-33 last season and didn’t get the contributions needed from Malcolm Moore. The good news for Stanford heading into 2025 is several standouts from last year are back. Hitters Cort MacDonald and Jimmy Nati are back, plus pitcher Christian Lim.
The Cardinal have arguably the most interesting player in college baseball this season: Rintaro Sasaki. Sasaki was a highly-touted amateur in Japan who opted not to play professionally but rather go to college in the U.S. Japanese-born players in the NCAA aren’t a complete rarity — but a player of Sasaki’s caliber is rare. The noted slugger posted a .505 SLG in the MLB Draft League last summer.
Joining Sasaki will be Charlie Bates, a shortstop who was ranked #24 in the Class of 2024 by Perfect Game.
Virginia
Expectations are high in Charlottesville this year. The Virginia Cavaliers made the 2024 College World Series but failed to make it to the final two. However, UVA’s success could be considered a success, given how far the school made it. Now, the team will look to do so with many returning faces.
Virginia has one of the deepest lineups on paper, hence why the Cavs will start 2025 at #4 on the coaches poll. Henry Ford and Henry Godbout, along with Harrison Didawick, lead a tremendous lineup. And on the mound, former quarterback Jay Woolfolk will look to get back in the good graces of scouts after command troubles in 2024.
The Cavaliers also had a great recruiting class, landing infielder Aiden Harris and pitchers William Kirk & Tomas Valincius. The three were ranked in the top-200 of MLB.com‘s prospect list from the 2024 MLB Draft.
Virginia Tech
The 2024 campaign wasn’t a standout one for Virginia Tech. The Hokies finished the year with a record above .500, at 32-22. However, their ACC conference record of 14-16 was not great. VaTech needed a big year from star Carson DeMartini and the results were mixed. The now-Phillies prospect blasted 21 home runs but also struck out 71 times over 54 contests.
The school will now need to rely upon some freshman, 17 of which are on their 2025 roster. However, Virginia Tech did retain Ben Watson, a grad student who hit .419 as a 23-year-old. On the mound, Brett Renfrow is back on campus after he struck out 78 as a freshman.
The Hokies’ freshman class includes infielder Ryder Kirtley and catcher Anderson French, the latter of whom could be the best of the bunch. French, ranked #144 in MLB.com draft list a year ago, wowed with plus raw power and a very strong throwing arm.
Wake Forest
Wake Forest had what could be considered one of the most disappointing seasons among colleges in 2024. The Demon Deacons landed coveted transfer Chase Burns from Tennessee and had a deep lineup that included Nick Kurtz. Unfortunately for Wake Forest, their inconsistencies led to an ouster in the NCAA Regionals.
Tom Walter had himself an active summer, landing another coveted transfer, Ethan Conrad from Marist. Conrad was one of the best sophomore bats and looked great in fall ball, showing pop and smarts at the plate. He’ll join Marek Houston to form a strong 1-2 combo.
However, their pitching staff is a major concern. Joe Ariola couldn’t record an out in his fall start against St. John’s and struggles with command despite good stuff. Ariola will be joined by Tennessee transfer Matthew Dallas and Blake Morningstar.
The Demon Deacons also got a gift in their freshman recruit list, when Chris Levonas didn’t sign with the Brewers as a second-round pick. Levonas joins a stacked freshman list that include infielders Dalton Wentz & Lucas Costello, fellow top pitching prospect Duncan Marsten, and catcher Matt Conte. Conte could tandem with ex-St. John’s catcher Jimmy Keenan.