By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina finished in the top 10 of the D1 Baseball poll for the second consecutive season.
The Tar Heels, who were No. 1 entering the NCAA tournament, finished No. 9 after going 46–15, winning the ACC title, advancing to the Chapel Hill Super Regional and coming one win short of making the College World Series for a second consecutive season.
Carolina was No. 5 in the final 2024 poll after making the College World Series, winning one game and finishing 48–16. Before that, UNC hadn’t been ranked in the final D1 Baseball poll since it was No. 15 at the end of the 2019 season when the Tar Heels went 46–19 and advanced to the Chapel Hill Super Regional.
UNC is one of three ACC teams in the top 10, along with No. 6 Louisville (42–24), which rocketed to the lofty ranking after being unranked before making the College World Series, and No. 10 Florida State (42–16; down three spots).
Also going from unranked to in the final poll were No. 15 Duke (41–21), which came one win away from making the College World Series, and No. 16 Miami (35–27).
Clemson (45–18) fell nine spots to No. 23 in the final poll while regular-season ACC champion Georgia Tech (41–19) dropped six places to No. 24.
Final D1 Baseball poll
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LSU | 53-15 | 3 |
| 2 | Coastal Carolina | 56-13 | 11 |
| 3 | Arkansas | 50-15 | 6 |
| 4 | Oregon State | 48-16-1 | 8 |
| 5 | UCLA | 48-18 | 13 |
| 6 | Louisville | 42-24 | NR |
| 7 | Arizona | 44-21 | 21 |
| 8 | Murray State | 44-17 | NR |
| 9 | North Carolina | 46-15 | 1 |
| 10 | Florida State | 42-16 | 7 |
| 11 | Auburn | 41-20 | 9 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 46-19 | 16 |
| 13 | UTSA | 47-15 | NR |
| 14 | West Virginia | 44-16 | NR |
| 15 | Duke | 41-21 | NR |
| 16 | Miami | 35-27 | NR |
| 17 | Texas | 44-14 | 4 |
| 18 | Vanderbilt | 43-18 | 2 |
| 19 | Georgia | 43-17 | 10 |
| 20 | Oregon | 42-16 | 5 |
| 21 | Ole Miss | 43-21 | 15 |
| 22 | Southern Miss | 47-16 | 12 |
| 23 | Clemson | 45-18 | 14 |
| 24 | Georgia Tech | 41-19 | 18 |
| 25 | UC Irvine | 43-17 | 23 |
Dropped out: Florida (17), Northeastern (19), Dallas Baptist (20), TCU (22), Alabama (24) and Kansas (25).
UNC transfer commitments
| Player | Pos. | Class (next season) | Career statistics | Former school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Macon Winslow | C | Junior | .267, 13 HRs, 65 RBI | Duke |
| Trace Baker | RHP | Senior | 5–1, 2.24 ERA 5 saves | UNCW |
| Jake Schaffner | SS | Junior | .353, 37 RBI 34 steals | North Dakota State |
| Colin Hynek | C | Senior | .228, 33 HRs, 91 RBI | Georgia State |
| Michael Maginnis | OF | Senior | .295, 26 HRs, 111 RBI, 40 SBs | Georgia State |
| Erik Paulsen | 1B | Junior | .330, 13 HRs, 68 RBI, 8 SBs | Stony Brook |
UNC scores
| Date(s) | Day/ month | Scores | Opponent (current rank) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | ||||
| 14–15 | Fri.-Sat. | W, 5–1; W, 8–3; W, 4–2 | vs. Texas Tech | 3–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 12–9 | vs. Kansas State | 4–0 |
| 22–24 | Sat.-Mon. | W, 2–0; W, 11–6; W, 6–4 | vs. East Carolina (DBAP, CH, G’ville) | 7–0 |
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 7–4 | vs. VCU | 8–0 |
| 26 | Wednesday | W, 13–4 | vs. N.C. A&T | 9–0 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 16–2 | vs. Stony Brook | 10–0 |
| March | ||||
| 1–2 | Sat.-Sun. | W, 6–1; W, 9–5 | vs. Stony Brook | 12–0 |
| 4 | Tuesday | W, 6–4 (11) | vs. No. 11 Coastal Carolina | 13–0 |
| 7–9 | Fri.-Sun. | L, 13–9; W, 11–1 (7); L, 7–0 | vs. Stanford | 14–2, 1–2 ACC |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 7–3 (10) | at UNCW | 15–2 |
| 14, 16 | Fri., Sun. | L, 8–7; W, 6–4; L, 5–0 | at Louisville | 16–4, 2–4 |
| 19 | Wednesday | L, 5–1 | vs. UConn | 16–5 |
| 21–23 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 5–1; L, 3–2; W, 10–0 (7) | at Boston College | 18–6, 4–5 |
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 13–8 | vs. South Carolina in Charlotte | 19–7 |
| 28–30 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 2–0; W, 4–2; L, 4–2 | vs. Miami | 21–7, 6–6 |
| April | ||||
| 1 | Tuesday | W, 11–1 (7) | vs. Gardner-Webb | 22–7 |
| 3–5 | Thur.-Sat. | W, 4–3; L, 9–5; W, 8–7 (14) | vs. Duke | 24–8, 8–7 |
| 8 | Tuesday | W, 12–10 | at Elon | 25–8 |
| 11–13 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 11–1 (7); W, 17–1 (7); W, 3–2 | vs. Wake Forest | 28–8, 11–7 |
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 14–4 (8) | vs. Charlotte | 29–8 |
| 18–20 | Fri-Sun. | W, 9–6; L, 10–6: W, 7–5 | at Virginia Tech | 31–9, 13–8 |
| 25–27 | Fri.-Sun. | W, 15–5; L, 4–2; W, 6–0 | at Pittsburgh | 33–10, 15–9 |
| 29 | Tuesday | W, 13–4 | vs. George Mason | 34–10 |
| 30 | Wednesday | W, 14–3 | vs. Queens | 35–10 |
| May | ||||
| 6 | Tuesday | W, 10–1 | vs. Campbell | 36–10 |
| 8–9 | Thurs.-Fri. | W, 8–1; L, 8–5 | vs. N.C. State | 37–11, 16–10 |
| 15–17 | Thurs.-Sat. | W, 8–3; W, 11–1 (7); L, 5–4 | at No. 7 Florida State | 39–12, 18–11 |
| ACC tournament | Durham | |||
| 23 | Friday | Quarterfinal: W, 7–3 | Boston College | 40–12 |
| 24 | Saturday | Semifinal: W, 7–5 | No. 7 Florida State | 41–12 |
| 25 | Sunday | Final: W, 14–4 | No. 14 Clemson | 42–12 |
| Chapel Hill Regional | ||||
| 30 | Friday | W, 4–0 | Holy Cross | 43–12 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 11–5 | Oklahoma | 44–12 |
| June | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | L, 9–5 | Oklahoma | 44–13 |
| 2 | Monday | W, 14–4 | Oklahoma | 45–13 |
| Chapel Hill Super Regional | Best-of-3 series | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 18–2 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–13 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 10–8 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–14 |
| 8 | Sunday | L, 4–3 | No. 21 Arizona | 46–15 |
Photo by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 