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ACC baseball Week 4 power rankings: Unbeaten Florida State, North Carolina are still the cream of the crop
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Murray State’s 10-inning loss to Ole Miss on Wednesday reduced the number of undefeated college baseball teams to just 5.
Two of them are from the ACC.
Florida State and North Carolina are both off to 13-0 starts as they head into the start of the conference schedule this weekend.
That’s nothing new for the Seminoles. They won their first 19 games and were the last Division I team to suffer a loss in 2024 on the way to earning a trip to the College World Series. The Tar Heels also made it to Omaha last season. But their hot start is the best since going 16-0 in 2013.
Both teams are still looking up at SEC teams in the national polls. UNC is No. 4 behind LSU, Tennessee and Arkansas in this week’s D1Baseball.com rankings while FSU checks in at No. 6, behind Georgia.
But they remain 1-2 in our ACC power rankings.
Week 4 ACC power rankings
FSU and UNC weren’t the only conference teams that enjoyed an unbeaten week. Clemson swept its annual 3-game series against in-state rival South Carolina while Virginia, Duke and NC State all bounced back from early stumbles to start the slow climb back toward the top of the rankings, where they’ll eventually end up.
Here’s a look at how all 16 of the ACC’s baseball teams stack up as they head into Week 4 and the start of league play:
16. Boston College (4-5)
- Last week: 2-2
- Previous ranking: 16
The Eagles had a promising weekend by winning 2 of 3 at the Central Virginia Challenge in Richmond. They beat William & Maryland and VCU sandwiched around a loss to the host Spiders. But they failed to capitalize on the momentum by coughing up a 5-run lead in the final 2 innings in a loss to Longwood. Even in the victories, pitching continues to be an issue for BC. Its pitching staff surrendered 15 or more hits and 11 or more runs in all but 1 of the games.
15. Cal (6-6)
- Last week: 1-3
- Previous ranking: 15
The Bears’ week is best summed up by a single play in the sixth inning of Monday’s series finale against Santa Clara. After appearing to hit a game-tying home run just inside the foul pole in left field, junior third baseman Cade Campbell was called out for missing first base on his way around the bases. Cal ended up losing the game 9-0, its third loss in 4 games against the Broncos. The one bright spot to an otherwise dismal weekend was a 19-3 win on Sunday in which the Bears tied a school record with 8 homers. Including 3 by Campbell that actually counted.
14. Pittsburgh (8-3)
- Last week 3-1
- Previous ranking: 12
The Panthers have spent the past 2 weeks playing in North Carolina. And at the rate they’re going, they might not want to leave. After taking 2 of 3 from Monmouth in Cary, they returned to the Tar Heel State to do the same from UNC Greensboro this weekend. Then on the way back home, they stopped in Asheville to administer an 8-1 beatdown on UNC Asheville on Tuesday. Even though they had a winning week, they dropped 2 spots in this week’s rankings. But that was more because of teams behind them moving up than anything they did.
13. Notre Dame (8-1)
- Last week: 3-0
- Previous ranking: 11
The Irish swept a weekend series from 1-10 Belmont in Nashville. But it wasn’t easy. It took home runs from Carson Tinney, Connor Hincks and Nick DeMarco to win 12-8 on Friday, a career-best 6.1-inning, 8 strikeout start from Jackson Dennies for a 2-1 victory on Saturday and a tie-breaking 3-run eighth inning homer by Brad Gumpf to pull away for a 6-2 win on Sunday.
12. NC State (8-5)
- Last week: 5-0
- Previous ranking: 14
The Wolfpack came into the week on a 5-game losing streak, but turned things around with a 3-game weekend sweep of Canisius and weekday games against UNC Greensboro and Campbell. Does that mean Elliott Avent’s team has gotten its mojo back? Only time will tell. But it’s an encouraging sign that State got dominant performances from top pitchers Dominic Fritton (6 innings, 1 run, 12 strikeouts against Canisius on Friday) and Ryan Marhon (7 shutout innings, 11 strikeouts on Sunday) and Jacob Duden (3 no-hit innings, 6 strikeouts against Campbell in his first career start on Wednesday).
11. Duke (8-5)
- Last week: 4-0
- Previous ranking: 13
Like NC State, the Blue Devils took some positive steps toward returning to form by sweeping 3 games from Northwestern, then beating North Carolina A&T on Tuesday. As was the case with the Wolfpack, the story of the week was pitching. After giving up an average of 8 runs in their first 9 games, they limited the Wildcats and Aggies to just 3.25 in their 4 wins this week. And they did it by committee, with only Friday night starter Kyle Johnson working more than 3.1 innings in any of the games.
10. Virginia Tech (10-3)
- Last week: 4-1
- Previous ranking: 10
The Hokies spent the weekend in Greenville, NC, to participate in the Keith LeClair Invitational and made short work of Indiana State and Kent State before dropping a 6-1 decision to host East Carolina on Sunday. Brett Renfroe went 5 shutout innings with 9 strikeouts against the Sycamores. Sam Tackett was the hitting star by going 6-for-11 with 3 RBI and 4 runs scored in the 3 games. Tech returned home to score a pair of run-rule wins against Norfolk State and will begin ACC play on Friday against Georgia Tech.
9. Georgia Tech (11-2)
- Last week: 3-0
- Previous ranking: 9
Speaking of the Yellow Jackets … Danny Hall’s team brought out the heavy lumber in a weekend sweep of Western Michigan and a Tuesday win against neighboring Kennesaw State. Tech scored double-figure runs in all 4 games and outscored its opposition by a 56-12 margin. Leadoff man Kyle Lodise did most of the damage by going 7-for-14 with 3 homers and 10 RBI while Alex Hernandez went deep twice.
8. Stanford (10-2)
- Last week: 2-2
- Previous ranking: 5
The Cardinal started the week undefeated, but after winning the opener of their 4-game series against Xavier on Friday to extend their winning streak to 10 for their best start since 2018, they lost 2 of the next 3 to head into their debut ACC series at North Carolina on a downer. Despite their team cooling off, sophomore outfielder Brady Reynolds stayed hot by hitting safely in all 4 games while freshman first baseman Rintaro Sasaki also had hits in each game while finishing February with a team-leading .378 average and 11 RBI.
7. Miami (11-3)
- Last week 3-3
- Previous ranking: 8
The Hurricanes got a reality check in Gainesville this week after starting the season with 10 straight wins. They lost the first 2 games to No. 7 Florida – 6-2 on Friday and 6-3 on Saturday. But they salvaged a 13-7 win in Sunday’s series finale on the strength of a 5-run fifth inning and 4 RBI from DH Bobby Marsh, then carried the momentum over into weekday wins against Florida International and Villanova. The latter, in run-rule fashion.
6. Louisville (9-2)
- Last week: 3-1
- Previous ranking: 6
The Cardinals maintained their spot at No. 6 with a winning week. But concerns about pitching could foreshadow trouble down the road. Friday night ace Patrick Forbes yielded a pair of homers in a 6-run second inning against St. John’s that forced his teammates to rally from behind in an 8-6 win. On Saturday, it was the bullpen that melted down while giving up 11 runs over the final 3 innings of a 13-7 loss to the previously winless Red Storm. Louisville finished off the series win on Sunday before giving up 8 runs in an 11-inning victory against Morehead State on Tuesday.
5. Wake Forest (11-3)
- Last week: 3-2
- Previous ranking: 4
The 15th-ranked Deacons split a 4-game weekend round-robin, going 1-1 against both Princeton and former ACC rival Maryland. The 2 losses were each by a single run, but they came about differently. After giving up 3 runs in the top of the ninth in a 9-8 setback to the Terrapins on Saturday, they fell behind 7-1 early and couldn’t catch up in a 7-6 loss to the Tigers on Sunday. Wake bounced back to beat Maryland on the strength of Blake Morningstar’s pitching and the hitting of freshman Dalton Wentz, who went 6-for-10 in the 2 games on Sunday. Wentz stayed hot with 2 more hits and 3 RBI in a 14-6 win at Appalachian State on Tuesday.
4. Virginia (8-3)
- Last week: 4-0
- Previous ranking: 7
After a bad weekend at Round Rock, where they lost 2 of 3 to power conference opponents, the ninth-ranked Cavaliers used a home series against Dartmouth of the Ivy League and a weekday matchup against William & Mary to get back on a winning track. They took advantage of the opportunity by outscoring their overmatched foes 50-11, with 3 of the wins coming by run-rule. Although the offense was spread evenly throughout the lineup, leadoff man Eric Becker (9-for-14, 6 RBI, HR) was the hitting star of the week as UVa geared up for its opening ACC series against Boston College.
3. Clemson (12-1)
- Last week: 4-0
- Previous ranking: 3
The Tigers don’t move up in the ACC power rankings, even though they jumped 2 spots to No. 11 in the national polls. But that’s probably fine with Eric Bakich and his players. The only ranking that matters to them is that they’re officially No. 1 in the state of South Carolina again after finishing off a sweep of rival South Carolina for the second straight year. Ethan Darden, who picked 7 scoreless innings in Saturday’s win, was named Clemson’s MVP of the annual in-state series. Second baseman Jarren Purify was the hitting star with hits and RBI in all 3 games to go along with a homer on Saturday. The Tigers avoided a letdown by beating USC Upstate 7-0 on Tuesday to extend their win streak to 9.
2. North Carolina (13-0)
- Last week: 4-0
- Previous ranking 2
The Tar Heels had little trouble disposing of Stony Brook in a 3-game sweep highlighted by another dominating performance from ace Jason DeCaro. But it was Tuesday’s 5-4, 11-inning victory against No. 24 Coastal Carolina that defined the week for coach Scott Forbes’ fourth-ranked team. After giving up the tying run in the ninth and cutting down the potential go-ahead run in the top of the 11th, Gavin Gallaher – who won an NCAA Regional game against LIU with a walkoff grand slam last season – struck again with a deep sacrifice fly to center to win the game and keep the Tar Heels’ unbeaten record intact.
1. Florida State (13-0)
- Last week: 5-0
- Previous ranking: 1
It’s hard to think of a team that’s ranked No. 7 nationally as flying under the radar. But the Seminoles are. They’ve methodically reeled off 13 straight wins to start the season, including a 3-game weekend sweep of Georgetown before posting a pair of workmanlike weekday wins against North Florida and Bethune-Cookman. They rank second in the ACC with a .343 team batting average and they’re No. 1 in the league in team ERA with both Wes Mendes and Jamie Arnold yielding only about a run per game each. With Lipscomb coming up this weekend, it will probably take until a March 11 showdown with Florida for Link Jarrett’s team to get its shot at attracting a little more national attention.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
