Following a season that will surely go down in UVa Baseball history as one of the greatest, everyone would expect the Cavaliers to be a heavy favorite to compete for the ACC Championship again. The return of nearly all the players from last years championship team gives an experience edge over many of the teams not only in the ACC but also in the nation. Judging by their preseason poll, Baseball America thinks that UVa could compete for a National Championship come June in Omaha.
While the Cavaliers are the highest ranked ACC team in the poll, they are certainly not the only ones. Five other ACC teams are ranked in the preseason top 20 including three other teams from the Coastal division. Georgia Tech, led by Junior pitcher Deck McGuire, comes into the poll at #6. The other ancient FSU Head Coach, Mike Martin, leads the Seminoles to a #9 preseason ranking. Clemson and Miami come in at #15 and #16 respectively and the Dustin Ackley-less Tar Heels show up in the poll all the way down at #20; surely a disappointment for Carolina.
The ACC isn't the only place they will face tough competition, their opening series is at East Carolina who is #18 in the poll. Needless to say, the Cavaliers have their work cut out for them this year if they want to repeat as ACC Champions and make another run at Omaha and the National Title