The SEC can rightfully stake a claim as the best conference in college baseball — the league is home to five of the top six teams in our preseason top 25 — but you can argue the ACC features more star power in 2024. The Athletic’s two All-America teams feature 11 ACC members, including eight of the 14 first-teamers. The SEC is next with eight, three on the first team and five on the second team.
Advertisement
First team
C Luke Stevenson, North Carolina
Last year as a freshman, Stevenson hit .284/.420/.535 with 14 home runs and started 63 games to help UNC win the ACC title and reach the College World Series in Omaha.
1B Jared Jones, LSU
It was Jones, not Tommy White, who provided the most pop in the LSU lineup last year. He hit .301/.454/.747 with a team-high 28 home runs as a sophomore.
2B Henry Godbout, Virginia
One of the most improved hitters in the nation last year, Godbout’s average jumped from .286 as a freshman to .372 as a sophomore. His 1.117 OPS ranked third among power-conference second basemen, behind Tennessee’s Christian Moore and Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana.
SS Aiva Arquette, Oregon State
Arquette last year hit .325/.384/.574 with 12 home runs at Washington, and he also plays smooth defense up the middle, making him the best infielder in the country.
3B Gavin Grahovac, Texas A&M
Grahovac led all freshmen in the SEC in home runs (23), runs scored (83) and OPS (.987) while starting 67 games. He was named SEC Freshman of the Year.
OF Jace LaViolette, Texas AM
LaViolette last year hit .305/.449/.726 with 29 home runs to earn first-team All-America honors for the College World Series runner-up.
OF Drew Burress, Georgia Tech
Burress took college baseball by storm in 2024, hitting .381/.512/.821 with 25 home runs and was the D1Baseball and Perfect Game National Freshman of the Year.
Drew Burress had a 1.207 OPS in ACC games as a freshman. (Georgia Tech Athletics)
OF Cam Cannarella, Clemson
Cannarella played through a shoulder injury for much of the 2024 season and still hit .337/.417/.561 with 11 home runs and showed off his defensive prowess with a Willie Mays-esque basket catch in the Super Regionals.
DH Devin Taylor, Indiana
Taylor hit .357/.449/.660 with 20 home runs in 2024 and needs just 12 more homers to become the program’s career record holder.
Advertisement
SP Jamie Arnold, Florida State
Arnold emerged as Florida State’s ace in 2024, going 11-3 with a 2.98 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 105.2 innings as a sophomore.
SP Tyler Bremner, UCSB
Bremner is the latest star pitcher for the Gauchos and last season went 11-1 with a 2.54 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 88.2 innings.
SP Aidan Knaak, Clemson
Knaak last year emerged as Clemson’s ace as a freshman, going 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 83.1 innings.
RP Jacob Dudan, NC State
The right-hander emerged as the workhorse in the Pack’s outstanding bullpen last season, allowing 37 hits with 56 strikeouts in 48 innings.
RP Matthew Matthijs, North Carolina
Matthijs appeared in 36 of the Tar Heels’ 64 games last year and delivered in the biggest moment, allowing only two hits and one run in 4.1 innings in the Tar Heels’ 4-3 extra-innings win over LSU in Game 7 of the Chapel Hill Regional.
Second team
C Jacob Ference, Virginia
The transfer from D-III Salisbury University in Maryland hit .350/.465/.710 with 17 home runs in his first season in the ACC.
1B Anthony Martinez, UC Irvine
Martinez set the school record with 74 RBIs while hitting .316 with nine home runs in 2024.
2B Daniel Dickinson, LSU
The transfer from Utah Valley hit .367/.469/.661 with 18 home runs for the Wolverines in 2024.
SS Marek Houston, Wake Forest
Houston’s OPS jumped 314 points from his freshman to sophomore season.
3B Daniel Cuvet, Miami
The South Florida native was second among freshmen in 2024 with 24 home runs.
OF Brendan Summerhill, Arizona
A projected 2025 first-round pick, Summerhill hit .324/.399/.550 for the Wildcats in 2024.
OF Nolan Schubart, Oklahoma State
Schubart hit 23 home runs in 2024, and his 1.351 OPS in 2024 leads all returning players.
OF Ethan Petry, South Carolina
The South Carolina slugger has 44 home runs with a 1.157 OPS in two collegiate seasons.
Advertisement
DH Tanner Thach, UNCW
The 2024 co-CAA Player of the Year, Thach hit .324/.406/.700 with 27 home runs as a sophomore. He also pitches.
SP Kyson Witherspoon, Oklahoma
Witherspoon last year went 8-3 with a 3.71 ERA in his first season after transferring from junior college.
SP Chase Shores, LSU
The 6-foot-8, 245-pound right-hander missed the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
SP Ryan Prager, Texas A&M
Prager went 9-1 with a 2.95 ERA and 124 strikeouts in 97.2 innings in 2024 and returned for his senior season.
RP Tanner Douglas, Oregon State
The transfer from Portland went 4-0 with a 3.34 ERA and 10 saves in 2024.
RP Ethan Norby, East Carolina
Norby went 4-0 as a freshman with 63 strikeouts in 59.1 innings.
(Top photo of Jamie Arnold: Steven Branscombe / Imagn Images)
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
