- UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, and N.C. State are ranked in the top 16, with East Carolina and UNC Wilmington also receiving votes.
- Opening day for the college baseball season is scheduled for Feb. 14.
- The Tar Heels and Wolfpack both reached the College World Series last season.
Four college baseball teams in North Carolina will start the season in the top 16 of the 2025 USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.
Released Tuesday afternoon, the preseason poll features UNC (8), Duke (12), Wake Forest (15) and N.C. State (16). East Carolina and UNC Wilmington were the other N.C. squads to receive votes.
Each of those six teams played in the NCAA Tournament last season. The Tar Heels and Wolfpack were among the eight teams to play at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Starting pitcher Jason DeCaro and catcher Luke Stevenson are among UNC’s top returners, while the Wolfpack is expected to be powered by pitchers Dominic Fritton and Ryan Marohn. The Tar Heels open the 2025 season with a three-game series against Texas Tech, with N.C. State set to host Fordham.
Duke, the reigning ACC Tournament champion, has a pair of All-ACC caliber players in two-way standout Kyle Johnson and outfielder AJ Gracia. The Blue Devils open the year with Cincinnati in Durham.
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Virginia (4), Florida State (6), Clemson (11) round out the seven ACC teams in the preseason coaches poll. Here’s a look at the full USA TODAY Sports Top 25 preseason baseball poll. Opening day is scheduled for Feb. 14.
Preseason USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll 2025
The USA TODAY Sports Top 25 preseason baseball poll, with team’s records from last year and first-place votes received.
- 1. Texas A&M (53-15), 17
- 2. Tennessee (60-13), 10
- 3. LSU (42-23), 1
- 4. Virginia (46-17), 1
- 5. Arkansas (44-16), 1
- 6. Florida State (49-17)
- 7. Oregon State (45-16)
- 8. North Carolina (48-16)
- 9. Georgia (43-17)
- 10. Florida (36-30)
- 11. Clemson (44-16)
- 12. Duke (40-20)
- 13. Texas (36-24)
- 14. Oregon (40-20)
- 15. Wake Forest (38-22)
- 16. N.C. State (38-23)
- 17. Oklahoma State (42-19)
- 18. Vanderbilt (38-23)
- 19. Mississippi State (40-23)
- 20. Arizona (36-23)
- 21. Dallas Baptist (45-15)
- 22. UC Santa Barbara (44-14)
- 23. TCU (33-21)
- 24. Kentucky (46-15-1)
- 25. Troy (37-22)
Others Receiving Votes: East Carolina (46-17) 35; Nebraska (40-22) 30; Auburn (27-26) 29; UC Irvine (45-14) 28; West Virginia (36-24) 21; Indiana (33-26) 17; Alabama (33-24) 14; Coastal Carolina (36-25) 8; Connecticut (35-26) 5; Kansas State (35-26) 5; Mississippi (27-29) 5; College of Charleston (41-14) 4; Kansas (31-23) 4; Southern Mississippi (43-20) 4; UNC Wilmington (40-21) 4; Georgia Tech (33-25) 3; Central Florida (37-21) 2; Hawaii (37-16) 2; UCLA (19-33) 2; Southern California (31-28) 1; Virginia Commonwealth (38-23) 1.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them torbaxley@fayobserver.com.
