ACC Baseball Power Rankings: Second weekend of league play leads to movement throughout

This past weekend was the first in which every ACC team was playing in a conference series, with last weekend marking the official start of league play. Now, the first full weekend has led to a ton of changes in our ACC baseball power rankings.

The weekend was headlined by a pair of matchups between ACC teams ranked in D1Baseball’s Top 25. No. 8 Clemson hosted No. 4 Georgia Tech, while No. 20 Florida State hosted No. 12 Wake Forest.

In On3’s initial Field of 64 projections released on Monday, the ACC had four regional hosts and nine teams in the field. Seven teams from the conference are ranked this week.

There’s no change at the top, but our ACC power rankings do see some movement in the top five. Here are the full rankings from 1-16.

1. Georgia Tech

Previous Ranking: No. 1
Previous Week Record: 3-1 (2-1 in ACC)
Overall Record: 17-3 (4-2 in ACC)
Upcoming Week: at No. 4 Auburn (Tuesday), at Pitt (Friday-Sunday)

Georgia Tech continues to roll, picking up an impressive series win on the road at No. 8 Clemson this past weekend. The Yellow Jackets first beat West Georgia 14-0 on Tuesday, and then run-ruled Clemson 10-0 on Thursday before clinching the series with a 9-3 win on Friday. While they fell short of the sweep with a 13-7 loss on Saturday, it was still a great showing for the Jackets.

2. Florida State

Previous Ranking: No. 5 (+3)
Previous Week Record: 3-1 (3-0 in ACC)
Overall Record: 16-3 (3-0 in ACC)
Upcoming Week: vs. Bethune-Cookman (Tuesday), vs. No. 10 NC State (Friday-Sunday)

Florida State started the week with a 6-3 loss at rival No. 23 Florida, but responded in a big way over the weekend. On the road at No. 12 Wake Forest, the Seminoles cruised their way through a series sweep. They started with a run-rule, 10-0 victory on Friday before clinching the series with a 2-0 win on Saturday and sweeping with a 12-6 win on Sunday. They’ll face the team right below them in our ACC baseball power rankings this week, hosting No. 10 NC State.

3. NC State

Previous Ranking: No. 3
Previous Week Record: 2-2 (2-1 in ACC)
Overall Record: 16-4 (2-1 in ACC)
Upcoming Week: at UNC Wilmington (Tuesday), at No. 11 Florida State (Friday-Sunday)

NC State hosted Elon last Tuesday and fell in a disappointing 2-0 effort. They then hosted Boston College in their first ACC series of the season. The Wolfpack won 4-2 on Friday before losing 12-5 on Saturday. That set up a rubber game, where NC State won 5-1 to take the series. Now, NC State enters an important week against No. 11 Florida State with the opportunity to crack the top two with a series win.

4. Virginia

Previous Ranking: No. 4
Previous Week Record: 3-1 (2-1 in ACC)
Overall Record: 16-4 (4-2 in ACC)
Upcoming Week: vs. Georgetown (Tuesday), at Liberty (Wednesday), vs. No. 24 Wake Forest (Friday-Sunday)

Virginia won its first three games of last week, starting with a 9-7 win on Tuesday against William & Mary. The Cavaliers then took the first two games of the weekend against rival Virginia Tech, 11-6 on Friday and 10-5 on Saturday. While Virginia Tech won the finale 6-3, it’s still a second straight series win for Virginia to begin ACC play. Next up is a home date with No. 24 Wake Forest this weekend as part of a five-game week.

5. North Carolina

Previous Ranking: No. 7 (+2)
Previous Week Record: 4-0 (3-0 in ACC)
Overall Record: 17-3-1 (4-2 in ACC)
Upcoming Week: vs. UNC Greensboro (Wednesday), vs. Louisville (Friday-Sunday)

After dropping last weekend’s series to Virginia, North Carolina bounced back this week. They run-ruled Bucknell on Tuesday before heading out west for a series against California. UNC swept their way through, winning 8-1, 6-2 and 10-2 to reach 4-2 in ACC play. That’s enough to get the Tar Heels back into the top five in this week’s ACC baseball power rankings.

6. Clemson

Previous Ranking: No. 2 (-4)
Previous Week Record: 1-3 (1-2 in ACC)
Overall Record: 16-4 (1-2 in ACC)
Upcoming Week: at College of Charleston (Tuesday), at The Citadel (Wednesday), at Notre Dame (Friday-Sunday)

Clemson stumbled in its first week of ACC play. The Tigers lost their midweek game 6-1 to Georgia Southern on Tuesday, and then dropped the series against No. 4 Georgia Tech over the weekend. Clemson fell 10-0 on Thursday and 9-3 on Friday before avoiding the sweep with a 13-7 win on Saturday. A challenging week awaits, with five road games including three over the weekend at Notre Dame.

7. Louisville

Previous Ranking: No. 9 (+2)
Previous Week Record: 4-1 (2-1 in ACC)
Overall Record: 14-6 (2-1 in ACC)
Upcoming Week: vs. Northern Kentucky (Wednesday), at No. 14 North Carolina (Friday-Sunday)

Louisville has crept its way back up into the top half of our ACC baseball power rankings. The Cardinals are coming off of a 4-1 week, starting with a pair of run-rule midweek wins over Marshall and then a series win over Notre Dame. Louisville dropped the opener 14-11 on Friday, but came back with 8-7 and 21-12 wins in the final two games to take the series. Next up is a tough road trip to No. 14 North Carolina this weekend.

8. Wake Forest

Previous Ranking: No. 6 (-2)
Previous Week Record: 0-4 (0-3 in ACC)
Overall Record: 15-5 (3-3 in ACC)
Upcoming Week: vs. Liberty (Tuesday), at No. 9 Virginia (Friday-Sunday)

It was definitely a week to forget for Wake Forest. They were on the road on Tuesday, falling 10-4 to No. 16 Coastal Carolina before their series at home vs. No. 20 Florida State over the weekend. There, the Demon Deacons suffered 10-0, 2-0 and 12-6 losses to be swept, a big setback after starting 3-0 in ACC play last week. Now, they’ll be on the road again, this time at No. 9 Virginia.

ACC Baseball Power Rankings: 9-16

9. Pitt (+2)
10. Duke (+3)
11. Miami (-1)
12. Notre Dame
13. California (-5)
14. Virginia Tech
15. Boston College
16. Stanford

Pitt is creeping up towards the top half of our ACC baseball power rankings, even after a 2-2 week. Duke is back on the rise as well, as Miami drops a spot and California falls five spots and out of the top eight.