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Jan. 21, 2005
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia baseball team was picked to finish sixth in the 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll. UVa returns a solid core of position players and a majority of its pitchers from last year’s NCAA Regional advancing team that finished 44-15 overall, 18-6 in the conference.
The ACC’s 11 head coaches selected league-newcomer Miami as the top pick in the conference in 2005 with eight first place votes and a total of 118 points. The Hurricanes posted a 50-13 overall record a year ago and made their second consecutive trip to the College World Series.
North Carolina was picked second with 110 points and received three first place votes. Georgia Tech was selected third with 93 points and Florida State was tabbed fourth with 89 points. Both teams advanced to the Super Regionals of the 2004 NCAA Baseball Championship. Clemson claimed fifth place with 80 points, while Virginia placed sixth with 63 points and made its fourth ever appearance in the NCAA Regionals last season. N.C. State stands seventh with 55 points, followed by Wake Forest in eighth with 34 points and Maryland in ninth with 30 points. Duke and Virginia Tech share tenth place with 27 points apiece.
Last season, Virginia was picked seventh in the 2004 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll and easily surpassed that prediction. The Cavaliers went on to enjoy a tremendous season and finished second. UVa was narrowly edged out of first place in the final league standings by winning percentage in the conference by Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets went 18-5 in the ACC last year. However, Virginia did sweep Georgia Tech three games to none in the 2004 ACC series between the two schools which was played in Atlanta, Ga. Aside from UVa’s three wins over GT in the conference, the rest of the ACC teams posted only two wins combined against the Yellow Jackets for the entire season.
Here is a look at the 2005 ACC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll
2005 ACC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll
Rank School Points 2004 Record1. Miami (8) 118 50-13 - as an independent2. North Carolina (3) 110 43-21, 14-10 ACC3. Georgia Tech 93 44-21, 18-5 ACC4. Florida State 89 45-23, 16-8 ACC5. Clemson 80 39-26, 14-10 ACC6. Virginia 63 44-15, 18-6 ACC7. NC State 55 36-24, 11-12 ACC8. Wake Forest 34 17-33, 4-20 ACC9. Maryland 30 22-34, 4-20 ACCt-10. Duke 27 25-31, 8-16 ACCt-10. Virginia Tech 27 29-27, 11-15 Big East
(#) denotes first place votes
— UVa —