Canes Baseball Picked to Win ACC Coastal Division

Canes Baseball Picked to Win ACC Coastal Division

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The Miami Hurricanes were picked as the preseason favorite to win the ACC Coastal Division in a poll of the league’s 14 head coaches, the conference office announced Thursday.

Miami, which was picked by 12 of 14 coaches as the likely division winner, is looking for its first Coastal title since 2016. The Hurricanes have won the division four times since joining the ACC in 2005. Miami won its first division crown in 2008 and won three consecutive Coastal titles from 2014-16. The Canes finished second in the Coastal a year ago with an 18-12 ACC record.

Miami (93 points) was followed by North Carolina (68), Georgia Tech (66), Duke (65), Virginia (55), Virginia Tech (27) and Pitt (18) in the Coastal Division.

Louisville (97 points) was selected to win the Atlantic Division with 13 first-place votes, and also was the preseason pick for overall champion of the ACC.

The Hurricanes enter the 2020 season as a consensus top-10 team. Miami also was ranked No. 3 by D1 BaseballNo. 4 by Collegiate BaseballNo. 5 by Baseball AmericaNo. 5 by the NCBWANo. 7 by Perfect Game and No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
 
Adrian Del Castillo and Alex Toral were named Preseason All-Americans by Perfect Game and D1 Baseball, while the duo was joined by teammates Brian Van Belle and Raymond Gil on the Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-America Team. Toral and sophomore right-handed pitcher Slade Cecconi earned spots on the Baseball America Preseason All-America Team.
 
A year ago, under the direction of head coach Gino DiMare, the Hurricanes won 41 games and returned to the NCAA postseason for the first time since 2016. The Canes earned the 46th postseason berth in program history and reached the Starkville Regional final before falling to No. 6 Mississippi State.
  
Miami opens its second season under the direction of DiMare on Feb. 14 with the opener of a three-game series against Rutgers (Feb. 14-16). For information on season tickets, click HERE or call 305-284-2263.