Hurricanes Ranked No. 18 by Perfect Game
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The University of Miami baseball team added another preseason top-25 ranking Thursday, as Perfect Game listed the Hurricanes at No. 18 nationally.
With the mark, the Hurricanes will begin the season ranked in the top-20 for the eighth time in the last nine years.
Miami, which was ranked 23rd in Collegiate Baseball’s Fabulous 50 NCAA Division I Pre-Season Poll, is one of five teams from the ACC earning a spot in Perfect Game’s initial top-25 of 2022. Along with Miami, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 7 NC State, No. 11 Georgia Tech and No. 15 Florida State give the ACC the second-most teams in the poll.
The complete poll can be viewed here.
In 2021, during head coach Gino DiMare’s third campaign, the Hurricanes posted a 33-21 ledger, including a 20-15 record in ACC action. Miami won seven conference series and totaled its most conference victories in five seasons.
The Hurricanes return left-handed pitcher Carson Palmquist and infielder Yohandy Morales, who were both named preseason All-Americans.
Palmquist, who was tabbed a first-team selection by Perfect Game and a second-team pick by Collegiate Baseball, received national acclaim following a banner second-year freshman campaign.
The southpaw garnered first-team All-America status by the NCBWA and Perfect Game. He also collected second-team recognition from Baseball America and D1Baseball, and third-team honors from ABCA/Rawlings.
Palmquist tallied an ACC-leading 14 saves, which was good for third in the country. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound hurler recorded a 2.22 ERA and 75 strikeouts over 44 2/3 innings pitched.
Morales, who was also listed on Collegiate Baseball’s Freshman All-American Team as well as the All-ACC Freshman Team with Palmquist, paced Miami with 13 doubles, 11 home runs, 45 RBI and 13 multi-RBI games.
The 6-foot-4, 208-pound slugger was selected to the All-Gainesville Regional team after leading the Hurricanes with a .444 average, a home run and two RBI over three NCAA tournament games. Morales, who started all 53 games in which he appeared, batted .284 during his rookie year.
Miami also added the top recruiting class in the ACC, according to Baseball America. The Hurricanes’ class is made up of 18 newcomers, 11 freshmen and seven transfers.
Nine Canes were listed among Perfect Game’s Top 500 incoming freshmen, including four in the top 200.
Right-handed pitcher Karson Ligon checked in at No. 41 overall while outfielder Lorenzo Carrier was tabbed No. 76 right-hander Gage Ziehl, who was chosen in the 11th round of the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Chicago Cubs, was rated 130th and outfielder/infielder Renzo Gonzalez was slotted No. 169.
The Hurricanes are scheduled to start its 2022 slate against Towson on Feb. 18 at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field.
