Six Hurricanes Earn All-ACC Accolades

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Six Miami Hurricanes received recognition from the Atlantic Coast Conference Monday morning, following the 2022 regular season.

Left-handed pitcher Carson Palmquist and right-handed reliever Andrew Walters were named to the All-ACC First Team, while outfielder Jacob Burke, first baseman CJ Kayfus and third baseman Yohandy Morales garnered All-ACC Second Team honors. Meanwhile, right-hander Karson Ligon was among the 12 rookies tabbed to the All-ACC Freshman Team.

For the second straight campaign, Palmquist was selected to the top team, becoming the first Hurricane since Zack Collins in 2015 and 2016 to accomplish the feat in back-to-back years. The southpaw is one of only two players in the ACC to reach the century mark in strikeouts and ranks third in the league with nine wins. His 2.64 ERA checks in fourth in the conference, while his .220 batting average against sits in seventh. In 11 of his 14 starts, Palmquist has yielded one earned run or few, totaling three double-digit strikeout performances along the way.

The most dominant closer in the ACC and one of the top relievers in America, Walters picked up first-team distinction. The hard-throwing righty is tied for fourth in the country and paces the conference with 13 saves. Walters finished the regular season with a 1.24 ERA, allowing just four earned runs over 21 appearances. The Palm Bay, Fla. native has an 11-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio, punching out 55 batters and issuing only five free passes in 29 innings. He is one save shy of cracking Miami’s all-time top 10 for saves in a single season. Walters was named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.

Kayfus earned his first All-ACC recognition after being Miami’s top hitter in 2022. The sophomore leads the Hurricanes in average (.362), hits (79), walks (35), on-base percentage (.458), stolen bases (16) and multi-hit games (25). Within the ACC, Miami’s leadoff man is tied for fourth in hits and tied for eighth in stolen bases. The Hurricanes MVP has reached base safely in all but two games during the regular season and 58 of the last 60 contests, dating back to last year.

One of the most prolific power hitters in the league, Morales has tallied a team-best 58 runs, 16 doubles, 13 home runs and 132 total bases. His .323 average ranks third on the team, while his 47 RBI check in fourth. The Miami native is the first Hurricane since Collins to blast double-digit homers in back-to-back seasons. Morales joins Palmquist to receive ACC honors in consecutive campaigns after being tabbed to the freshman team in 2021.

In his first year in the orange and green, Burke turned in one of the best campaigns by a Hurricane outfielder in recent memory. The St. Francisville, La., native, who transferred to The U after two seasons at Southeastern Louisiana, leads the team with 55 RBI, the most by a Hurricane in three years, and a .611 slugging percentage. The 6-foot-1, 208-pound five-tool star is second on the club with a .355 average and 12 home runs. Burke etched himself into the Miami record books, posting eight RBI against North Dakota State on May 6, becoming the first Hurricane since David Thompson in 2015 to plate that many runs in a game.

Ligon proved to be one of the top freshmen arms in the conference in his debut season with the Hurricanes. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound righty has held opponents to a .253 batting average, which ranks second among ACC freshmen. The rookie has notched a 6-5 ledger with a 4.12 ERA over 72 innings, notching a spot on the Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list.

The complete All-ACC Baseball Teams are listed below:

Player of the Year – Max Wagner, Clemson, So., 3B
Defensive Player of the Year – Levi Usher, Louisville, Sr., OF
Pitcher of the Year – Rhett Lowder, Wake Forest, So., SP
Freshman of the Year – Tommy White, NC State, Fr., DH
Coach of the Year – John Szefc, Virginia Tech

All-ACC First Team

Max Wagner, Clemson, So., 3B
Parker Messick, Florida State, So., SP
Kevin Parada, Georgia Tech, So., C
Andrew Jenkins, Georgia Tech, So., 1B
Chandler Simpson, Georgia Tech, So., 2B
Carson Palmquist, Miami, So., SP
Andrew Walters, Miami, So., RP
Tommy White, NC State, Fr., DH
John Michael Bertrand, Notre Dame, Gr., SP
Jake Gelof, Virginia, So., 3B
Alex Tappen, Virginia, Gr., OF
Gavin Cross, Virginia Tech, So., OF
Drue Hackenberg, Virginia Tech, Fr., SP
Jack Hurley, Virginia Tech, So., OF
Tanner Schobel, Virginia Tech, SS
Rhett Lowder, Wake Forest, So., SP

All-ACC Second Team

Luke Gold, Boston College, Jr., 2B
Bryce Hubbart, Florida State, So., SP
Tim Borden II, Georgia Tech, So., DH
Tres Gonzalez, Georgia Tech, So., OF
Jared Poland, Louisville, Sr., SP
Michael Prosecky, Louisville, Jr., RP
Dalton Rushing, Louisville, Jr., C
Levi Usher, Louisville, Sr., OF
Jacob Burke, Miami, So., OF
CJ Kayfus, Miami, So., 1B
Yohandy Morales, Miami, So., 3B
Danny Serretti, North Carolina, Jr., SS
LuJames Groover, NC State, So., 1B
Matt Gilbertson, Pitt, Sr., SP
Brian Gursky, Virginia, Gr., SP
Cade Hunter, Virginia Tech, So., C

All-ACC Third Team

Mack Anglin, Clemson, R-So., SP
Blake Wright, Clemson, So., 2B
Stephen Reid, Georgia Tech, So., OF
Christian Knapczyk, Louisville, So., SS
Cameron Masterman, Louisville, R-Sr., OF
Ben Metzinger, Louisville, Sr., 3B
Jack Payton, Louisville, So., DH
Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina, Fr., OF
Angel Zarate, North Carolina, Jr., OF
Devonte Brown, NC State, Sr., OF
Chris Villaman, NC State, So., RP
Ryan Cole, Notre Dame, Gr., OF
Billy Corcoran, Pitt, Jr., SP
Nick Biddison, Virginia Tech, Jr., OF
Griffin Green, Virginia Tech, So., SP
Nick Kurtz, Wake Forest, Fr., 1B
Brendan Tinsman, Wake Forest, R-Jr., C

*17 players on the third team due to a tie in the voting

All-Freshman Team

Alex Mooney, Duke, SS
Jaime Ferrer, Florida State, OF
Logan Beard, Louisville, 2B
Karson Ligon, Miami, SP
Vance Honeycutt, North Carolina, OF
Tommy White, NC State, DH
Griff O’Ferrall, Virginia, SS
Casey Saucke, Virginia, OF
Carson DeMartini, Virginia Tech, 3B
Drue Hackenberg, Virginia Tech, SP