University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Claim Third Top-Five Ranking
January 22, 2008 | Baseball
Jan. 22, 2008
DURHAM, N.C. - One month from the start of the 2008 college baseball season, North Carolina appears headed for a consensus preseason top-five ranking after earning the No. 5 spot in Baseball America's Preseason Top 25, which was released Monday. The Tar Heels were also ranked fifth by Collegiate Baseball newspaper and No. 2 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Carolina is coming off back-to-back appearances in the finals of the College World Series and led the nation with a school-record 57 victories in 2007. The Tar Heels return seven position starters, two starting pitchers and 21 letterwinners, including preseason All-Americas Dustin Ackley, Tim Federowicz, Adam Warren and Rob Wooten.
UNC was joined in the top 10 by Atlantic Coast Conference Coastal Division rival Miami, while Virginia checks in at No. 17 and Clemson at No. 23. UCLA became the third different Pacific-10 team to earn a No. 1 ranking in one of the major polls, joining Arizona and Arizona State.
The ACC and Big 12 matched the Pac-10 with four teams in the top 25.
The Tar Heels open the 2008 season Feb. 22 at Florida Atlantic.
