Fox Named Coach of the Year, Four Tar Heels Named All-ACC

CHAPEL HILL -- The Atlantic Coast Conference released their All-ACC Teams Monday afternoon, honoring four Tar Heels as well as head coach Mike Fox as the ACC Coach of the Year. Kyle Datres was selected to the first team, Michael Busch and Brandon Riley earned second team honors while Ike Freeman was named to the third team. Head coach Mike Fox earns his first ACC Coach of the Year honor after leading the Tar Heels to their second consecutive ACC Coastal Division Championship as well as the No. 1 overall seed in the ACC Tournament.

UNC, 37-17 overall, posted a 22-8 record in ACC regular-season play and own five wins over fellow top-10 ranked teams. The Tar Heels are at No. 7 in the latest NCAA RPI, leading a group of five ACC teams among the top 17.

Fox, who is in his 20^th season as the head coach of the Tar Heels, is the all-time winningest coach in Carolina baseball history with a record of 883-376-1 and an overall coaching record of 1,422-517-5. He is one of four active coaches with over 1,400 wins and currently ranks ninth in all time winningest coaches in NCAA history. With the Tar Heels, he has led the Tar Heels to 16 NCAA Regionals in 19 years and has won the Coastal Division seven times while taking home the ACC Tournament Championship in 2007 and 2013. After starting the 2018 season 7-7, he has led the Tar Heels to a 37-17 overall record going 30-10 down the stretch to go along with five ACC series sweeps, tied for the most since 2012, en route to his first ACC Coach of the Year honors.

Datres is third in the ACC in batting average (.345) while ranking in the top 10 in hits, runs scored and on base percentage. The junior from Williamsport, Pa., has been one of the most consistent players for the Tar Heels this season as he leads the team in batting average, hits (76), doubles (14), total bases (109) and is second in runs scored (52). Datres own the longest hitting streak of the season for the Tar Heels as he secured at least one hit in 18 consecutive games.

Busch had a breakout sophomore campaign for Carolina in his first full year as a starter at first base. The Inver Grove Heights, Minn., native led the Tar Heels in runs scored (55), home runs (11), RBI (51) and slugging percentage (.502) while maintaining a .988 fielding percentage. He finished the ACC regular season second in runs scored, fifth in RBI and top 10 in both walks and on base percentage. Busch is currently in the midst of a career high 26 game reached base streak, which leads the Tar Heels.

A veteran piece for Carolina who has played all over the outfield, Riley started his season struggling at the plate, but finished it hitting. 311 in ACC play while hitting .405 over his last 20 games to earn second team All-ACC honors. Third on the team with a .301 batting average, the Burlington, N.C., native finished the regular season second on the team in hits (63), doubles (11), triples (2) and RBI (46). Riley has set career highs in hitting streaks at 10 games and currently has a reached base streak at 21 games.

Freeman also enjoyed a breakout season for the Tar Heels in his first year at shortstop, exploding on to the scene during ACC play. Known for his defensive abilities, the sophomore finished the year leading the team in batting average in ACC play (.324) and RBI (32) while leading the ACC in RBI during conference play. The Rockwell, N.C., native has set career highs in almost every offensive category this season while possessing one of the smoothest gloves on the team.

2018 All-ACC Baseball Teams
First Team
C - Cal Raleigh, Florida State
C - Joey Bart, Georgia Tech
1B - Logan Wyatt, Louisville
2B - Wade Bailey, Georgia Tech
2B - Andy Weber, Virginia
3B - Kyle Datres, North Carolina
SS - Will Wilson, NC State
OF - Seth Beer, Clemson
OF - Josh Stowers, Louisville
OF - Josh McLain, NC State
OF - Brett Kinneman, NC State
DH/UT - Tristin English, Georgia Tech
SP - Connor Thomas, Georgia Tech
SP - Drew Parrish, Florida State
SP - Brian Brown, NC State
RP - Ryley Gilliam, Clemson

Second Team
C - Patrick Bailey, NC State
1B - Michael Busch, North Carolina
2B - Nick Podkul, Notre Dame
3B - Matt Vierling, Notre Dame
3B - Liam Sabino, Pitt
SS - Logan Davidson, Clemson
OF - Griffin Conine, Duke
OF - Jimmy Herron, Duke
OF - Chase Murray, Georgia Tech
OF - Brandon Riley, North Carolina
OF - Brock Deatherage, NC State
DH/UT - Jack Labosky, Duke
SP - Nick Bennett, Louisville
SP - Adam Wolf, Louisville
SP - Griffin Roberts, Wake Forest
RP - Ethan DeCaster, Duke

Third Team
C - Kyle Wilkie, Clemson
1B - Chris Williams, Clemson
1B - Kyle McCann, Georgia Tech
2B - Devin Mann, Louisville
3B - Drew Mendoza, Florida State
SS - Ike Freeman, North Carolina
OF - Chris Galland, Boston College
OF - Jackson Lueck, Florida State
OF - Eric Gilgenbach, Notre Dame
DH/UT - Grayson Byrd, Clemson
DH/UT - Danny Oriente, Louisville
DH/UT - Ron Washington Jr., Pitt
SP - Bobby Miller, Louisville
SP - Derek Casey, Virginia
SP - Evan McKendry, Miami
RP - Joe O'Donnell, NC State

All-Freshman Team
OF - Chris Galland, Boston College
RP - Spencer Strider, Clemson
1B - Joey Loperfido, Duke
P - CJ Van Eyk, Florida State
SP - Bobby Miller, Louisville
SS - Freddy Zamora, Miami
C - Patrick Bailey, NC State
SP - Reid Johnston, NC State
DH/UT - Ron Washington Jr., Pitt
RP - Andrew Abbott, Virginia
SS - Tanner Morris, Virginia
P - Ian Seymour, Virginia Tech

Scoreboard Slider

University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Michael Busch

Kyle Datres

Ike Freeman

Brandon Riley

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