All-ACC baseball teams include UNC pitcher of the year. Who else is on the list?
Duke, UNC and N.C. State were well-represented on the All-ACC baseball teams this season.
Sixteen players from the trio of programs earned a spot on one of the all-conference teams, led by a seven-man haul from UNC. The Wolfpack had five players receive recognition and the Blue Devils had four.
The Tar Heels were led by the league’s 2025 pitcher of the year Jake Knapp, who also earned first-team recognition. He finished the season with an 11-0 record, including 10-0 in ACC play. The graduate student was the only pitcher to go undefeated and he leads the nation in wins. He led the conference with a 2.14 ERA, 5.69 strikeout-to-walk ratio, 0.84 WHIP rate and 1.46 walks per nine innings.
During the regular season, Knapp had 12 starts, threw two complete games and only allowed 23 runs.
He missed the 2024 season due to a Tommy John surgery. Knapp is the first UNC player to earn pitcher of the year honors since JB Bukauskas received the nod in 2017. He is the fifth player in school history to earn the award.
UNC catcher Luke Stevenson and first baseman Hunter Stokely also earned first-team honors. Stevenson led the team with 16 home runs and drew 53 walks, which ranks just outside the national top 10.
Stokely also missed 2024 due to injury. He leads the Tar Heels in batting average (.333), hits (67) and RBIs (53).
Also on the first team is Duke third baseman Ben Miller, who is tied for the conference lead in home runs (18), while batting .330 and contributing 71 hits. He’s scored 54 times and driven in 58 runs. This is Miller’s second All-ACC first team honor, making him Duke’s first back-to-back recipient since Vaughn Schill in 1997-98.
Duke outfielder AJ Gracia and first baseman Jake Hyde received second team honors for their contributions.
Gracia struggled at the beginning of the season but finished strong, posting a .400 batting average in the final 26 games. He recorded 50 runs, 55 hits and 22 extra base hits this season. Eight of his 12 home runs took place during conference play. Additionally, he finished the regular season with a perfect fielding percentage on 131 putouts.
Hyde contributed 46 runs, 57 hits, 13 doubles, two triples and 11 home runs on a .303 hitting percentage. Three of his 11 homers were grand slams.
UNC pitcher Jason DeCaro and outfielder Kane Kepley made their way onto the second team after strong seasons for the Heels.
Kepley finished the regular season ranked No. 3 in the ACC for runs scored (61), No. 2 in stolen bases (35) and No. 1 in triples (6). He enters the conference tournament with 132 putouts and two assists without an error.
DeCaro, the youngest pitcher in the bullpen, has an 8-3 record with a 3.38 ERA and 58 strikeouts through 69.1 innings.
N.C. State first baseman Chris McHugh rounded out the second team. He ranked third in the conference for batting average (.377) and added 42 runs, 66 hits, 47 RBI and seven home runs. He led the team with a .474 on base percentage.
Duke pitcher Reid Easterly, UNC second baseman Jackson Van De Brake, and N.C. State pitchers Dominic Fritton and Ryan Marohn earned third team honors.
Wolfpack pitcher Anderson Nance and outfielder Tyler Head were named to the All-Freshman Team. They were joined by Carolina pitcher Walker McDuffie.
The ACC baseball tournament begins on Tuesday at Durham Bulls Athletic Park and lasts until Sunday.
No. 7 seed Duke faces the winner of Louisville- Pitt at 5 p.m. Wednesday. No. 4 seed N.C. State plays the winner of Clemson-Virginia Tech/Stanford on Thursday. No. 3 seed UNC is set to take on the winner of Virginia-Notre Dame/Boston College on Friday. The Wolfpack and Tar Heels’ games are both set for 7 p.m.
ACC baseball awards
Player of the Year: Alex Lodise, SS, Florida State; Pitcher of the Year: Jake Knapp, SP, North Carolina; Freshman of the Year: Alex Hernandez, 3B/RP, Georgia Tech; Defensive Player of the Year: Alex Lodise, SS, Florida State; Coach of the Year: Danny Hall, Georgia Tech
All-ACC teams
First Team
Aidan Knaak, SP, Clemson; Lucas Mahlstedt, RP, Clemson; Ben Miller, 3B, Duke; Jamie Arnold, SP, Florida State; Drew Faurot, 2B, Florida State; Alex Lodise, SS, Florida State; Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech; Alex Hernandez, DH/UTIL, Georgia Tech; Lucas Moore, OF, Louisville; Zion Rose, OF, Louisville; Jake Knapp, SP, North Carolina; Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina; Hunter Stokely, 1B, North Carolina; Carson Tinney, C, Notre Dame; Daniel Cuvet, 3B, Miami; Blake Morningstar, SP, Wake Forest.
Second Team
Jarren Advincula, 2B, California; Cam Cannarella, OF, Clemson; AJ Gracia, OF, Duke; Jake Hyde, 1B, Duke; Max Williams, OF, Florida State; Joey Volini, SP, Florida State; Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech; Kyle Lodise, SS, Georgia Tech; Mason Patel, RP, Georgia Tech; Eddie King Jr., DH/UTIL, Louisville; Griffin Hugus, SP, Miami; Jason DeCaro, SP, North Carolina; Kane Kepley, OF, North Carolina; Chris McHugh, 1B, NC State; Henry Ford, OF, Virginia; Henry Godbout, 2B, Virginia; Sam Tackett, OF, Virginia Tech; Kade Lewis, 3B, Wake Forest.
Third Team
Reid Easterly, RP, Duke; Tague Davis, 1B, Louisville; Jackson Van De Brake, 2B, North Carolina; Eric Becker, SS, Virginia; Trevor Haskins, 3B, Stanford; Jacob French, OF, California; Gage Harrelson, OF, Florida State; Collin Priest, DH/UTL, Clemson; Brady Jones, SP, Georgia Tech; Dominic Fritton, SP, NC State; Ryan Marohn, SP, NC State; Rory Fox, SP, Notre Dame; Jack Radel, SP, Notre Dame; Jacob Ference, C, Virginia; Aidan Teel, OF, Virginia; Brett Renfrow, SP, Virginia Tech; Marek Houston, SS, Wake Forest
All-Freshman Team
Myles Bailey, 1B, Florida State; Alex Hernandez, DH, Georgia Tech; Caleb Daniel, OF, Georgia Tech; Tague Davis, 1B, Louisvile; Ethan Eberle, SP, Louisville; AJ Ciscar, SP, Miami; Anderson Nance, RP, NC State; Ty Head, OF, NC State; Bino Watters, OF, Notre Dame; Walker McDuffie, RP, North Carolina; Tatum Marsh, OF, Stanford; Tomas Valincius, SP, Virginia.
