ATLANTA (Jan. 19) – Georgia Tech has been picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the 2000 season in a pre-season poll of the league’s nine head coaches. Florida State received the coaches’ vote as the top pick to win the conference title.
Tech, coming off a 38-20 season with 10 position starters and its top starting pitcher returning, received a total of 67 points but no first-place votes. The Seminoles, who advanced to the College World Series Championship game and finished second in the Baseball Weekly, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls, tallied 79 points including seven of the nine first place votes.
The Clemson Tigers fill the third place slot with 66 points, including one first place vote, while defending ACC champion Wake Forest placed fourth in the balloting with 53 points and receiving the one remaining first place vote. The Demon Deacons were followed by North Carolina who was fifth with 48 points, NC State and Virginia tied for sixth with 31 points each, Maryland eighth with 16 points and Duke ninth with 14 points.
Rated as one of the top leagues in the country, the ACC historically plays some of the nation’s best teams. This year’s opponents list looks more like a who’s who list for college baseball featuring 19 teams that participated in the 1999 NCAA Tournament, including nine teams that were ranked in the final national polls.
The ACC baseball season opens with the six-team ACC/Disney Baseball Blast which will be held Friday through Sunday, January 28-30, at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Fla. Joining Clemson, North Carolina and Wake Forest in the event will be Central Florida, Miami and Rice. All three opponents are members of Baseball America’s pre-season top 25 with Miami at #5, Rice #14 and Central Florida coming in at #23.
Tech, ranked ninth nationally in both polls, opens its season Feb. 12-13 at Georgia Southern.
2000 ACC Coaches Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
1. Florida State (7) 792. Georgia Tech 673. Clemson (1) 664. Wake Forest (1) 535. North Carolina 486. NC State 31 Virginia 318. Maryland 169. Duke 14(#) denotes first place votes
