NC State baseball: How ACC Tournament field looks today

The 2022 ACC Baseball Championship is May 24-29 in Charlotte at Truist Field. Not every team is guaranteed to participate, but NC State baseball secured its spot over the weekend by taking two of three at Duke.

Only two teams do not participate. That pair would currently be Boston College and defending league champion Duke.

The 12 qualifying teams are divided into four pools:

Pool A: No. 1, 8 and 12 seed

Pool B: No. 2, 7 and 11 seed

Pool C: No. 3, 6 and 10 seed

Pool D: No. 4, 5 and 9 seed

The pools play round-robin games. The team with the best record emerges into the semifinals, with the Pool A and D winners playing in game one and Pool B and C winners in the second.

Being one of the top four seeds is a distinct advantage, automatically winning the tiebreaker if the teams tie 1-1 in pool play.

Here are how the pods are currently configured for the ACC Tournament and where NC State baseball falls.

ACC Baseball Pool A:

1 seed — Miami (18-9 in ACC). The Hurricanes were the first team to clinch a spot into the ACC Tournament and still have the top seed. Securing the No. 1 seeding will not be easy. Miami closes the regular season with Notre Dame, currently the No. 3 seed, while second-seeded Virginia Tech will be hosting Duke.

8 seed — Pittsburgh (13-13). The Panthers are a NCAA Tournament bubble team that faces a crucial three-game set at home against Georgia Tech this weekend. The Yellow Jackets are 1.5 games behind Pitt in the ACC standings.

12 seed — Clemson (10-16). The Tigers, which dropped two of three games against NC State at home, have a slight edge on 10-17 Duke for the final spot in the field. The good news for Clemson is the Tigers have a much more favorable final matchup. They will host last-place Boston College, while Duke is at Virginia Tech.

NC State Baseball Would Be In Pool B:

2 seed — Virginia Tech (16-9). The Hokies are 14-5 in its last seven ACC series, including taking two of three from NC State baseball in Blacksburg. If VT gets help from Notre Dame and cleans up against Duke, the Hokies could climb to the top spot in the ACC.

7 seed — NC State (14-12). The Pack closes the regular season with a three-game home stretch vs. Wake Forest. Playing in a pod with Virginia Tech would not be ideal. The Hokies have also taken two of three against top seed Miami and fourth-seeded Louisville during its hot stretch.

11 seed — Wake Forest (12-14-1). The Demon Deacons may have fallen to the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble in recent weeks and will be a desperate team when it arrives in Raleigh Thursday for a three-game set against NC State baseball.

Pool C:

3 seed — Notre Dame (15-9). The Irish have a challenging season-closing series at Miami to hold onto the third spot, which it holds by a few percentage points over Louisville. Notre Dame has had three games canceled this regular season, including one at NC State.

6 seed — Florida State (15-12). After taking two of three from Miami, Florida State will be at UNC this weekend. The Noles have shown they are capable of being the league’s best, sweeping Louisville and taking two of three from NC State, but FSU has also been inconsistent.

10 seed — North Carolina (12-15). Taking two of three from Tobacco Road rivals NC State and Wake Forest has set up UNC to make the tournament after being on the bubble for the field two weeks ago. With Duke playing at Virginia Tech, the Heels are all but certain to make the event now. UNC is tied for Georgia Tech for the nine seed, but loses the tiebreaker with the Jackets.

Pool D:

4 seed — Louisville (16-10-1). The Cardinals, which won two of three at home over NC State, will host Virginia this weekend. Coincidentally, the Cavs would be in their pool in the ACC Tournament if the event was held today.

5 seed — Virginia  (16-11). The Cavaliers may have the widest range of possible finishes. If the games fall a certain way, a three seed is a possibility. Yet, falling past NC State to the seven seed is also possible.

9 seed — Georgia Tech (12-15). A sweep at Pittsburgh would jump the Jackets, which were swept by NC State earlier in the season, up to the eight seed.

——

Talk about NC State baseball inside The Wolves’ Den

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker

Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker

Like us on Facebook