Clemson Baseball Picked to Win ACC in 2002

Jan. 30, 2002

GREENSBORO, NC – The Atlantic Coast Conference’s nine head coaches selected Clemson as the top pick to win the conference championship in 2002 with five first place votes and 77 points.

The Tigers return seven position players and three starting pitchers from their 2001 squad which finished second in the ACC regular season standings and compiled an overall record of 41-22.

Shortstop Khalil Greene and righthanded pitcher Steve Reba are back for their senior campaigns after getting drafted last June. Greene, who was drafted in the 14th round by the Chicago Cubs, broke Bill Spiers’ fielding record at shortstop, fielding .965 in 2001. Reba, a 16th-round pick of the Oakland Athletics, led the ACC in wins (12-3), ERA (2.58) and strikeouts (103) last season.

In the voting, Florida State finished a close second with 74 points and four first place votes after finishing the 2001 season as the regular season champion. ACC Tournament Champion Wake Forest finished in third place tallying 57 points. The Demon Deacons finished last season with a 44-18 overall record.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets fill the fourth place slot with 56 points, while North Carolina placed fifth in the balloting with 45 points. The Tar Heels were followed by N.C. State who finished with 33 points and then Duke with 29 points. Virginia was selected to finish eighth with 24 points and Maryland ninth with nine points.

The Tigers, ranked second by Baseball America, fifth by Baseball Weekly/ESPN and sixth by Collegiate Baseball, open the 2002 campaign at home with a three-game series against Auburn at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Feb. 22-24.

2002 ACC Coaches Preseason Predicted Order of FinishSchool       Points  2001 Record/Finish1. Clemson (5)          77      41-22, 17-7 ACC2. Florida State (4)    74      47-19, 20-4 ACC3. Wake Forest          57      44-18, 16-8 ACC4. Georgia Tech         56      41-20, 13-11 ACC5. North Carolina       45      31-26, 9-15 ACC6. N.C. State           33      32-29, 9-15 ACC7. Duke                 29      23-33, 10-13 ACC8. Virginia             24      25-31, 9-15 ACC9. Maryland             9       17-37, 4-19 ACC