Coaches see UVa. as top pick in Coastal

The Virginia baseball team has been named the favorite to win the ACC Coastal Division in the 2011 ACC Baseball Coaches Preseason Poll, released today by the conference office. It marks the second straight year in which the Cavaliers have been touted as the Coastal Division favorite – last year UVa made that pick stand up, winning the division crown with a 23-7 conference mark.

Virginia received nine of the coaches’ 12 first-place votes in racking up 69 points. Georgia Tech picked up two first-place votes and 56 total points, while Miami earned the other first-place nod and tallied 48 points. North Carolina (40), Virginia Tech (25) and Duke (14) rounded out the totals in the Coastal Division.

Clemson topped the preseason Atlantic Division voting, earning eight first-place votes and 68 points. The Tigers also were the coaches’ favorite to win the overall championship, while Florida State (3) and Virginia (2) received the other votes for the conference title.

Florida State received the other four coaches’ first-place votes for the Atlantic Division crown and totaled 64 points. NC State (46), Maryland (27), Boston College (26) and Wake Forest (21) rounded out the Atlantic Division marks.

Virginia returns 22 letterwinners this season from the 2010 squad which won a school-record 51 games, captured ACC Coastal Division and NCAA Regional championships, and advanced to the program’s second-consecutive NCAA Super Regional. UVa has a deep pitching core back, with 10 letterwinners returning from the 2010 staff. Five position starters also are back in the mix.

Among the returning letterwinners are Danny Hultzen (Jr., Bethesda, Md.), the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Year and a 2011 preseason All-American, and infielder Keith Werman (Jr., Vienna, Va.), a 2010 Second-Team All-ACC honoree.