ACC Award Races: Midseason Outlook

The halfway mark of the 2025 season has come and gone. Every team in the conference has played at least four weekend series and players are starting to separate themselves from their peers. At the end of the season, the league's head coaches will vote on the season awards and the All ACC teams. Who are the frontrunners for awards? Who are the dark horses? We take a look at each end of season award and the contenders.

ACC Coach of the Year

Frontrunners

Danny Hall and Georgia Tech are off to its best start in 15 years and are currently second in the ACC with an 11-4 record. Their only series loss this season came in a heartbreaker to Clemson. The Yellow Jackets are the only ACC team ranked in the Top 20 nationally for bother scoring and ERA. After a two year hiatus, Dan McDonnell's Louisville Cardinals look poised to return to the NCAA Tournament. They are currently 25-7 overall and 8-4 in conference play with a big series win over North Carolina and wins over Texas, Kentucky, and Arizona. It should be noted that Louisville's remaining schedule is a gauntlet-- a road series against NC State and four Top 25 weekends plus midweeks against Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and Western Kentucky.

Contenders

Reigning ACC Coach of the Year Scott Forbes has a new look offense led by a quartet of returning stars. Instead of the power they showcased a season ago, the Tar Heels are relying on pitching, defense, and baserunning to rack up wins. Despite series losses to Stanford and Louisville, North Carolina boasts a 25-8 overall record and are 8-7 in ACC play. They've won three conference weekends in a row and could be gaining momentum. Perhaps the best candidate outside the frontrunners is Clemson head coach Erik Bakich, whose Tigers are currently 30-5 overall and 9-3 in the conference. Clemson is a Top 5 team in the country and are the only ACC team not to drop a weekend series yet this season. Virginia Tech is having a sensational season, and if that continues, expect John Szefc to become a front runner as the Hokies have delivered big series wins over Louisville and Wake Forest. They are 22-10 overall and 9-6 in conference play. Virginia Tech faces a huge test at home this weekend as Florida State comes to Blacksburg.

Dark Horses

Florida State has started the year 25-7 overall and are 8-4 overall in the ACC. Link Jarrett ends up in this category because the Seminoles are right now meeting expectations but aren't yet exceeding them. That could change with a big second half as the Noles look to capture at least a Regional hosting bid and perhaps a Top 8 seed. Wake Forest and Duke are right outside the Top 25, but a surging second half could vault both Tom Walter and Chris Pollard into contention, while Cal's Mike Neu is doing a pretty good job exceeding expectations for a middle of the pack Golden Bears team.

Long Shots

Elliott Avent is probably the most likely of these three long shots to get near the conversation, but big second halves by Pitt or Boston College could propel either of Mike Bell or Todd Interdonato to the top of the list should either of those teams make an unlikely run at an NCAA Tournament berth. The same could be said for Mike Esquer, JD Arteaga or Shawn Stiffler.

ACC Defensive Player of the Year

Frontrunners

It's a testament to North Carolina that they lose the best defensive player in the country in Vance Honeycutt to the draft and respond by adding a high-level replacement in Kane Kepley. Kepley didn't wait long to make his defensive prowess known in Chapel Hill--- he made a sensational diving catch on Opening Day against Texas Tech to open his web gem account. The junior transfer from Liberty leads the ACC with a 9.72 DRS and has two outfield assists. Wake Forest shortstop Marek Houston is likely the other frontrunner and entered the season as a fringe first round draft pick as concerns about his power ability hounded him throughout the summer. His defensive ability, however, has never been questioned and he's continued to shine in that role even as he's added the home run ball to his skillset. While the stats may not quite support Houston's position as a frontrunner, name recognition and reputation does play a factor in these awards and Houston's name is often discussed in the realm of great defensive shortstops.

Contenders

Everyone is impressed that Georgia Tech has gotten better pitching than in recent years, but not enough are talking about the defensive improvements around the diamond that are highlighted by third baseman Carson Kerce and catcher Vahn Lackey. Kerce is right behind Kepley with a 9.58 DRS and although he's committed five errors on the year, has been making routine plays look easy all season. Lackey is one of the best pitch framers in the country and frequently steals strikes while also throwing out 33% of attempted base stealers. North Carolina backstop Luke Stevenson has improved his draft stock with outstanding play behind the plate and leads all ACC catchers with an 8.29 DRS. He's also managing one of the best weekend rotations in the country and being the Tar Heels' most dangerous bat. Cam Cannarella is so routinely good defensively that he almost goes under-the-radar, but he re-asserted himself as one of the nation's best center fielders in a big series victory over Georgia Tech in late March that saw him run down a number of difficult line drives.

Dark Horses

Speaking of Clemson defenders, Jarren Purify has enjoyed a breakout season at the plate while showcasing elite defense once again at the keystone. He leads his team with a 7.07 DRS while committing just four errors on the year so far. Duke shortstop Wallace Clark has also been electric defensively as he anchors a strong Blue Devil infield. Clark boasts a .961 fielding percentage and is playing the best defense of his career in 2025. Louisville's Alex Alicea is perhaps the most underrated shortstop in the league and has delivered a steady hand at the position all season while enjoying a breakthrough year at the plate. His 6.59 DRS is second among ACC shortstops. Both Alex Lodise and Kyle Lodise have provided great defense at a premium position while leading the ACC in a multitude of offensive categories. Alex has been slightly better according to advanced metrics while Kyle has committed just four errors and has a fielding percentage of .962.

Long Shots

Alex Madera has made the transition from second base to shortstop look easy and is the key defender on a quality fielding UNC team. He has a .966 fielding percentage and has made a number of highlight level plays, including an impressive game-ending double play against Duke on April 3rd. Matt Heavner may lead the nation in sacrifice bunts, but he's best known for providing elite defense at the hot corner for NC State. He is second in DRS among ACC third basemen, only trailing the aforementioned Carson Kerce. The best defensive freshman is Fabio Peralta, who has been sensational manning center field for the Hurricanes this season. He's rated the third best defensive outfielder in the ACC and also leads Miami in hitting.

ACC Freshman of the Year

Frontrunners

A trio of freshman have separated themselves from the pack early and have been chasing each other for the ACC and D-I freshman HR lead as all three have surpassed nine home runs on the year. Louisville's Tague Davis currently leads that stat with 12 and is slashing .306/.435/.704 with 32 RBI over 28 games played. Myles Bailey has been a key bat for a Top 10 Florida State team and boasts a .343 average with 14 extra base hits and 24 RBI over 30 games. Alex Hernandez has been Georgia Tech's clean-up hitter for much of the season and has delivered time and time again with a .331/.427/.622 slash line and 42 RBIs. He also has a save in three appearances on the mound. Hernandez leads all ACC freshmen with 2.2 WAR. Bailey is second with a 2.06 WAR while Davis possesses a 1.9 WAR.

Contenders

The reigning ACC Player of the Week is just behind the frontrunners and enjoying an impressive debut season in Winston-Salem. Dalton Wentz homered in all three games last weekend as Wake Forest upset the Florida State Seminoles. He's been a key hitter for a rejuvenated Wake lineup, hitting .343 with 11 doubles and five home runs. Demon Deacon teammate Chris Levonas, who has started just five games so far, is moving into the weekend rotation and could find himself in the midst of a crowded race for this award. Pitching exclusively in the midweek so far, Levonas is 2-0 with a 2.02 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 13.1 innings pitched. Alex Hernandez isn't the only Yellow Jacket in the conversation for ACC Freshman of the Year. Teammate Caleb Daniel has been on a tear and is one of the best freshmen in the conference. His most memorable moment of the season may have come against Notre Dame when he fouled off 10 pitches in a 16 pitch at-bat before drawing a walk. The Yellow Jacket first year is slashing .350/.452/.612 with 17 extra base hits while batting in the middle of the order for a top Georgia Tech offense. Ty Head has been a beacon of consistency for NC State and is among the league leaders in walks. He's recently been leading off for the Wolfpack and carries a .489 OBP with nine extra base hits. He's played spectacular defense in center field and has an incredible 37-to-14 walks to strikeout ratio. Speaking of consistency, Stanford's Tatum Marsh has been one of the most consistent hitters in their lineup, despite a recent slide in team performance. Marsh leads all ACC freshmen with a .371 average with seven doubles, two triples, two home runs and 17 RBI from the bottom of the Cardinal lineup.

Dark Horses

Stanford's Rintaro Sasaki was a popular pick for this award in the preseason, but the uber-talented Japanese product hasn't quite gotten going like some other first year stars. He's slashing just .280/.362/.400 with four home runs, but he has driven in 25 runs while batting third for the Cardinal all year. It hasn't been the best season for Notre Dame, but freshmen Bino Watters and Parker Brzustewicz have been arguably the two best bats in the Irish lineup this year. Watters boasts a .923 OPS with 13 extra base hits and 28 RBI while Brzustewicz is hitting .333 with five doubles and a triple. Both have been batting towards the top of the Notre Dame order and Watters in particular has been elite with his ability to drive the ball out of the ball park and walk more than he's struck out. North Carolina outfielder Perry Hargett has been in and out of the lineup over the last few weeks, but should make a home for himself in left field. He plays the game hard and has the talent to go on big offensive stretch at any time. He's currently hitting just .241 but has seven extra base hits in just 54 at-bats.

If you're looking for pitching contenders, look no further than Hargett's teammates in Chapel Hill-- relievers Walker McDuffie and Ryan Lynch. They've been the backbone of the Tar Heel bullpen and are often the primary high-leverage arms in big games. Only preseason All-American Matthew Matthijs has made more appearances for the Tar Heels than the young duo. Lynch is 2-0 with a save and a 2.45 ERA in 29.1 innings while McDuffie is 2-1 with a 3.14 ERA and three saves in 28.2 innings. Batters are hitting under .200 against both of them in high leverage situations. Anderson Nance has been a force out of the NC State bullpen and frequently gives the Wolfpack starter innings on the backend. He's coming off five shutout innings at East Carolina on Tuesday and is 5-1 on the year with a 3.38 ERA in 12 appearances. He's struck out 31 batters in 34.2 innings of work while walking just 9. Virginia Tech Saturday starter Jake Marciano has delivered big performances since the beginning of the year. He's 4-0 with a 4.33 ERA in eight appearances and has 43 strikeouts in 35.1 innings of work. He's thrown two Quality Starts in ACC play alone and is coming off his best start of the season at Notre Dame in which he went 6.2 innings and gave up 0 earned runs while striking out nine and walking just one.

Long Shots

Tomas Valincius started the season with a few big outings before crashing back to earth in conference play. In five ACC starts, the UVA left-hander is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA and batters are hitting .344 against him. He has the pedigree to turn things around and looked the part of a future ace in non-conference where he struck out 25 in 17 innings while only giving up four earned runs. Teammate James Nunnallee has shown flashes of stardom, but has lacked the consistency needed to be higher on this list. In 22 starts this season the UVA first year is slashing .273/.414/.338 with five doubles and 15 RBI. Virginia Tech has turned to Hudson Lutterman and he's impressed in a small sample size, but time will tell if he moves further up into the race or if he's too far behind the other freshmen to be a threat. Lutterman has started 13 games for the Hokies and has an impressive seven doubles and a pair of home runs in just 58 at-bats. Fabio Peralta is second on Miami with a .349 average while playing elite defense for the Hurricanes.

ACC Pitcher of the Year

Frontrunner

While Jake Knapp is the clear frontrunner to succeed Chase Burns as the ACC Pitcher of the Year, this race is far from over as over a dozen pitchers are in the conversation in the tiers behind the North Carolina ace. The graduate right-hander has turned it to another level in conference play, going 5-0 against ACC opponents with a 1.04 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. ACC hitters are batting just .157 off the UNC ace. Knapp has pitched into the 7th inning in his last five starts while giving up one earned run or less. If he continues to dominate in this fashion, Knapp will run away with the Pitcher of the Season Award, regardless of how many arms are chasing him.

Contenders

If a reliever is going to win this award, look no further than the best closer in the country in Clemson's Lucas Mahlstedt. The side-armer boasts a 2-0 record with a dazzling 1.01 ERA while leading the nation with 11 saves. He's struck out 38 hitters in 26.2 innings while walking just five. All American Jamie Arnold was the preseason pick for this award, but a pair of rocky starts and a missed game due to illness sees him drop down a tier behind teammate Joey Volini. Arnold is still very good with a 3-1 record and a 2.62 ERA over 34.1 innings pitched and 48 strikeouts. Batters are hitting just .176 against the future first rounder. Volini is coming over his worst start of the year but has been a revelation in the Florida State rotation. The southpaw is 7-1 with a pair of complete games while sitting third in the ACC with 66 strikeouts. He's walked just 11 in 45.2 innings and possesses an impressive 2.56 ERA.

North Carolina has another starter in contention for Pitcher of the Year as Aidan Haugh has put up big numbers so far this season. The Tar Heel senior nearly had a no hitter against Boston College and has been incredible for UNC in the Sunday role, going 3-2 with a 1.91 ERA and 48 strikeouts over 42.1 innings. His impressive season has been overshadowed a bit by teammate Knapp's casual dominance. Virginia Tech ace Brett Renfrow might be the most underrated starter in the conference. He pitches more to contact and has 19 walks in 40 innings of work, but is able to work around danger and carries a sparkling 2.25 ERA for the Hokies.

Dark Horses

Another reliever to watch is Georgia Tech right-hander Mason Patel, who started the season with 22.1 scoreless innings and is a big reason for Georgia Tech's pitching resurgence. He's tied with Volini for the conference lead in wins and has a 1.66 ERA over 38 innings of work. Most impressive is Patels 37-to-7 strikeout to walk ratio while holding hitters to just a .160 average. Speaking of Georgia Tech, Friday night ace Tate McKee has made major strides in his sophomore season, going 4-0 with a 3.66 ERA and 49 strikeouts. If the right-hander can be a bit more efficient and go deeper into games, he could move further up the candidates list. Patrick Forbes leads the ACC in strikeouts and has led Louisville to a Top 25 ranking. The Cardinal ace is 2-1 with a 4.24 ERA and 69 strikeouts over eight starts. An impressive early season outing against Texas in which he struck out 12 Longhorns in just five innings put him on the national radar.

A pair of Demon Deacons in Logan Lunceford and Blake Morningstar are very much in the race after big first halves. Lunceford is second in the ACC with 67 strikeouts and a bad outing against Virginia Tech that saw him give up seven runs over just a third of an inning has bloated his ERA to 3.72 on the year. Morningstar has been Wake's most consistent starter, going 4-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 40.1 innings of work. Clemson ace Aidan Knaak hasn't been quite as dominant as he was in 2024, but remains one of the best pitchers in the league. He's 5-0 with a 4.30 ERA and 61 strikeouts. Miami has seen former Cincinnati transfer Griffin Hugus develop into a star. He earned Pitcher of the Week honors in the first week of the season after going six one-hit innings over Niagara with 11 strikeouts. He's given up more than three runs in a start just once and is 4-3 with a 3.45 ERA over 47 innings with 57 strikeouts.

Long Shots

Two more relievers to keep an eye on are Duke's Reid Easterly and Pitt's Ethan Firoved. Easterly seems to have succeeded Charlie Beilenson as Duke's bullpen ace and is 3-1 with four saves and a strong 2.35 ERA in 19 appearances for the Blue Devils in 2025. The former Ivy Leaguer has 31 strikeouts in 38.1 innings and just 5 walks. Pitt's bullpen ace, Ethan Firoved has been elite for the Panthers and frequently goes multiple innings in his outings. The right-hander has six saves and a 2.84 ERA while striking out 42 and walking just six batters in 31.2 innings. Firoved's teammate, Ryan Reed, is the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Week and another long shot candidate for the Pitcher of the Year down the stretch. He should be getting more love than he is as he's been dominant in ACC play-- carrying a 2.74 ERA and 21 strikeouts over 23 innings against conference opponents.

ACC Player of the Year

Frontrunners

While there are a number of players in the race for Player of the Year, the Lodise cousins have separated themselves from the pack-- despite both being snubbed from the midseason Golden Spikes watchlist. Georgia Tech star Kyle Lodise leads all of D-I with 32 extra base hits and is second in the nation with a 3.64 WAR. Kyle was named a second team midseason All American by D1 Baseball and is hitting .395 with 17 doubles, two triples, and 13 home runs. Kyle's most memorable moment might be the game against Notre Dame that saw him hit three home runs and a double or it might be the Clemson game that saw him almost single-handedly put the game out of reach with a pair of three-run blasts in his first three plate appearances.

Florida State shortstop Alex Lodise leads the ACC with a .448 batting average and has ten doubles, two triples, and 12 home runs for the Seminoles. He is second in the ACC behind Kyle with a 3.36 WAR and was named the D1 Midseason Player of the Year. Alex's best game came in a midweek against rival Florida when he became the first Florida State player to hit for the cycle since 2019. He completed that cycle with a walk-off grand slam to win it. Because of Kyle's ability to draw walks, the Lodises are actually tied with a .500 on-base percentage. We may have been denied a regular season match-up between the two stars, but they're giving us a head-to-head show anyway as they vie for the ACC's biggest individual award.

Contenders

Drew Burress is second in D-1 with 31 extra base hits and feels on the verge of another hot stretch. While it feels like he's had a quiet season, he's right behind the Lodises with a 3.24 WAR. He leads the ACC with 18 doubles and boasts a 1.279 OPS-- good for fourth in the conference. Virginia Tech outfielder Sam Tackett emerged from obscurity after a disappointing 2024 to lead the Hokies in almost every major offensive category. He is Top 5 in the conference in batting average (.393), slugging (.723), and OPS (1.216). He leads Virginia Tech in those categories plus runs, hits, home runs, walks, and OBP. He's also 10-for-11 in stolen base attempts. Marek Houston enjoyed a hot start that saw him stack up home runs and RBIs, but perhaps teammate Kade Lewis has been Wake Forest's best hitter. Lew is 2nd in the ACC with a 1.349 OPS and is tied with Alex Lodise for the conference lead in batting average with .448. Even though he's been primarily used as a DH, he's still Top 5 in the conference with a 2.93 WAR, just ahead of Houston's 2.91. The two are tied for the ACC lead in RBI and Houston is slashing .358/.461/.657 with a 1.117 OPS. He also is a perfect 15-for-15 on the basepaths.

Dark Horses

Duke's Ben Miller and Florida State's Max Williams are currently atop the league's home run leaderboard. Miller has 15 long balls and is hitting .336 on the year with a 1.105 OPS and 43 RBIs. He is 11th in the ACC with a 2.47 WAR. Max Williams is second in the conference with 14 big flies and is hitting .308 on the year with a 1.058 OPS and 35 RBIs. Pitt's Luke Cantwell remains the best first baseman in the country. He's third in the ACC with a .398 average and second with a .538 OBP. He's only hit one home run but his 16 doubles are good for third in the league and his 2.5 WAR is 10th in the ACC. If Pitt goes on a second half run, Cantwell could find himself as a frontrunner for Player of the Year.

Long Shots

JUCO transfer Jake Munroe has been Louisville's best hitter and is fourth in the ACC with a .393 average. He has 14 extra base hits and an OPS of 1.108 while walking more than he's struck out. His 2.57 WAR is good for 7th in the ACC. Hunter Stokely missed virtually all of 2024 with an injury and has come back with a vengeance to be North Carolina's best hitter. He's slashing .341/.405/.612 with a career high 10 home runs. Like Stokely, Cade Campbell missed all of 2024 but has returned to be one of the ACC's best hitters. He's missed a few games recently but is still carrying a 1.121 OPS with nine doubles, a triple, and eight home runs over 28 games played.