With college baseball season now just a month away, D1Baseball.com released its preseason top 25 on Tuesday, with UNC checking in at No. 9 despite not making the NCAA Tournament last season.

The Tar Heels return plenty of talent from last year’s roster, as they look to a forget about 2016–a year where they became the highest rated team in the RPI rankings (19) to miss out on postseason baseball.

Led by Preseason First Team All-American JB Bukauskas–a right-handed pitcher from Ashburn, Virginia–UNC is again expected to roll out one of the best pitching staffs in the ACC.

Shortstop Logan Warmoth and outfielder Brian Miller–both juniors–will likely carry the team from a hitting standpoint, despite neither being known for their power.

Under head coach Mike Fox, the Tar Heels have typically tried to stack their roster with speedy contact hitters. This year should be no different in that regard.

High expectations have also been common for a program that made six trips to the College World Series between 2006 and 2013.

The last three years have seen a bit of a decline when it comes to results on the field, but the fact remains that nobody is ready to give up on UNC baseball just yet.

This season should provide a much clearer picture of which direction the program is truly headed in.

UNC will put the No. 9 ranking to the test for the first time when it opens the season against Kentucky on Friday, Feb. 17 at Boshamer Stadium.