UNC Baseball Ranked No. 11 in 2026 D1Baseball Preseason Poll

The Diamond Heels are ranked No. 11 in D1Baseball.com’s 2026 preseason poll, which was released Monday morning. UNC joins a loaded list of teams in the Top 25, including reigning national champions LSU at No. 2 and national runners-up Coastal Carolina at No. 6.

Carolina returns several key contributors from last season’s team which won the ACC Tournament championship and reached the NCAA Super Regionals. Starting pitcher Jason DeCaro returns for his third season in Chapel Hill, and rising sophomore pitchers Ryan Lynch and Walker McDuffie are also back after outstanding freshman campaigns. Infielder Gavin Gallaher is UNC’s only starting position player to return this season. Earlier in January, Perfect Game named Gallaher a second team preseason All-American, while DeCaro and Lynch each landed on the third team. Perfect Game also ranked the Diamond Heels No. 18 in its preseason poll.

Georgia Tech, which won the ACC regular-season title in 2025, is the highest-ranked ACC team in the D1Baseball rankings at No. 5. Louisville, which reached the College World Series in 2025, is No. 8. After UNC at No. 11 are Florida State at No. 16, NC State at No. 17, Clemson at No. 19, Wake Forest at No. 21 and Miami at No. 22. Arizona, which ended UNC’s season in the NCAA Super Regionals on its way to Omaha, is No. 24. For a full look at the rankings, click here.

The Diamond Heels will open their 2026 season next month when they host Indiana in the first series of the season. First pitch on Opening Day at Boshamer Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13.

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

‹

Equity in Health Care - December 11, 2025

What is the state of health care today, both nationally and here in our community? And what needs to be done to address disparities?

'I Could Not Be Happier': UNC's Nabarun Dasgupta Wins 'Genius' Grant for Lifesaving Work in Opioid Fight

UNC researcher Nabarun Dasgupta discusses winning a MacArthur "genius" grant - and the lifesaving research that earned it.

Multiple UNC Graduate School Programs Ranked in Nation's Top 10

Several UNC graduate programs were ranked in the top 10 of their respective categories by the U.S. News & World Report this week. Rankings are based on a survey of peers from accredited institutions across the country. “Carolina’s graduate programs are exceptional, and it’s no surprise that our schools are ranked so highly,” said interim […]

Several UNC Graduate Programs Ranked Among Nation's Best

A total of 21 graduate programs at UNC were ranked among the top 10 in the country in their respective categories by U.S. News & World Report. The Gillings School of Global Public Health led the way, coming in second out of 206 schools and programs of public health nationwide. It’s the sixth consecutive rankings […]

UNC School of Public Health Receives $65 Million Grant for Antiviral Discovery Center

The National Institutes of Health will be awarding the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health a $65 million grant, North Carolina congressman David Price announced Wednesday. The grant is for the establishment of an Antiviral Drug Discovery Center at the school. Once finished, the center will be one of nine around the country dedicated […]

Focus Carolina: Alice Ammerman

Tune in to Focus Carolina during morning, noon and evening drive times and on the weekends to hear stories from faculty members at UNC and find out what ignites their passion for their work. Focus Carolina is an exclusive program on 97.9 The Hill WCHL, sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Working with […]

Focus Carolina: Allison Aiello

On today's Focus Carolina, Dr. Allison Aiello from UNC researches how the flu spreads using technology in smart phones to track interactions between people.

UNC Receives CDC Grant for Sexual Violence Study

Congressman David Price announced Tuesday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will award a grant of over $1.79 million to the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center. The grant will be dispersed over four years, and will be used specifically to study the impact of the “Wise Guys: The Next Level” rape prevention […]

UNC Men's Basketball at Stanford (2026): How to Watch, Cord-Cutting Options and Tip-Off Time

UNC begins a west coast swing late Wednesday night when it visits Stanford in Palo Alto, CA. It’s just the third time ever the Tar Heels have visited the Cardinal’s Maples Pavilion, and their first time doing so as an ACC foe. If you aren’t making the cross-country trek with the team, here’s how you […]

UNC Baseball Ranked No. 11 in 2026 D1Baseball Preseason Poll

The Diamond Heels are ranked No. 11 in D1Baseball.com’s 2026 preseason poll, which was released Monday morning. UNC joins a loaded list of teams in the Top 25, including reigning national champions LSU at No. 2 and national runners-up Coastal Carolina at No. 6. 2026 D1Baseball Preseason Top 25 📈 Who’s too high? Who's too […]

›