ACC Baseball Tournament 2017: Bracket, Schedule, Format, Team Rosters, Standings
In a little over a week, the top 12 teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference will head to Louisville, Kentucky, to determine a champion on the baseball diamond.
Last year's ACC baseball tournament included 10 teams, with teams seeded seventh through 10th facing a play-in game before qualifying for pool play.
In February, the conference announced changes to the event. The ACC scrapped the play-in games and will instead have four pools of three teams, rather than two pools of four teams, last year's format.
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Beyond the winners of the Atlantic and Coastal divisions, the remaining 10 seeds will be determined based on intra-conference winning percentage. The Boston College Eagles and Pittsburgh Panthers would be on the outside looking in if the current standings hold.
| Louisville | 23-4-0 | .846 | 46-6-0 |
| Wake Forest | 17-10-0 | .630 | 35-16-0 |
| Clemson | 16-11-0 | .593 | 37-15-0 |
| NC State | 14-13-0 | .519 | 31-21-0 |
| Florida State | 12-14-0 | .462 | 33-20-0 |
| Notre Dame | 10-17-0 | .370 | 25-27-0 |
| Boston College | 8-19-0 | .296 | 21-26-0 |
| North Carolina | 21-6-0 | .778 | 41-10-0 |
| Virginia | 16-11-0 | .593 | 38-12-0 |
| Miami | 13-13-0 | .500 | 25-26-0 |
| Duke | 11-16-0 | .407 | 26-25-0 |
| Georgia Tech | 10-17-0 | .370 | 25-24-0 |
| Virginia Tech | 9-18-0 | .333 | 22-29-0 |
| Pittsburgh | 8-19-0 | .296 | 22-27-0 |
Following pool play, the pool winners will advance to the semifinals, which are scheduled for May 27. The two finalists will then have little time to recover, with the final the following day, May 28.
Tournament Schedule
The full tournament schedule is below, with the bracket available to view on the ACC's official site:
| ---- | No. 1 Seed | No. 2 Seed | No. 3 Seed | No. 4 Seed |
| ---- | No. 8 Seed | No. 7 Seed | No. 6 Seed | No. 5 Seed |
| ---- | No. 12 Seed | No. 11 Seed | No. 10 Seed | No. 9 Seed |
| Tuesday, May 23 | Pool Play No. 1 | 11 p.m. |
| Tuesday, May 23 | Pool Play No. 2 | 3 p.m. |
| Tuesday, May 23 | Pool Play No. 3 | 7 p.m. |
| Wednesday, May 24 | Pool Play No. 4 | 11 p.m. |
| Wednesday, May 24 | Pool Play No. 5 | 3 p.m. |
| Wednesday, May 24 | Pool Play No. 6 | 7 p.m. |
| Thursday, May 25 | Pool Play No. 7 | 11 p.m. |
| Thursday, May 25 | Pool Play No. 8 | 3 p.m. |
| Thursday, May 25 | Pool Play No. 9 | 7 p.m. |
| Friday, May 26 | Pool Play No. 10 | 11 p.m. |
| Friday, May 26 | Pool Play No. 11 | 3 p.m. |
| Friday, May 26 | Pool Play No. 12 | 7 p.m. |
| Saturday, May 27 | Pool A Winner vs. Pool D Winner | 1 p.m. |
| Saturday, May 27 | Pool B Winner vs. Pool C Winner | 5 p.m. |
| Sunday, 28 | Championship | 12 p.m. |
Team Rosters
Certainly at the top, the ACC is arguably the strongest conference in the country. Five teams are listed in the top 11 of the most recent RPI, according to NCAA.com. The Florida State Seminoles (28th) and North Carolina State Wolfpack (40th) also crack the top 40.
In addition to featuring some of the best teams in the country, the ACC tournament will also be a showcase for top prospects in the 2017 MLB draft.
Louisville Cardinals first baseman/starting pitcher Brendan McKay is the No. 2 prospect on Baseball America, while North Carolina Tar Heels starting pitcher J.B. Bukauskas is right behind him at No. 3.
For fans hoping to read up on every team ahead of the tournament, full rosters are available through the ACC's 2017 media guide.
Tournament Preview
One look at their conference record shows the Tar Heels will be one of the teams to beat in Louisville. North Carolina is 21-6-0 through 26 ACC games, a vast improvement from its 13-17 conference mark a year ago.
Bukauskas is the star of the UNC staff, going 8-0 with a 1.80 ERA through 12 starts. The junior right-hander is far from the only talented arm on the Tar Heels, though. The team is fifth in ERA (2.77) and 35th in strikeouts per nine innings (8.8).
North Carolina also boasts an offense that is tied for 30th in runs (7.2 per game) and 54th in slugging percentage (.438).
Still, the Tar Heels may need their rotation to step up in the ACC tournament, especially if they cross paths with the hosts.
Louisville is arguably the favorite to take the conference title. In addition to home-field advantage, the Cardinals have a stacked roster.
Louisville has three players—McKay, Drew Ellis and Colby Fitch—with double-digit home run totals.
According to the Cardinals' official site, Ellis and McKay are slugging .754 and .703 and respectively have a .491 and .493 on-base percentage.
Beyond their strong lineup, beating the Cardinals is even more difficult because of the three arms coach Dan McDonnell can bring on at the end of games. Lincoln Henzman leads the team with three saves, and he has allowed four earned runs in 30 innings. Fellow relievers Adam Elliott and Sam Bordner have sub-1.00 ERAs.
Collectively, Henzman, Elliott and Bordner are holding opposing hitters to a .151 batting average.
In recent years, the MLB playoffs have illustrated the value of a deep bullpen. The trio of Henzman, Elliott and Bordner could help propel Louisville to its first ACC title and first conference tournament of any kind since claiming the Big East championship in back-to-back years in 2008 and 2009.
Stats are courtesy of NCAA.com unless otherwise noted.
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