Louisville Baseball Picked as Preseason Favorite to Win ACC
(Photo of Luke Smith and Louisville players: Steven Branscombe/USA TODAY Sports)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Unsurprisingly, the Louisville baseball program is once again heading into the season as the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Not only did the league's 14 head coaches vote the Cardinals as the clear favorite to win the Atlantic Division, but also as the conference's overall 2021 winner.
Louisville garnered 11 of the 14 first place votes to win the Atlantic Division, with NC State, Florida State and Clemson each receiving a single vote. For the conference as a whole, the Cardinals received nine first place votes, with Miami & Virginia each securing two votes, and Florida State receiving one.
The Cards have won at least a share of the ACC regular season title in four of the five full seasons since joining the conference in 2015. Head coach Dan McDonnell has also won nine conference regular season titles across three different leagues in his time at Louisville
McDonnell enters his 15th season with the program, compiling a 618-244 record during his tenure as the Louisville skipper - the most wins of any team in the country since his hiring in 2007.
Related: Louisville Baseball's 2021 Schedule Revealed
Louisville is set to begin the 2021 season with a three-game weekend series against Bellarmine at Jim Patterson Stadium on Friday, Feb. 19. The Cards will open the season ranked as high as the No. 2 team in the country (Perfect Game), and feature six different players named as preseason All-Americans.
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