ACC Coaches Reveal Respect for Clemson Tigers in Preseason Baseball Poll

The ACC is one of the most competitive baseball conferences in the country. Winning a title in this league means you’re one of the best teams in the country.
The competition at the top is fierce and, right now, the Clemson Tigers are well-respected — just not in a way in which the coaches see them as the top dog in the league going into the season.
Clemson was voted fourth in the ACC preseason coaches’ poll, which was released on Thursday.
The Tigers finished with 214 points and received one of the league’s 16 first-place votes.
Virginia finished first, receiving 251 points and 13 of the 16 first-place votes. The Cavaliers were followed by Florida State, which received 230 points and the other two first-place votes. In third was North Carolina, which received 217 points.
Earlier this month both Baseball America and Perfect Game both ranked the Tigers in the national Top 10. Clemson finished last season with a 44-16 with a 20-10 record in the ACC. The Tigers finished the season falling to Florida in an NCAA super regional.
Clemson will head to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, to open the regular season on Feb. 14 to play in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown against Oklahoma State, Arizona and Ole Miss.
The Tigers enter the season with some of the best players in the country, led by outfielder Cam Cannarella, who is fully healthy after suffering a torn labrum last season, an injury he played through basically the entire season.
Last season he batted .337 with 16 doubles, three triples, 11 homers, 60 RBI and 58 runs. He had a .417 on-base percentage in 58 games. He also led the team with 29 multiple-hit games as he secured status as an all-American and all-ACC player.
For his career, Cannarella has batted .363 with 32 doubles, six triples, 18 homers, 107 RBI, 130 runs, with a .440 on-base percentage and 24 steals in 117 games.
Pitcher Aidan Knaak is also back after an all-America campaign. He was named national freshman pitcher of the year by NCBWA after he went 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA in 15 starts. He struck out 108 and walked 29 in 83.1 innings, giving up just 67 hits and allowing batters to hit just .221 against him.
The Tigers will also add freshman left-hander Talan Bell to the staff.
The Oviedo, Fla., product played at Hagerty High School, where he was Perfect Game’s No. 6 player and No. 2 left-handed pitcher in the state. He was also named the Gatorade Player of the Year for the state and was named his conference’s player of the year.
In his final season at Hagerty he went 7-1 with a 0.99 ERA and 78 strikeouts. He also batted .379 with 28 RBI.