Weekend sweep boosts UNC baseball two spots in March 2 Coaches Poll
admin_news
What a weekend for the UNC baseball team. After three dominant, run-rule games against Le Moyne, the Diamond Heels (11-1) extended their winning streak to five.
North Carolina opened its weekend series with a 16-3, 7-inning thrashing of the Dolphins on Friday, followed by a 12-2 victory on Saturday. UNC saved its most dominant for Sunday, winning 21-1.
As a result of their offensive onslaught, the Diamond Heels climbed in the latest USA TODAY Sports' Coaches Poll. North Carolina rose two spots to sixth, finding itself a spot behind Georgia Tech and a spot ahead of Auburn.
Even with a re-loaded infield and outfield alike, UNC is showing early-season signs of an ACC contender. North Carolina currently has four guys hitting a minimum .350, led by an eye-popping .467 mark from North Dakota State transfer Jake Schaffner, while Stony Brook transfer Erik Paulsen is mashing with five home runs and 19 RBIs.
The Diamond Heels have a stellar offense, but pitching is the hallmark of their 2026 roster. UNC is 10th nationally with a 2.56 team earned run average.
Junior starting pitcher Jason DeCaro looks every bit of a staff ace and National Player of the Year candidate, sporting a 3-0 win-loss record and 1.00 ERA, while adding 19 strikeouts across his three starts. Folger Boaz is back from injury, looking strong with two wins in three starts, while Ryan Lynch is continuing his postseason dominance from last June.
Below is the full USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll: Rank Team Record PTS 1st Prev Chg Hi/Lo 1 UCLA 9-2 728 21 2 1 1/2 2 LSU 11-1 716 4 1 1 1/2 3 Texas 11-0 699 5 3 - 3/3 4 Mississippi State 11-1 641 0 5 1 4/6 5 Georgia Tech 11-1 612 0 4 1 4/5 6 North Carolina 11-1 552 0 8 2 6/8 7 Auburn 9-2 526 0 7 - 7/9 8 Florida 11-1 509 0 10 2 8/16 9 Arkansas 9-3 493 0 6 3 5/9 10 Georgia 10-2 472 0 9 1 9/13 11 Southern Miss 10-1 458 0 12 1 11/20 12 Clemson 10-1 427 0 11 1 11/17 13 North Carolina State 10-1 362 0 15 2 13/19 14 Oklahoma 10-2 295 0 14 - 14/NR 15 Florida State 8-2 285 0 17 2 14/17 16 Wake Forest 11-1 280 0 20 4 16/25 17 Coastal Carolina 7-4 207 0 13 4 7/17 18 Oregon State 6-4 193 0 18 - 12/18 19 Tennessee 8-3 167 0 19 - 15/19 20 Texas A&M 10-1 165 0 22 2 20/NR 21 TCU 6-5 128 0 25 4 10/25 21 Miami (FL) 10-2 128 0 16 5 16/21 23 Oregon 10-1 114 0 24 1 23/24 24 Kentucky 9-2 105 0 NR 4 24/NR 25 USC 11-0 92 0 NR 6 25/NR
Schools Dropped Out
No. 21 Ole Miss; No. 22 Vanderbilt;
Others Receiving Votes
Ole Miss 91; Virginia 71; West Virginia 66; UTSA 62; Alabama 42; Louisville 24; Oklahoma State 13; UC Irvine 8; UC Santa Barbara 5; Vanderbilt 4; Arizona State 3; Mercer 2; Wichita State 1; New Mexico 1; Michigan 1; Charleston Southern 1; California Baptist 1;
North Carolina hosts Elon at 3 p.m. Tuesday, before welcoming ACC rival Virginia to Boshamer Stadium for a 3-game weekend series on Friday. The Diamond Heels will be tested in conference play, but early returns are extremely promising.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC baseball climbs to sixth in March 2 USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
