ACC Baseball Power Rankings - Week 5

1. Florida State (13-2, 2-1 ACC)

Florida State has played a terrific brand of baseball early this season with series wins over a ranked Miami squad and a surprisingly good Maryland team. DJ Stewart (.396, 12 RBI) and Brett Knief (.310, 12 RBI) have lead FSU at the plate this season. On the mound the Noles have pitched at a high level sporting a 2.30 team ERA led by Luke Weaver (3-1, 2.25 ERA, 6 BB, 24 K) and Mike Compton (2-0, 1.42 ERA, 4 BB, 17 K). Florida State takes on NC State this weekend in what will be a Top 5 match-up in Tallahassee.

2. Virginia (12-3, 2-1 ACC)

The Cavaliers are off to another great start this season sweeping East Carolina and winning a series at Duke this past weekend. Mike Papi (.347, 3 HR, 13 RBI) and Derek Fisher (.333, 7 RBI) have led UVA at the plate this season while on the mound Nathan Kirby (4-0, 0.74 ERA, 5 BB, 24 K) and Josh Sborz (3-1, 2.29 ERA, 15 BB, 17 K) have helped the Cavs to a team 2.23 ERA. The Wahoos face Boston College at home this coming weekend.

3. North Carolina State (14-2, 3-0 ACC)

NC State has also started the season in strong fashion as they are coming off a sweep of Notre Dame to start ACC play. At the plate, Andrew Knizner (.422, 2 HR, 12 RBI) and Trea Turner (.357, 7 RBI) are leading the Pack while on the mound Carlos Rodon (2-2, 2.40 ERA, 7 BB, 30 K) and Logan Jernigan (3-0, 0.73 ERA, 11 BB, 21 K) are having strong seasons. The Pack have a gaudy team ERA of 1.95 and travel to Tallahassee to face FSU this weekend.

4. UNC (11-4, 2-1 ACC)

North Carolina checks in a #4 after they won a series over Pittsburgh this past weekend. Wood Myers (.315, 17 H) and Korey Dunbar (.308, 2 HR, 11 RBI) lead the Carolina hitting attack (though the team only hits .258 as a whole). UNC has pitched well in 2014 flashing a team ERA of 2.47, largely due to the successes of Trent Thornton (4-0, 2.33 ERA, 7 BB, 28 K) and Benton Moss (2-1, 2.20 ERA, 4 BB, 25 K). The Heels travel to College Park to face a much-improved Maryland team this weekend.

5. Miami (10-6, 3-0 ACC)

Miami has had a solid start to the season thus far winning a series over the Florida Gators and sweeping Boston College this past weekend. The Canes have been led by Willie Abreu (.327, 5 RBI) and David Thompson (.304, 9 RBI) at the plate this season. The pitching staff has been the Canes' strong suit this year as they have been led by Chris Diaz (4-0, 2.05 ERA, 6 BB, 23 K) and Bryan Radziewski (1-2, 2.86 ERA, 12 BB, 29 K). Miami travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech this weekend.

6. Clemson (9-5, 3-0 ACC)

The Tigers have been somewhat disappointing this season as they were swept by rival South Carolina and dropped a mid-week game to Western Carolina. However they bounced back with a sweep of Virginia Tech to open ACC play. At the plate thus far in 2014 the Tigers lead the conference in team batting with a .309 average. Tyler Krieger (.389, 9 RBI) and Tyler Slaton (.377, 8 RBI) have led the way for the Clemson attack. The Tigers' pitching has been poor thus far this season with a team ERA of 4.46. Matthew Crownover (3-1, 2.41 ERA, 5 BB, 18 K) and Daniel Gossett (1-0, 2.78 ERA, 6 BB, 28 K) have been bright spots for Clemson thus far.

7. Maryland (10-4, 1-2 ACC)

Maryland enters the power rankings as they have put together an impressive start to the season. The Terps have taken games from both the Florida Gators and Florida State, both on the road. The Terps at plate are hitting just .251 as a team led by Blake Schmit (.313, 8 RBI) and Brandon Lowe (.302, 10 RBI). On the mound is where the Terps have been stout, posting a team ERA of 3.54. Jake Stinnett (2-2, 2.25 ERA, 6 BB, 31 K) and Mike Shawaryn (4-0, 0.75 ERA, 6 BB, 18 K) have been as good of a 1-2 punch in the entire conference this season. Maryland welcomes North Carolina to College Park this weekend.

8. Wake Forest (11-6, 2-1 ACC)

The Deacons check in at #8 after a road series win at Georgia Tech over the weekend. At the plate so far this year, Wake Forest has been led by Will Craig (.392, 3 HR, 12 RBI) and Matt Conway (.344, 2 HR, 13 RBI). The Demon Deacons have been surprisingly good on the mound with a team 3.08 ERA. John McLeod (2-0, 1.09 ERA, 13 BB, 24 K) and Connor Kaden (1-1, 3.48 ERA, 8 BB, 24 K) have been strong thus far for Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons will host Clemson this weekend in Winston Salem in what is a big series for both teams.

9. Duke (9-7, 1-2 ACC)

Duke has had a decent season thus far and is coming off a hard fought series against the Virginia Cavaliers in which the Blue Devils took a game. Chris Marconcini (.333, 4 HR, 15 RBI) and Jordan Betts (.311, 8 RBI) have led the Blue Devil attack. On the mound Andrew Istler (2-2, 0.81 ERA, 4 BB, 16 K) and Trent Swart (2-1, 1.42 ERA 3 BB, 20 K) have led a Duke staff that has am impressive team ERA of 2.38 this season. Duke hosts Notre Dame this weekend.

10. Georgia Tech (9-7, 1-2 ACC)

The Yellow Jackets have been a slight disappointment this season with a series loss to Wake Forest and a mid-week loss to Kennesaw State. Thomas Smith (.345, 2 HR, 13 RBI) and Matt Gonzalez (.333, 12 RBI) have had solid early campaigns for the Jackets. On the mound Georgia Tech has been surprisingly ok after losing Buck Farmer to graduation. The Jackets have a team ERA of 3.34 led by Jonathan King (2-0, 1.96 ERA, 7 BB, 12 K) and Cole Pitts (1-0, 3.18 ERA, 9 BB, 16 K). Georgia Tech welcomes Miami to Atlanta for a big series this weekend.

Just Missed the Cut: Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Boston College, Virginia Tech

Look for this article to run every Tuesday from now on and we will also be incorporating insight from our other SBNation ACC Sites that cover baseball.

The Noles take on UCF again tongiht and we will use this article as a game thread.