ACC teams who never played in the College World Series ft. Virginia Tech
The Atlantic Coast Conference, or the ACC, has a proud tradition in college baseball as most of its teams have made it to the College World Series.
Miami (FL) Hurricanes and Florida State have the most CWS appearances in the ACC with 25 and 23, respectively. The Hurricanes and Seminoles are second and third overall to Texas in CWS qualifications with 38.
Clemson and North Carolina are the other ACC squads with double-digit CWS participations at 12 and 11, respectively.
Only two ACC-affiliated teams have yet to make it to the College World Series — Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. Here's a closer look into their past performances and how close they've been to making the CWS before.
2 ACC teams who never made it to the College World Series
#1. Virginia Tech Hokies
Among the two schools, Virginia Tech came closest to securing a College World Series ticket as they made the 2022 super regionals.
They won the regional tournament for the first time in 11 tries, beating Wright State and Columbia in the first two rounds before winning over Columbia again in the Blacksburg Regional final.
The Hokies then played Oklahoma in the best-of-three super regional series. They lost to the Sooners, 5-4, in Game 1 before defeating Oklahoma in Game 2, 14-8. However, Virginia Tech ran out of luck in the winner-take-all game, losing to Oklahoma, 11-2.
Virginia Tech has made 11 appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 1954, 1969, 1976, 1977, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2010, 2013 and 2022. Furthermore, they were the regular season conference champions in 1954, 1981, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2022.
#2. Pittsburgh Panthers
Pittsburgh has played baseball since 1869 and it's the university's oldest recorded sport. Before joining the ACC in the 2013-14 season, Pitt was part of the Big East, where it had won the conference regular season titles in 1994 and the tournament the following year.
The Blue and Gold have had three NCAA Tournament appearances in 1959, 1965 and 1995. Pittsburgh made its first NCAA tournament by going 14-4 in the regular season. Unfortunately, the Panthers lost to Ithaca College, 4-3, in 11 innings in the first round of the District 2 Regional.
Six years later, Pittsburgh started with a 10-0 record, en route to their second-consecutive 17-win season. However, the Panthers failed to get through the first round, losing to No. 7 seed Lafayette, 4-3.
It would take them 30 years to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Pittsburgh started the 1995 season with a 16-2 record en route to a 39-win season. They placed fourth in the Big East Conference and went straight to the Big East Tournament for the third consecutive time.
The Panthers took home the Big East Tournament title after beating Providence, 10-4, in the final. The victory secured them an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and was bracketed in the Mideast Regional in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Pittsburgh began the regional with a loss to No. 11 Oklahoma State. However, Pitt bounced back in the next two games against The Citadel and California to earn a regional final rematch with Oklahoma State.
The game was more of an offensive showdown as the Cowboys and the Panthers scored a combined 28 runs. However, Pittsburgh lost anew to Oklahoma State, 15-13.
5 ACC teams move one step closer to 2024 CWS
This season, five ACC teams — Virginia, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and NC State — are looking to add up to their College World Series resumes, as they compete in the best-of-three super regionals this weekend.
Virginia hosts Kansas State in the Charlottesville Super Regional that begins on Friday, while Clemson takes on Florida in a super regional clash at Doug Kingsmore Stadium starting on Saturday.
Florida State plays UConn in the Tallahassee Super Regional, beginning on Friday while North Carolina and West Virginia face each other in the Chapel Hill Super Regional the same day.
The only ACC team not playing at home is NC State, as they travel to Georgia in the Athens Super Regional beginning on Saturday.
Will the five remaining ACC teams in the Super Regional make the College World Series? Let us know your views in the comments section below.