As usual, the ACC is a deep and talented baseball league, with three schools in the D1baseball.com preseason top 10, including NC State at No. 6. The only team ranked higher than the Wolfpack is Florida State at No. 3.
NC State did lose some key pieces off of last year's team--notably first baseman Preston Palmeiro--but still returns a lot of experience. The bulk of the lineup returns intact, which should give the Pack an above-average offense once again. They'll miss Palmeiro's overall talents, Andrew Knizner's consistency behind the plate, and Chance Shepard's raw power, but a breakout year or two can mitigate those losses substantially.