All Sports Discussion

Ranking the 5 best Running Backs in the ACC for 2026.

Jfann — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:08:53 +0000

Well, here we go. It’s time to start ranking the best players in the ACC for the 2026 season.

As usual, we hope you enjoy the rankings.

Previous and Upcoming Rankings

1) Mark Fletcher Jr, Miami

The ACC is absolutely loaded at running back this year, starting with Mark Fletcher Jr of Miami. The Canes already have the project #1 QB and RB in the ACC going into this year. It may not end there.

Fletcher is the heart and soul of the Miami offense, and just took over games in the playoffs with his physical hard running. Last season, he had a 3rd team All-ACC season with nearly 1200 yards rushing and 12 TDs. He’s projected to be a 2nd or 3rd round NFL pick.

2) Isaac Brown, Louisville

Isaac Brown is the lone returning RB off last year’s top 5 running back list. We had him at #1 in 2025, and he was very good last season. Brown had 884 rushing for a sterling near 9 yards rush per carry. Brown now has over 2000 yards rushing through 2 years at Louisville, to go along with 43 receptions.

He can run a sub-4.5 40, and NFL draft experts have him going as high as the second round. Don’t be surprised if there is 1st round talk this year.

3) Justice Haynes, Georgia Tech

Justice Haynes might be most gifted back in the ACC. Last year at Michigan, before injury, some were calling Haynes arguably the best RB in college football. In had 857 yards rushing in just 7 games, and was still 3rd Team all Big 10.

He is explosive and can run with speed and power. Haynes was starting to get 1st – 2nd round buzz at Michigan. If he can put a full season together, Georgia Tech might have a back easily capable of a better than 1200 yard rushing season.

4) Nate Sheppard, Duke

Nate Sheppard might actually be the most acclaimed ACC running back of this list. Sheppard had a 2025 season where he has a 2nd team All-ACC player in an impressive season. Sheppard ran 1,1,32 rushing yards and 11 TDs, as maybe the unsung hero of a Duke team that won an ACC title.

With Darian Mensah now the QB at Miami, Sheppard will likely be the focal point of the offense. He could be due for an even bigger sophomore season.

5) Malachi Hosely, Georgia Tech

Before Georgia Tech landed Justice Haynes in the portal, they still looked pretty at RB with the return of Malachi Hosely. The pair might form the best backfield in the ACC and possibly the country.

The Penn transfer Malachi Hosley is coming off a fine first season at Georgia Tech where he was an honrable mention All-ACC player. On just 98 carries had 697 yards for average of 8.5 yards per carry. This 1-2 punch is going to cause a lot of headaches for ACC defenses.

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Better Day 2 of NCAA Baseball Tournament for much of ACC.

Jfann — Sun, 31 May 2026 02:17:44 +0000

Friday was a trainwreck for the ACC after a 3-6 start, but Saturday was far more respectable.

UNC moved within 1 game of the Super Regional after a 7-5 win over East Carolina. Good luck to ECU or VCU winning back to back games and keeping the Heels and that pitching staff from advancing.

Georgia Tech was in a tussle with Oklahoma in a 3-3 game through 5 innings. The Jackets offense always seems to get you, as Georgia Tech won 9-3. The regional is not over in Atlanta, but Jacket fans have to be feeling pretty good. This was Georgia Tech’s key game to close out, as I don’t see Oklahoma or The Citadel beating Georgia Tech 2 straight games.

Wake Forest and Boston College won their elimination games.

Virginia won their elimination game, beating #9 seed Southern Miss.

Fair chance the ACC can go 6-3 or 5-4 in Day 2 College Baseball games.

The 3 losses were rough, though.

Miami gave up a whopping 11 unearned runs in a loss to Florida. How is that even possible?

NC State scored 13 runs against Auburn in an elimination game with Auburn, but they gave up 17 in Elliot Avent’s last game. There was no miracle run for Avent’s last season.

Virginia Tech was on the cusp of an epic win against UCLA up 5-3 in the 9th inning. It’s turned into a nightmare for the Hokies. They gave up 2 HRs, and 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th as they join a laundry list of teams that couldn’t hold a late-inning lead against the Bruins.

It should have been one of the biggest victories in Virginia Tech baseball history. In the end, it was one of the most painful.

The NCAA baseball has had more intrigue and drama across the board than either March Madness tournament or the CFP Playoffs. Those events had their moments, but this tournament has had that old-time collegiate feel where you felt like anything could happen at any moment, and everybody has a chance.

Let’s enjoy it while we can before the powers that be wreck another sport.

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NCAA Baseball Opening day disaster for most of ACC

Jfann — Sat, 30 May 2026 03:10:10 +0000

When we talk about the ACC in any sport, we go to the one undeniable evaluation of performance – results. We don’t do Greg Sankey here, and point to metrics, recruiting rankings, TV ratings, and close losses instead of results. We’re not Brett Yormark calling his football league the deepest in the country despite the Big 12 scoring the same number of college football playoff points, that I did. There’s league promotion, and there’s a point where it sounds just absurd.

Friday’s results for one of the best baseball leagues in the regular season were an unmitigated disaster.

If you are Georgia Tech you are exempt. The offense, which was the nation’s best, dropped 22 runs on UIC and chased their best arm out of the game. That offense just looks inevitable.

If you are UNC, you are exempt. One of the country’s best pitching staffs threw a shutout against VCU. It was the only the only shutout of opening day so far.

Miami beat Troy 10-5, but after that, it was all downhill.

Wake Forest blew a 3-0 lead to a mediocre Kentucky team and lost 6-5 by wild pitching a run in.

FSU blew a 5-2 6th inning lead to 4 seed St. Johns.

Boston College had a 3-2 lead, and gave up 2 runs in the 9th to lose to Liberty.

Virginia gave up 15 runs to Jacksonville State and lost.

NC State and Virginia Tech were down 6 and 5 runs late in their games to UCF, and Cal Poly and couldn’t recover.

Wake Forest and FSU still have some chance to come out of their loser bracket and advance, but I can’t see any of the others pulling the trick.

The proud baseball league had a nightmare day, and there’s no conference commissioner sugar coating to it.

Let’s see if Georgia Tech and UNC can continue their fine play, if Miami can pull through the Florida region, and whether any ACC teams can fight their way out of the losers bracket.

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Articles Around the #ACC Blogosphere – May 28, 2026

Jfann — Fri, 29 May 2026 01:51:17 +0000

ACC Prescription takes a look at the ACC Basketball matchups for this season. As the ACC continues to ascend back up in college basketball, it should be a great season of ACC Basketball.

FromtheRumble looks back at Georgia Tech’s ACC Baseball title and looks ahead to Georgia Tech’s regional as the #2 seed in the tournament.

#5 Seed UNC may have one of the toughest regionals going. TarHeelBlog previews it.

ShakintheSouthLand looks back on previous years where Clemson replaced a star QB and how it went. Let’s just say it was a mixed bag.

Former FSU great says the quiet part out loud regarding the state of the FSU program.

Miami’s Darian Mensah is one of the best QB’s in the country, and everyone is catching on, according to CanesWarning.

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ACC Football Schedule and Networks released through September 19.

Jfann — Thu, 28 May 2026 01:56:09 +0000

Courtesy of the ACC.com, the schedule for the first 3 weeks of ACC football has been released. While it continues to frustrate that ABC is nearly the exclusive domain of the SEC, it doesn’t benefit the ACC with the frequent matchups with SEC opponents. An ACC school is on ABC 3 times, and the main ESPN Channel 10 times through September 19.

I would call coverage OK. Years ago, the ACC couldn’t get a primetime slot on Saturday. The ACCN always ensures there is at least one, but the lack of ABC games is something ACC schools will likely deal with all year.

Week 1
Thursday, September 3
Akron at Wake Forest | 7 p.m. ET | ACCN
Colorado at Georgia Tech | 8 p.m. ET | ESPN (previously announced)

Friday, September 4
Miami at Stanford * | 9 p.m. ET | ESPN (previously announced)

Sunday, September 6
Louisville vs. Ole Miss (Liberty Mutual Music City Kickoff) | 7:30 p.m. ET | ABC (previously announced)

Monday, September 7
SMU at Florida State * | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN (previously announced)

Week 2
Thursday, September 10
Florida A&M at Miami | 8 p.m. ET | ACCN

Week 3
Thursday, September 17
Syracuse at Pitt * | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

Friday, September 18
Miami at Wake Forest * | 7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

Week 4
Friday, September 25
Clemson at California * | 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN

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Ranking the 5 best Quarterbacks in the ACC for 2026.

Jfann — Wed, 27 May 2026 00:32:35 +0000

Well, here we go. It’s time to start ranking the best players in the ACC for the 2026 season.

As usual, we hope you enjoy the rankings.

Previous and Upcoming Rankings

1) Darian Mensah, Miami

Darian Mensah has been a star wherever he has been. He was great at Tulane, then he went to Duke and led the Blue Devils to a 9-win season, an ACC Title, and a bowl victory as he threw for nearly 4000 yards. If he can do that at Duke, what can he do at Miami, where the last 2 Hurricane QBs were NFL picks?

I’m expecting Mensah, with the talent surrounding him at Miami, to have an All-American type of season. He’s never won fewer than 9 games. Some critics say he’s a bit undersized for the NFL, but as a college QB, he’s a perfect fit, and a winner.

2) Kevin Jennings, SMU

Just one QB is returning off last year’s top 5 ACC QB list, that’s SMU Kevin Jennings, who took over as the starting QB at SMU early in the 2024 season. It changed everything for SMU last year. He threw for 3,245 yards while completing 65% of his passes in 2024. Then in 2025, he threw for 3,641 yards with a completion rate of 66%.

It was another 9-win season for SMU, with a bowl victory. Jennings is experienced, he wins, and he might make SMU the biggest threat to Miami in the ACC.

3) CJ Bailey, NC State

CJ Bailey is just starting to touch the surface of his potential. Last year, he completed nearly 69% of his passes for 3,105 yards. He also totaled 215 yards on the ground, leading NC State to an 8-win season. Former coach and college football analyst Jimbo Fisher says Bailey can be a first-round pick.

Bailey could be the best NFL draft prospect of the bunch, and NC State has to feel great about getting him back. He could have a monster breakout season.

4) Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, California

Last year Cal’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele showed flashes of the kind of QB play that could land him at the top of this list one day. Despite a coaching change, Cal managed to hold on to JKS to lead the Bears in 2026. The 6’3 former star recruit had 3,454 passing yards with a completion rate of 64%.

JKS could be a little inconsistent, but as a freshman, there isn’t any reason to think he won’t have a monster 2026 season. If you don’t JKS you will after this year.

5) Mason Heintschel, Pittsburgh

Last year, Pitt’s Eli Holstein was one of the ACC’s better returning quarterbacks. It took Mason Heintschel just a handful of games to take over and never relinquish the job back to Holstein. Heintschel threw for over 2300 yards passing in just 9 games started, going 6-3, while nearly leading Pittsburgh to the ACC Championship Game.

Heintschel is a fearless, confident competitor. That’s the kind of makuep you want out of your QB, and the Panthers have a good one.

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NCAA Baseball Field Released – Schedules and Times

Jfann — Mon, 25 May 2026 18:07:12 +0000

Monday, the NCAA Baseball Brackets were released. The ACC had 8 teams make the field. #2 Georgia Tech, #5 UNC, #10 UNC, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Wake Forest, Miami, Boston College, and NC State.

Pitt was one of the last 4 out. The 11-19 ACC Regular Season, in the end, was just too much to overcome. That doesn’t mean the field should expand just because Pitt or another bubble team could have caused some damage in the tournament. That concept, which has invaded College Football and College Basketball, is just dumb.

Here is the field and times. It should be a great tournament!

https://www.ncaa.com/news/baseball/article/2026-05-25/2026-ncaa-baseball-tournament-bracket-schedule-mens-college-world-series

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Podcast – @AllSportsDACC and @TalkinACCSports talk ACC Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse.

Jfann — Mon, 25 May 2026 17:52:34 +0000

@AllSportsDACC and me (@TalkinACCSports ) take a look together at ACC Baseball and Softball in classic podcast. Enjoy!

In this order, these are the topics we covered on the podcast. It’s episode 592

ACC Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse

Open Microphone

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NCAA Baseball Bracket Projections and Softball Bracket Results for May 24, 2026

Jfann — Sun, 24 May 2026 20:48:44 +0000

Baseball

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2026-ncaa-baseball-tournament-bracket-projected-field-of-64-conference-tournament-week/

D1 Baseball Projections

https://www.on3.com/news/2026-ncaa-baseball-tournament-bracket-may-23-field-of-64-projections/

Softball (Bracket Results)

https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/softball/d1/2026

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After ACC Title, Georgia Tech is obvious #1 overall NCAA seed.

Jfann — Sun, 24 May 2026 20:17:25 +0000

UCLA has been the wire-to-wire #1 team in the country. They will probably be your Big 10 Tournament champions, but they should not be the #1 overall NCAA seed. Sorry, the Bruins didn’t really do anything wrong, but at some point you have to reward the results and metrics when there isn’t a head to head component.

Here’s the tale of the tape. UCLA won today, in which another Big 10 team, this time Oregon blew a late-inning lead up 2-1 with 2 outs. If UCLA had lost, it’s an absolute no-brainer that Georgia Tech is number 1. Of course, Oregon would hit a batter with 2 outs and the bases loaded so the Bruins could walk off the game.

UCLA is 51-6 RPI 1, DSR 3 SOS 29

Q1 11-1

Q2 14-2

Q3 19-4

Q4 7-0

Record over top 8 teams : 0-0

Record over top 16 teams : 5-1, one team ranked in top 10

Conference Rank : 5th

Georgia Tech is 48-9 RPI 2 DSR 1 SOS 15

Q1 22-5

Q2 3-2

Q3 11-1

Q4 12-1

Record over top 8 teams : 4-3

Record over top 16 teams : 7-3, four teams ranked in top 10

Conference Rank : 2nd

Georgia Tech played in a far better league, a harder overall schedule, had more high-end wins, and even a higher average metric ranking.

The decision doesn’t just seem obvious, but painfully obvious that Georgia Tech should be the number 1 overall seed.

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