2024 College Top 25 Preview: No. 16 Duke
Image credit: Jonathan Santucci (Brian Westerholt/Four Seam Images)
Last season: 39-24 (16-13 ACC)
Final ranking: No. 10
Coach (record at school): Chris Pollard (320-242, 11 seasons)
The good news: The Blue Devils pitching staff this season will be able to keep them in every game. Lefthander Jonathan Santucci (2-2, 4.30 ERA) is a bonafide ace who could be selected in the first round of the draft. He missed most of last year due to an injury, but he is now fully healthy and looked excellent this fall. Third-team All-American closer Fran Oschell III (6-0, 0.69 ERA) and his invisi-ball fastball are back as well, and he could wind up being deployed as a starter. First-team freshman All-American and second-team All-ACC selection James Tallon (1-1, 1.64 ERA) will again be the team’s closer after notching 12 saves in 2023. Slender southpaw Andrew Healy (5-1, 2.32 ERA) is fresh off a strong freshman season and will also pitch in the weekend rotation, while Owen Proksch (4-3, 4.50 ERA), Ryan Higgins (3-1, 4.04 ERA), Edward Hart (1-1, 7.80 ERA) and Aidan Weaver (3-3, 4.86 ERA) all figure to log meaningful innings. Princeton transfer Jackson Emus (2-3, 7.22 ERA) will also be in the mix. Don’t let his numbers fool you, Emus has a funky, deceptive delivery and nothing he throws is straight. He had a great fall and could be used as a weekend or midweek starter, or even in a bullpen role. Emus is versatile and brings valuable experience to the pitching staff. True freshmen Kyle Johnson and Macon Winslow are also poised to make their mark in year one. The pitching is undoubtedly the strength of the club, but outfielder Tyler Albright (.312/.408/.416) and catcher Alex Stone (.315/.379/.579) are two key returning bats. Also joining the mix is Harvard transfer Logan Bravo, who hit .302/.383/.516 over the course of his four-year career in Cambridge. He figures to slot in at first base and brings power to the lineup.
The bad news: The biggest loss from last year’s Blue Devils squad is shortstop Alex Mooney. Mooney last year hit .315/.434/.504 with a team-leading 20 doubles, eight home runs and 38 RBIs en route to a first-team All-ACC selection. The seventh-round pick was a high-impact player on both sides of the baseball and will be difficult to replace. Duke must also replace the production of sixth-round pick and leading hitter Jay Beshears, who enjoyed a breakout junior season to the tune of a .333/.438/.587 slash line with 15 doubles, 15 home runs and 56 RBIs. Losing promising freshman slugger Andrew Fischer (.289/.404/.595) and Luke Storm’s 13 home runs were also tough blows. Arguably the heart and soul of last year’s team, M.J. Metz, was both a key contributor on the field—his 17 home runs were tied for most on the team—and a leader in the dugout.
Player to know: Devin Obee, OF. If Duke is able to reach its high ceiling, an uptick in production from Obee will be a key reason why. The ultra-physical outfielder has hit .214/.308/.459 in his first two seasons in Durham, but this past summer he was an all-star on the Cape and showed improved plate discipline and his plus power. Obee has always had big-time raw power, but he has struggled to get into it in games. If he carries the momentum he built from this summer and fall into the spring season, it will go a long way.
Path to Omaha: Duke last year had another strong season, winning the Conway Regional before ultimately falling to Virginia in three games in the Charlottesville Super Regional. This year, the Blue Devils are deeper on the mound with one of the best pitching staffs in the conference, but thinner at the plate. This team will go as far as their pitching takes them. A handful of position players will need to emerge as contributors, but the Blue Devils are equipped to make a run toward their first College World Series since 1961.
| Pos. | Name | Year | AVG | OBP | SLG | AB | HR | RBI |
| C | Alex Stone | Sr. | .315 | .379 | .579 | 254 | 17 | 62 |
| 1B | Logan Bravo | R-Jr. | Transfer—Harvard | |||||
| 2B | Wallace Clark | Jr. | Transfer—Oklahoma | |||||
| 3B | Ben Miller | R-Jr. | Transfer—Penn | |||||
| SS | Zac Morris | R-Sr. | Transfer—Virginia Military Institute | |||||
| OF | Tyler Albright | So. | .312 | .408 | .416 | 154 | 3 | 34 |
| OF | Devin Obee | Jr. | .232 | .358 | .500 | 56 | 3 | 10 |
| OF | Kyle Johnson | Fr. | HS—Leesburg, Va. | |||||
| DH | Macon Winslow | Fr. | HS—Apex, N.C. | |||||
| Pos. | Name | Class | W | L | ERA | IP | SO | SV |
| SP | Jonathan Santucci | Jr. | 2 | 2 | 4.30 | 29 | 50 | 0 |
| SP | Andrew Healy | So. | 5 | 1 | 2.32 | 43 | 45 | 0 |
| SP | Fran Oschell III | Jr. | 6 | 0 | 0.69 | 39 | 66 | 0 |
| RP | James Tallon | So. | 1 | 1 | 1.64 | 33 | 54 | 12 |
| RP | Charlie Beilenson | R-Sr. | 6 | 3 | 3.86 | 61 | 78 | 0 |
| RP | Owen Proksch | So. | 5 | 3 | 4.50 | 42 | 44 | 0 |
