Miami leaps to No. 1 after beating Gators, and Del Castillo brother ACC Player of Week
The Miami Hurricanes rose to No. 1 in the Collegiate Baseball ranking released Monday, and the Atlantic Coast Conference later named UM outfielder Christian Del Castillo an ACC Co-Player of the Week.
The Canes are on their way to top-five rankings among the six polls that are used for college baseball. On Tuesday, D1 Baseball put out its rankings, and Miami jumped from No. 21 to No. 6, with the Gators falling from 1 to 7.
One of the highest-profile polls, Baseball America, released its first rankings of the regular season Monday, buoying the Canes from No. 11 to No. 3.
Collegiate Baseball had the Canes at No. 6 previously. That ranking had UF previously at No. 1 and now at No. 3.
Miami (2-1) defeated the top-ranked Florida Gators (1-2) on Sunday to win its first series in Gainesville in 12 years, and first series against Florida since 2014 in Coral Gables.
The Gators dropped from No. 1 in the nation to No. 7 in the Baseball America ranking.
Other polls, such as D1 Baseball’s, will be released Tuesday.
“Very happy for the series win,’’ UM coach Gino DiMare told the Miami Herald on Sunday after the victory. “But keep it in perspective. We’ve got to turn the page again. We’ve got 47 more games to go.’’
Del Castillo news
Del Castillo is the older brother of top-rated MLB draft prospect Adrian Del Castillo, who is UM’s second-year sophomore catcher. Christian hit .333 for the weekend and drove in six runs at Gainesville. He is a left-handed transfer from Seton Hall.
Del Castillo shared the ACC honor with Louisville outfielder Cameron Masterman.
The Hurricanes, who won national titles in 1982, 1985, 1999 and 2001, return home to Mark Light Field at 7 p.m. Friday in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener against Coastal Division opponent Virginia Tech (2-0). DiMare said about 20 percent of the 5,000-capacity home stadium will be available to fans.
This story was originally published February 22, 2021 at 10:54 AM.
