Five thoughts on Miami Hurricanes baseball halfway through its ACC schedule
The Miami Hurricanes baseball team could have been in rough shape just two weeks into Atlantic Coast Conference play. UM dropped four of its first six games league games, with that stretch capped by a 20-10 run-rule defeat at Duke.
Since then? Miami has hit its stride.
The Hurricanes have won 13 of their past 16 games. This includes winning each of their past four weekend series, with ACC series victories against Clemson, Virginia Tech and, most recently, Wake Forest in that stretch.
It has Miami sitting with a 27-9 overall record and 8-7 mark in ACC play, which is tied for sixth in the 16-team ACC.
“It’s resilience,” Hurricanes coach J.D. Arteaga said. “It’s just coming back and just playing well. No one game affects the next one. If we win one before, we’ve got to come out hungry the next day. If we lose, it’s a new day. So I’m just happy with the way we responded.”
Here are five thoughts on the team with five weeks left in the regular season.
Derek Williams is one of college baseball’s top hitters
In a lineup filled with a plethora of productive hitters, outfielder Derek Williams has not only been the most productive on the team. He’s quite possibly one of college baseball’s most productive so far this season.
He is hitting .408, with an .824 slugging mark, 1.331 on-base-plus-slugging, 14 home runs, 54 RBI and 39 runs scored.
All of those marks except for runs scored are among the top five in the ACC and top 20 nationally.
He has multiple hits in 19 of 36 games and has failed to safely reach base in just two contests.
Williams said his success simply comes down to “being really focused and disciplined on what I have to do.”
“And then also,” Williams said, “it makes hitting a lot easier when you have a good lineup who’s also hitting around you.”
All nine of Miami’s qualified hitters have batting averages of at least .292. Eight have at least 20 RBI.
Alex Sosa’s overall impact
Catcher Alex Sosa, a transfer from NC State who grew up a Hurricanes fan, has been where UM wants to get back to. He has played in Omaha, Nebraska, and the College World Series.
And he’s making his presence known in multiple ways.
In the batter’s box, he’s hitting .338 with a 1.159 OPS, 14 doubles, 10 home runs, 40 RBI and 44 runs scored.
Defensively, he’s helping guide an inexperienced pitching staff as it tries to find its stride down the stretch.
“A big addition in more ways than one,” Arteaga said.
Daniel Cuvet closing in on school records
Third baseman Daniel Cuvet is the highest-rated draft prospect on Miami’s roster, ranked No. 67 in the 2026 class by MLB Pipeline and No. 83 by Baseball America.
And as he moves past the halfway mark of his junior — and likely final — season with the Hurricanes, Cuvet is working his way into Miami’s career record book.
He logged his 200th RBI on Saturday, tying Phil Lane for the fourth-most in school history. Mike Fiore has the school record at 235. Cuvet also has 53 career home runs, the third most by a Hurricane behind only Lane (62) and Pat Burrell (61).
Cuvet’s .707 career slugging mark is currently fourth in school history. His 418 total bases are tied for eighth, as well. And there’s a chance he cracks top 10 for total hits, doubles and runs scored before the season ends, too.
Starting pitching might be hitting its stride
After struggling with consistency all season, Miami’s starting pitching put together its best series of the season against Wake Forest.
The trio of Rob Evans, Lazaro Collera and AJ Ciscar combined to hold the Demon Deacons to three runs (two earned runs) on 16 hits and four walks with 16 strikeouts over 20 2/3 innings. Evans posted his fourth quality start in his past six appearances with 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball on Friday, while Collera held Wake Forest to two runs over seven innings on Saturday and Ciscar tossed seven shutout innings on Sunday.
The Hurricanes entered the Wake Forest series with a 4.60 ERA.
“We all knew we were capable of this,” Ciscar said. “It was just kind of a matter of time to everything started to click.”
A look at the remaining schedule
Miami’s remaining ACC series are on the road at Stanford this weekend, home against California April 25-27, at NC State May 1-3, home against Louisville May 7-9 and at Florida State May 14-16.
Stanford, Cal, and Louisville are all in the bottom six of the ACC with conference records of .400 or worse. NC State is tied with Miami for sixth in the conference. FSU is fourth in the league.
This story was originally published April 13, 2026 at 10:36 AM.
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