ACC Tournament All GRIT Team

North Carolina has captured the 2025 ACC Tournament Championship following a 14-4 thumping of Clemson on Sunday afternoon in Durham. Catcher Luke Stevenson was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player and the conference announced the All Tournament team moments after the final pitch. This week has provided some incredible performances and unlikely heroes, and I decided to put together an All Grit Team to recognize some of the gutsier moments. So, without further ado, here is your 2025 ACC Tournament All Grit Team.

Catcher

Vahn Lackey (GT)

Cal catcher Alex Birge gets an honorable mention here, but Vahn Lackey’s inside-the-park home run to left field and his critical two out hit against Clemson sets him aside in the grit department. The sophomore backstop went 2-for-6 over two games in Durham and threw out a pair of baserunners. The inside-the-park home run came on a deep fly ball to left that– despite an incredible diving effort– Cal outfielder Carl Schmidt was unable to corral. The ball bounced to the base of the wall where center fielder Ethan Kodama picked up quickly to throw in, but Lackey was going all the way. The fastest catcher in baseball chugged around third, nearly losing his helmet before sliding in ahead of the throw home. The home run was yet another display of the grit and athleticism that makes Vahn Lackey such a special player. 

First Base

Luke Cantwell (UP)

You just knew Luke Cantwell had to be on this list, right? The unofficial captain of “Grittsburgh” has embodied that identity over each of his two years on campus. He had just one hit over two games in Durham, but it was the biggest one of the season for the Panthers. 

Louisville had just stormed back to tie the game in the bottom of the 8th, erasing a five run deficit against elite bullpen ace Ethan Firoved. With the momentum entirely on Louisville’s side heading into the 9th, Pittsburgh’s season looked just about over just 30 minutes after it looked safe for another day. Pinch hitter Jackson Cooke led off the inning with a hit by pitch before David Pedanou went down swinging. Cantwell blasted a line drive home run to right field to restore a 2-run lead that would ultimately be the difference. It was a fitting final memory for a player that’s provided more than enough grit over the last few seasons in Pittsburgh.

Second Base

Jimmy Nati (Stan)

The Aussie and Stanford only played in one game, but he made an impact. He was hit by a pitch and hit a late home run against Virginia Tech in the loss. Clemson’s Jarren Purify gets an honorable mention as does UNC’s Jackson Van De Brake, who had an argument to win ACC Tournament Most Outstanding Player.

Third Base

Patrick Roche (BC)

Patrick Roche has been the heart and soul of this Boston College squad all season. The graduate student has spent all five years as an Eagle and provided a big-time performance this week as BC made a Cinderella run into the ACC quarterfinals and nearly pulled off a big upset over third-seeded North Carolina. Not only did Roche draw three hit by pitches over the three games, he also had the go ahead hit to put Boston College ahead of Notre Dame in the 10th inning. The ACC will be a lesser league without the likes of Patrick Roche playing at Boston College. 

Shortstop

Andrew Ciufo (Clemson)

Andrew Ciufo was a critical piece in Clemson’s 9-4 win in the ACC semifinals against Georgia Tech. Down 3-0, Ciufo led off the third inning with a double to spark a five run Clemson rally to take the lead. A few innings later, he led off with another double and came around to score the first of two insurance runs to make it 7-4 Clemson in the 7th. Ciufo went 6-for-13 over three games and provided above-average defense for the Tigers as they fell one win short of their second ACC Tournament Championship in three years.

Outfield

Dom Listi (CU)

Clemson graduate transfer Dom Listi is the epitome of grittiness. With three HBPs this weekend, he’s moved into second in the ACC behind Kyle Wolff with 26 on the year. The former Indiana State outfielder gets on base and often comes up clutch in key situations. In addition to the trio of HBPs, Listi went 6-for-12 as Clemson made a run to the ACC Championship game. 

Kane Kepley (UNC)

Kane Kepley, like many of the other players on this list, is a young man who epitomizes grittiness. While unable to keep pace with Listi’s three HBP’s, Kepley was hit twice and narrowed the gap between himself and ACC leader Kyle Wolff. The former Liberty star is third behind Listi and Wolff with 25. He also delivered the go ahead two run single in the 9th inning of Carolina’s 7-5 semifinal win over Florida State. Overall he went 4-for-13 in Durham with four RBIs.

Perry Hargett (UNC)

Need a freshman who can bunt? Check. Want a player that sprints to first base? Check. Hargett enjoyed a breakout game in the Tar Heels’ ACC semifinals win over Florida State where he went 2-for-4 with a double off the wall and a key hit that led to the Carolina win. After Alex Madera led the inning off by reaching on an error, Hargett put down a beautiful bunt that not only advanced the runner, but resulted in a base hit. He’d come around to score on the Kane Kapley single a few batters later that gave Carolina the lead and the victory. The freshman went 2-for-5 over two games in the DH role while laying down multiple bunts and wearing multiple hit by pitches. If that’s not a gritty performance, then I don’t know what is.

Designated Hitter

Kyle Wolff (BC)

Kyle Wolff is the ACC’s Hit By Pitcher leader as the conference season comes to an end. At 26 HBPs, he leads Clemson’s Dom Listi by one and Carolina’s Kane Kepley by two. Both Kepley and Listi gained ground following BC’s elimination from the tournament. With the ACC Tournament now complete, I’m going to crown Kyle Wolff the ACC HBP King, though I’m sure both Listi and Kepley could pass him while participating in the NCAA Tournament. Wolff was hit by two pitches this week and like Cantwell had Pitt, only had one hit– but it was a big one.

Notre Dame jumped out to 2-0 lead on Tuesday night and looked like they were prepared to coast to an opening round win when Kyle Wolff responded with a 3-run blast in the second inning to take the lead. BC never trailed again in that game as they pulled out a 5-4 extra innings victory at 1:44 AM.

Starting Pitcher

AJ Colarusso (BC)

AJ Colarusso may have been the story of the tournament’s first few days. On the Thursday before the tournament, he started on the road against Cal and threw 56 pitches over three innings. On four days' rest, he started against Notre Dame in the first round of the ACC Tournament and tossed 72 pitches over four innings as the Eagles upset the Irish.

After Boston College upset Virginia on Wednesday night into Thursday morning, questions arose as to who head coach Todd Interdonato would hand the ball to in the ACC quarterfinals against third-seeded North Carolina. Colarusso is notoriously quick to recover and has been used out of the bullpen on short rest following a start before.

Against Wake Forest, he started in the series opener and threw 77 pitches over five innings as BC fell just short of the upset. But in Saturday’s finale with a chance to win the series, Interdonato turned to his ace with the Demon Deacons threatening in the bottom of the 7th as BC clung to a 6-5 lead. Colarusso induced a game-saving double play with the bases loaded and threw 18 pitches to hold the lead before closer Joey Ryan entered the game and clinched the series victory.

But what Colarusso did on Friday night after tossing 72 pitches against Notre Dame on Tuesday night was nothing left of heroic. He outdueled the ACC Pitcher of the Year Jake Knapp and gave North Carolina all they could handle while throwing 109 pitches. When he left after facing one batter in the 7th, Boston College led 2-0 behind Colarasso’s six innings and nine strikeouts. Between the two games in Durham, the junior southpaw amassed 10 innings pitched and threw 181 pitches. He’ll go down in ACC Tournament lore for that incredible performance.

Tate McKee (GT)

Speaking ace material, Georgia Tech’s number one starter Tate McKee had the best start of his career in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals against Cal as he went 6.1 innings and gave up just two runs while matching a career high 10 strikeouts.

What makes his performance so gritty is that after the game, he revealed to me that he’d been battling a stomach bug for three days and was still vomiting throughout that day. According to McKee, he kept his illness a secret and didn’t tell pitching coach Matt Taylor until about 10 minutes before the game. His desire to pitch for his team and avoid forcing Brady Jones to throw on short rest is what puts him on this list. In response to McKee’s revelation, Matt Taylor slapped Tate on the chest, and said “Jordan flu game” before walking away.

McKee took the mound and indeed put in a postseason performance that rivaled the Michael Jordan Flu Game. With a regional hosting bid on the line, McKee completely stifled an upstart California offense that had scored 26 runs over the previous two days of the tournament.    

Ryan Lynch (UNC)

North Carolina true freshman Ryan Lynch made his first collegiate start in the ACC Championship game on Sunday and delivered a fantastic performance. Over four scoreless innings, the flamethrowing right-hander struck out seven and allowed his teammates to carve out a 4-0 lead. An inning after he departed, the Tar Heels broke the game open with an eight run 5th to make it 12-0.

After cruising through the first three innings, Lynch found himself in a jam in the 4th. Collin Priest and Josh Paino reached with two-strike singles while Dom Listi drew a full-count walk. Murmurs in the press box suggested that Scott Forbes may have ridden the first year too long. Olin Johnson was getting ready in the ‘pen, but Forbes rode his reliable righty. A day after hitting a go-ahead grand slam against Georgia Tech, Jacob Jarrell struck out on three pitches in the same situation. Lynch then got Jack Crighton swinging on a slider before inducing an inning ending ground out from fellow freshman TP Wentworth.  

Ryan Lynch threw 83 pitches in the Championship game– 18 more than his previous career high. With an ACC Title on the line, the freshman delivered a legendary performance that will be remembered for a long time.

Relief Pitcher 

Cole Tremain (Cal)

Cal hasn’t played since being eliminated on Thursday evening, but somewhere I have to believe that Cole Tremain is ready to take the mound for his team. Over an eight day period to finish the year, the former Baylor Bear appeared in four games and threw extended innings with his team’s season on the line. 

A day after pitching against Wake Forest, Tremain entered Cal’s quarterfinal matchup in the 2nd inning hoping to quiet Georgia Tech’s bats after the Yellow Jackets had hit three homers and scored four runs in the 1st inning. The graduate transfer delivered a dazzling performance on zero rest, allowing just one hit over the next five innings while scattering three hit batters and a walk. Georgia Tech didn’t threaten in that period and were unable to break the game open until after Tremain departed the game. It was a gutsy performance to cap off his collegiate career.