Duke Blue Devils baseball

The Duke Blue Devils baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of Duke University, based in Durham, North Carolina, United States. The team has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference since the conference's founding in the 1954 season. The program's home venue is the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in 1995. Chris Pollard has been the head coach of the team since the 2013 season. As of the end of the 2019 season, the Blue Devils have appeared in three College World Series and 10 NCAA tournaments. They have won three ACC Championships. As of the start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season, 36 former Blue Devils players have played in Major League Baseball.

History
The baseball program began varsity play in 1889. Led by Arthur Bradsher's 13–1 record they won the S.I.A.A. championship in 1904. The Trinity hurler struck out 169 batters during that championship season and walked only four batters the entire season. The vast majority of the program's successes came under head coaches Jack Coombs and Ace Parker from 1929–1966. Coombs led the Blue Devils to five Southern Conference championships and to a fifth-place finish in the 1952 College World Series. Taking over upon Coombs' retirement after the 1952 season, Parker led Duke to the 1953 and 1961 College World Series, one Southern Conference championship, and three Atlantic Coast Conference championships. In 2016, Duke earned their first bid to the NCAA tournament since their 1961 College World Series run, ending a 55-year drought. Head coach Chris Pollard continued this success, leading the Blue Devils to the NCAA Super Regionals in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, the Blue Devils defeated NC State at the 2021 ACC tournament, winning their first ever ACC Championship.

Steroid controversy
In 2005, the program was the target of a controversy involving the use of anabolic steroids. Five former players told the Duke Chronicle that head coach Bill Hillier had pressured players to use steroids, with two of those players admitting to having injected steroids in 2002. In an open letter published in the Chronicle, another former player, Evan Anderson, confirmed that Hillier had pressured players to use steroids. While Hillier denied the accusations, he was replaced as head coach after the 2005 season.

Conference affiliations

 * Southern Conference − 1929–1953
 * Atlantic Coast Conference − 1954–present

Individual awards
ACC Baseball Player of the Year
 * Ryan Jackson (1994)

ACC Baseball Coach of the Year
 * Tom D'Armi (1981)
 * Steve Traylor (1992)

Current and former major league players



 * Wayne Ambler
 * Bob Brower
 * Greg Burke
 * Chris Capuano
 * Bobby Coombs
 * Claude Corbitt
 * John Courtright
 * Brandy Davis
 * Crash Davis
 * Ron Davis
 * Mort Flohr
 * Nate Freiman
 * Lee Griffeth
 * Dick Groat
 * Alex Hassan
 * Bryce Jarvis
 * Ryan Jackson
 * Footer Johnson
 * Wade Lefler
 * Joey Loperfido
 * Bill McCahan
 * Quinton McCracken
 * Tim McKeithan
 * Matt Mervis
 * Pete Naktenis
 * Dan Otero
 * Ace Parker
 * Graham Pauley
 * John Poff
 * Graeme Stinson
 * Scott Schoeneweis
 * Frank Seward
 * Eddie Shokes
 * Dave Smith
 * Al Spangler
 * Marcus Stroman
 * Eric Tipton
 * Mike Trombley
 * Hal Wagner
 * Ken Weafer
 * Billy Werber

World Series Champions

 * Dick Groat (1960, 1964 – Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals)
 * Scott Schoeneweis (2002 – Anaheim Angels)