SHARON, Pa. -- Pitt superstar defensive linemen Haba Baldonado and Calijah Kancey were voted to the preseason All-ACC team by media members, the conference announced on Wednesday.
The pair were the lone Panthers voted to the preseason team among 164 voters. Kancey is coming off a season after which he was named a third-team Associated Press All-American, and Baldonado was a second-team All-ACC pick after last season.
Kancey finished in the top 10 in the ACC last season with 7.0 sacks, and his 13.0 tackles for loss were tied for sixth-best in the conference. Baldonado followed with 12.0 TFL and was tied for third in the ACC with 9.0 sacks last season.
NC State quarterback Devin Leary edged Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman by 10 votes as the preseason ACC Player of the Year. Hartman was third in the ACC last season with 4,228 passing yards, and his 39 touchdowns were second to Pitt's Kenny Pickett's 42.
Many believe that Leary, however, is set to take the next step, after finishing fourth in the league in passing yards with 3,433 and a 35:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
2022 Preseason All-ACC Team
(Total votes in parenthesis)
QB: Devin Leary, NC State (56)
RB: Sean Tucker, Syracuse (125); Will Shipley, Clemson (112)
WR: Josh Downs, North Carolina (128); A.T. Perry, Wake Forest (111); Zay Flowers, Boston College (104)
TE: Will Mallory, Miami (69)
AP: Keytaon Thompson, Virginia (70)
OT: Jordan McFadden, Clemson (127); Zion Nelson, Miami (82)
OG: Caleb Chandler, Louisville (104); Christian Mahogany, Boston College (67)
C: Grant Gibson, NC State (90)
DE: Myles Murphy, Clemson (120); Haba Baldonado, Pitt (54)
DT: Bryan Bresee, Clemson (116); Calijah Kancey, Pitt (62)
LB: Drake Thomas, NC State (92); Trenton Simpson, Clemson (82); Payton Wilson, NC State (60)
CB: Kei’Trel Clark, Louisville (70); Josh DeBerry, Boston College (65)
S: Jammie Robinson, Florida State (93); Tanner Ingle, NC State (63)
PK: B.T. Potter, Clemson (99)
P: Lou Hedley, Miami (101)
SP: Josh Downs, North Carolina (57)
Preseason Player of the Year
1. Devin Leary, QB, NC State (40)
2. Sam Hartman, QB, Wake Forest (30)
3. Tyler Van Dyke, QB, Miami (21)
T-4. Bryan Breese, DT, Clemson (14)
T-4. Brennan Armstrong, QB, Virginia (14)
T-6. Malik Cunningham, QB, Louisville (12)
T-6. Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina (12)
8. Sean Tucker, RB, Syracuse (11)
9. Myles Murphy, DT, Clemson (5)
10. Trenton Simpson, LB, Clemson (3)
11. Jammie Robinson, S, Florida State (2)
