page_title: Dustin Ackley
section_title: College
hierarchical_section_title: Dustin Ackley / Amateur career / College
caption_attribution_description: Dustin Ackley, a member of the 2009 North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team representing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The team achieved a berth to play in the 2009 Division I Men's College World Series played in Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska. This picture was taken at this location.
context_page_description: Dustin Michael Ackley is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees.
  Ackley played college baseball for the North Carolina Tar Heels, and was selected second overall by the Mariners in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. After going through a transformation to develop his skills defensively at second base, he joined the Mariners June 17, 2011. The Mariners traded him to the Yankees during the 2015 season.
context_section_description: Ackley attended the University of North Carolina (UNC) to play college baseball for the North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team. As a freshman in 2007, Ackley set Carolina single-season records and led the nation with 119 hits, 296 at-bats, and 73 games played. He started all 73 games, including 65 at first base. He recorded a .402 batting average,  becoming just the fifth Tar Heel to bat over .400 in a single season. His 74 runs scored set a UNC freshman record. He was the national freshman of the year, earning top rookie billing from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, and Rivals.com. He claimed the S.H. Basnight Award as North Carolina's most valuable position player. Ackley and the Tar Heels made it to the final round of the 2007 College World Series, losing to the Oregon State Beavers.
  In 2008, Ackley started all 68 games, 60 at first base and eight in left field. He hit .417 on the season with a school-record 82 runs scored, seven home runs, 51 RBI and 19 stolen bases. He ranks as the only player in Carolina history to hit over .400 twice in a career and also posted Carolina top-10 single-season totals in hits, walks, total bases and at-bats. Ackley once again participated in the 2008 College World Series, and was named an All-American. After the 2008 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
  As a junior in 2009, Ackley led the Tar Heels with a .399 batting average and 20 home runs, and became the second Tar Heel, following Chad Flack, to record 300 hits and 200 runs scored for the program. He was named Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Player of the Year. Ackley earned All-America honors for the second straight season. He also was a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the nation's top amateur baseball player, and on watch lists for the Dick Howser Trophy and the Brooks Wallace Award. He again won the S.H. Basnight Award. He again participated in the 2009 College World Series. He was a finalist for the 2009 Golden Spikes Award (behind Stephen Strasburg).
caption: Ackley at the 2009 College World Series
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