UNC baseball's Caden O'Brien named second team All-America

Since game two of the season, North Carolina baseball first-year pitcher Caden O’Brien proved his value to the team, and now he's being recognized for it.

O'Brien was named a D1Baseball Freshman All-America second-teamer on Thursday for being a steady arm called upon often in tough situations from his first outting. 

The left-hander began his UNC career striking out two batters while giving up no hits in one inning of relief against South Florida on February 17 — a solid start to his college career. Since then, he rode that performance all the way to being recognized as one of the best newcomers in the sport this season — an honor he earned all season. 

When ace Gianluca Dalatri suffered an injury to his elbow in February, the whole season looked derailed. The Tar Heels' best pitcher was out for the foreseeable future and the young, largely untested arms needed to be solid to compensate from the loss on the mound. 

Head coach Mike Fox’s program tumbled for a while after that, but it was players like O’Brien that helped the team muscle its way back towards the top. 

O’Brien rescued his team on countless occasions this season, especially during crunch time. When Dalatri had to come out against Stetson in game two of the Super Regionals, O’Brien provided the steady hand in relief who eventually won the game. 

When Dalatri exited early again in game one of the College World Series, O’Brien took control, setting a precedent for the rest of the bullpen that the disaster of an injured starter wouldn’t decide the game, even when it wasn't his best outting of the season. 

By his arm, the team held on to many games that were in jeopardy. With 30 appearances, he holds this season's first-year record for the most appearances— a measure of his hard work and consistency when called upon.

But maybe O’Brien’s best performance all year came against eventual national champion Oregon State in the elimination game in Omaha. In 4.1 innings on the bump, a tie for a season long outting, the Maiden, N.C. native struck out five, gave up two hits and allowed just one run. He couldn’t help that after he was pulled in the eighth inning everything fell apart and the Tar Heels gave up eight more runs for the loss.

O’Brien appeared in 48 innings this season, giving up 30 hits and striking out 52 hitters for a 2.62 ERA. He commanded his pitches with an unconventional left-handed look, holding opposing batters to a .185 ERA in his first season at Chapel Hill. 

While the Tar Heels say goodbye to key members of the roster after the 2018 season, O’Brien will be coming back after making a name as a young player in year one. While many holes will have to be filled, the return of a solid reliever like O’Brien will leave one less question to be answered next season for Fox after a return to prominence in the national spotlight.

N.C. State’s Patrick Bailey, Louisville’s Bobby Miller and Florida State's C.J. Van Eyk were the three other ACC players to be honored on the list.

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