No. 6 UNC baseball looks to return to College World Series for second year in a row

Act like you’ve been there before. 

That familiar scolding mantra in sports that conjures images of stoicism and model sportsmanship. 

But for the preseason No. 6 North Carolina baseball team, the phrase takes on a new meaning. 

There: Omaha, Nebraska.

Last season, UNC advanced to the College World Series in Omaha for the first time since 2018 and was the No. 4 national seed, hosting both a regional and super regional in Chapel Hill. However, the Tar Heels fell short against eventual champion Tennessee and then Florida State in the double-elimination round of CWS. In 2025, a back-to-back trip to Omaha is on the line for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

Heading into a new season, the experience of playing on the biggest stage in college baseball taught the Tar Heels how to remain calm and eliminate distractions, something that will help them deal with the rigors of a 55-game regular season schedule. 

“That first time stepping into that batter’s box you see all these people and it’s something that you’ve never done,” senior second baseman Jackson Van De Brake said. “Having done it definitely is an advantage.”

The CWS is played at Charles Schwab Field, which seats 24,000 people, almost six times the capacity of UNC’s Boshamer Stadium.  

Sophomore third baseman Gavin Gallaher left Omaha knowing how to tune out the roar of the crowd. 

“I definitely learned a lot about how to make the game feel smaller,” Gallaher said. “When you go to Omaha, you’re the last eight teams [standing] in the country, there’s 25,000 people at every single game and so really learning how to throw all the distractions out the window and just focus on what’s going on in between the lines is something that really stood out to me.”

Graduate right-handed pitcher Jake Knapp was sidelined all of last season with a torn UCL in his right arm — an injury that he suffered during the preseason. 

When Knapp sat down with head coach Scott Forbes at the end of the season to discuss his future, missing the opportunity to play in the CWS was one of the reasons that the pitcher decided to return for another year at UNC. Knapp went to Omaha with the rest of the team, but he didn't pitch because of his injury. 

"He wants to pitch in Omaha," Forbes said.

The Diamond Heels brought in many new faces in the offseason to replace drafted players, including a brand new trio of outfielders. 

The projected starting outfield group lacks the CWS experience of the returning players, but Forbes said that the returners have schooled their new teammates on what it takes to get to Omaha. 

A transfer from Liberty, junior center fielder Kane Kepley, will fill the large shoes of MLB first-round draft pick Vance Honeycutt. Kepley, who has never even been to a playoff regional, got the secondhand CWS experience from his teammates. 

“I’ve just heard that it was unbelievable,” Kepley said. “It’s like a dream, and I’m hoping to get back there.”

The roster turnover is a reminder that this season means a new team facing different opponents and adversities. 

UNC opens its season with a tough three-game series against Texas Tech on Feb. 14. Five other ACC teams — N.C. State, Wake Forest, Duke, Clemson and Florida State — are ranked in the preseason Top 25. North Carolina has a series against all of them, except Clemson. 

The excitement and high stakes of Omaha taught the Tar Heels to take things breath-by-breath, play-by-play and game-by-game, no matter the opponent. 

But now that they’ve gotten a taste of the CWS, they won’t be satisfied with just returning to Omaha. 

“We’ve talked about it, obviously we wanna get back there,” Van De Brake said. “It’s an unbelievable experience, but we want to win it.”

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