First baseman Hunter Stokely emerges as key player for Diamond Heels

The 2025 season has been a long time coming for Hunter Stokely.

The graduate first baseman is in his fifth year with the UNC baseball team. He played three games last season before suffering a hand injury. 

“Last year was just trying to get back and be healthy to play this year,” Stokely said.

He doesn’t say much in his postgame meetings with the media. Stokely is just happy to be back on the field helping his team win. And so far, he’s let his stellar play speak for him. 

The Tar Heels remained undefeated and clinched another weekend series with a 6-1 win over Stony Brook on Saturday at Boshamer Stadium. He hit his team-leading fourth home run, an opposite-field rocket 105 mph off the bat. After 11 games, Stokely boasts a slash line of .405/.479/.762. He leads the team in average, hits, total bases, home runs, OPS and RBIs.

Stokely is currently riding a 10-game hit streak. In a three-day stretch last week — two games against East Carolina and one against VCU — he went 9-for-13 with three homers and eight RBIs.

“He learned a lot about himself, a lot about the game,” graduate right-handed pitcher Jake Knapp said. “He’s confident and playing really well.”

A native of Wilson, North Carolina, Stokely was UNC’s starting first baseman his sophomore and junior seasons in 2022 and 2023. He hit .285 and .317 in those years respectively with a combined eight homers.

Entering the 2024 season, Stokely lost the first-base job to Georgia transfer Parks Harber. Head coach Scott Forbes said Stokely maintained a good attitude. He was expected to split time with Alberto Osuna as the designated hitter and be the first left-handed bat off the bench.

Then the injury.

“This will tell you all you need to know about Hunter Stokely: He was ready to play in Omaha, and he wanted to play in Omaha if it would’ve helped us win,” Forbes said. “So that kid would have not played all year basically and just got in there and used his last year of eligibility if it meant for us to win a game.”

It never did come to that. But Stokely returned for one more year and has been rewarded. 

He has worked hard in the weight room and changed his diet. Stokely admitted it’s been a long journey since his first year. He was “a little chubby.” Forbes said he is now in the best shape of his career.

“I love donuts,” Stokely said. “Had to give it up.”

In the VCU game last Tuesday, he turned on the wheels to score an important run all the way from first on a double. He legged out a double of his own and then tagged up from second to third in a 16-2 game-one win over Stony Brook.

Stokely maintained his fielding routine during rehab last year. He flashed the leather at first in game one, saving several low throws in the dirt.

“He’s as good a first baseman defensively as we’ve had here,” Forbes said. “As big as Stoke is, he moves well. He’s ultra athletic.”

At the plate, he’s worked with hitting coach Jesse Wierzbicki on hitting to all fields. Stokely said he was pulling the ball all the time at the start of his career. Now, he hits it where it’s pitched. 

Stokely started the season as the nine-hole hitter. He’s worked his way up to the cleanup spot. Nothing changes, he said. The goal every time he steps in the batter’s box is to hit the baseball as hard as he can. 

Gratitude is also on his mind in the box.

“I didn’t get to play last year because I was injured," Stokely said, "So [I just want] to help the team in any way possible.”

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