All the hype in Chapel Hill is around basketball season right now, but it’ll soon turn to baseball.
Whereas Major League Baseball and the minor leagues don’t start until March and April, respectively, college baseball starts in mid-late February.
The Diamond Heels will kick off their 2024 campaign on Friday, Feb. 16, hosting Wagner College for a 4 p.m. first pitch to kick off a 3-game weekend series. UNC will play its first five games at home, before playing a neutral-site and road game against ECU on Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25.
North Carolina sports plenty of returners – headlined by power-hitting, reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year Vance Honeycutt – plus 24 newcomers, headlined by UGA transfer Parks Harber and a third-ranked freshman class. Even with Jake Knapp recently announced out for the year with a torn UCL, the Tar Heels have a deep pitching staff headlined by sophomore Dalton Pence and senior Connor Bovair.
With all the talent returning, it’s no surprise the Diamond Heels were picked to finish second in the ACC’s Coastal Division.
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The Coastal Division also includes Virginia Tech, UVA, Pitt, Miami, Georgia Tech and a Duke program that – after going 55 years between NCAA Tournament appearances – has made five of the past eight.
UNC made its sixth-consecutive NCAA Tournament last year, but saw its season end by going 1-2 in Indiana State’s Terre Haute Regional.
Will the Diamond Heels finally be able to capture that elusive, first College World Series title this year?
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