I can practically smell the popcorn at Boshamer Stadium.
Less than a month from today (Thursday, Jan. 18), the UNC baseball team kicks off its season against Wagner College. As is commonly seen across college baseball, a cold-weather team in Wagner (Staten Island, NY) travels south to open its season.
Expectations are high in Chapel Hill, in large part due to reigning ACC Defensive Player Vance Honeycutt, who is also a projected Top-10 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Carolina replaces the production of 2023 MLB Draftee Mac Horvath, its former star third baseman, with University of Georgia transfer Parks Harber.
UNC also sports 15 freshmen on its incoming roster, including in-state catcher Luke Stevenson, a highly-touted recruit who generated some MLB Draft buzz himself.
D1Baseball ranked the Tar Heels’ freshman class third in the entire country, behind top-ranked Arkansas and UCLA.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C2ISnrTuW_M/
Most of Carolina’s freshman come in the pitching department, which has been up-and-down over the past several years. UNC’s had a pitcher drafted in each of the past three seasons, but no one who was considered a clear-cut ace.
Stevenson should lead the incoming freshman class on the field this season, as he’s just one of two catchers listed on the roster (Parker Haskin).
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