Tag: Scott Forbes

Scott Forbes picks up Coach of the Year honors

UNC baseball coach Scott Forbes picked up a big honors after the 2024 season.

The North Carolina Tar Heels reached Omaha and the College World Series for the first time since 2018. It was also the first time they reached the final eight,  since Scott Forbes took over as manager.

After winning the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title, UNC won both the regional and super regional round which included eliminating defending champ LSU. Despite the Tar Heels not winning it all and leaving Omaha with a 1-2 record, it was a successful season for the program.

UNC went 48-16 overall and had a 22-8 record in the ACC as the Tar Heels were also dominant at home.

And now, Forbes is earning an honor to cap off the season.

Forbes was named the ABCA Atlantic Region Coach Of The Year this week, capping off an impressive season with the achievement.  Thi si the first time Forbes has won the award and the third coach to win it in UNC program history joining Mike Fox and Mike Roberts.

The award is voted on by members of the ABCA All-America & Coach of the Year Committees in all nine divisions.

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UNC head baseball coach Scott Forbes delivers beautiful Father’s Day tribute to his dad

There’s no bond like one between a father and son. For Father’s Day, UNC head baseball coach Scott Forbes will lead the Diamond Heels against top-ranked Tennessee with his dad in attendance.

For plenty of baseball players and coaches, their first exposure to the game comes from their fathers.

That first exposure can be from watching baseball on the couch, going to see your first live game or – simply – discussing the box scores in Sunday morning’s newspaper.

On the UNC baseball team, star center fielder Vance Honeycutt is one of the many whose father game him his initial exposure to baseball. Honeycutt highlighted the early knowledge he gained from his dad, Bob, who used to be a Diamond Heel himself.

But Honeycutt isn’t the only one in North Carolina’s baseball program who has a special bond with his dad.

Scott Forbes, who took over as head coach in 2021 from longtime skipper Mike Fox, delivered a special message to his dad, Harvey, earlier on Father’s Day. Later today – Sunday, June 16 – Harvey will get to watch his ACC Coach of the Year son lead UNC into a College World Series battle with top-ranked Tennessee.

On Friday, June 14, the younger Forbes coached the Diamond Heels to a 3-2 comeback, CWS-opening win over ACC rival Virginia. This game ended with walk-off heroics from – who else – Honeycutt.

Will the younger Forbes deliver his dad the gift of a lifetime on Sunday?

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Scott Forbes thanks the UNC fans in College World Series crowd

Friday’s College World Series crowd caught the attention of UNC head baseball coach Scott Forbes.

Before the College World Series even started, we wondered how many UNC baseball fans would make the trip to Omaha.

Given the amount of fans who lined the Boshamer Stadium concourse for North Carolina’s send-off this past week, I liked the chances of Charles Schwab Stadium having a lot of Carolina Blue.

Those Diamond Heel fans who made the trip were treated to quite the show on Friday, June 14, as Vance Honeycutt blasted a walk-off single and delivered UNC a clutch, 3-2 victory over ACC rival Virginia.

North Carolina  – once again – trailed in the late innings. They tied Friday’s game at two on a seventh-inning Casey Cook single, then walked it off on Honeycutt’s ninth-inning single.

As you can imagine, the Tar Heel Faithful loved Friday’s result. The stands weren’t entirely packed, as the Diamond Heels and Cavaliers played in the early (2 p.m. ET) game, but just packed (and loud) enough to catch the attention of UNC head coach Scott Forbes.

“I was really excited for our players,” Forbes said in postgame interviews. “When I looked up there and saw all of our fans that have traveled. Our chancellor is out here, some of our biggest alumni, some of the former players, a ton of former players, our athletic director. Coach (Mike) Fox was here, which obviously was really special to me. People that have really given a ton to our program got out here to support these guys.”

I have no doubt the Sunday night crowd will be just as large – if not larger – when North Carolina takes on top overall seed Tennessee at 7 p.m. ET.

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UNC head baseball coach Scott Forbes invites famous music star to College World Series

Eric Church is arguably the biggest Tar Heels fan in the music industry. Head UNC baseball coach Scott Forbes wants him in Omaha for the College World Series.

The UNC baseball team is that much closer to the College World Series.

North Carolina coaches and players boarded a plane for Omaha on Tuesday, June 11, ready to chase their first CWS title in program history. Diamond Heel fans lined the Boshamer Stadium concourse, sending their favorite players and coaches off in style.

UNC endured adversity throughout the Chapel Hill Regional and Super Regionals, coming back late multiple time to win and advance. If it weren’t for the combination of Alex Madera, Colby Wilkerson and Vance Honeycutt, there would be no trip to Nebraska.

You can bet that thousands of North Carolina fans will be flying and driving to Omaha, as the Diamond Heels haven’t been in the CWS since 2018. It’s summer vacation, kids are out of school and parents – while working – deserve a little break from everyday life.

There’s one pretty famous fan, in particular, that UNC head coach Scott Forbes is trying to recruit to Nebraska – longtime Tar Heels fan Eric Church, the country singer with seven solo Number One singles.

Church graduated from Appalachian State in Boone, NC, but grew up in the small North Carolina town of Granite Falls.

If you listen to country music, you know that Church’s name is all over the industry. He just recently opened up his own bar, Chief’s on Broadway in Nashville (Tenn.).

If you don’t listen to country, but recognize Church’s name through sports, he caught attention for cancelling his concert to see North Carolina’s 2022 Final Four run.

Eric, this is our call to you, too.

Why don’t you join the Diamond Heels for their record year?

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UNC baseball locker room explodes as Scott Forbes named ACC Coach of the Year

Does head coach Scott Forbes help lead the UNC baseball team to its first College World Series title this season?

Scott Forbes had some major shoes to fill when taking over as the UNC baseball program’s head coach.

He replaced longtime North Carolina head coach Mike Fox months after the 2020 season, which COVID ended early. Forbes, a longtime Fox assistant, led the Diamond Heels to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of his first three head coaching campaigns.

This year, however, Forbes is arguably overseeing his most talented group of players.

UNC won its first ACC Regular Season Title since 2018, going 41-12 (22-8). North Carolina is a Top-25 hitting team in the nation, with seven players hitting a minimum .300. Forbes brought in the ACC’s top recruiting class, headlined by Georgia transfer Parks Harber and freshman catcher Luke Stevenson.

The most impressive thing that I think Forbes is doing this year? Helping the Diamond Heels play this well with – essentially – an entirely brand new pitching staff.

With all the success Forbes helped UNC to in the regular season, it’s no surprise he was named the ACC Coach of the Year.

Look how much North Carolina players love their head coach, as evident by Monday’s locker room celebration:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7My8oBA_gU/?img_index=1

Forbes played his announcement perfectly: taking congratulations from his guys, then essentially telling them to lock in for the postseason.

The Diamond Heels begin their quest for the ACC Championship on Thursday afternoon, facing Pitt at 3 p.m. ET. UNC then turns around to battle Wake Forest, the country’s preseason number one team, on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

After the ACC Baseball Championship ends, I have no doubt North Carolina will set its sights one the first College World Series title in program history.

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UNC head baseball coach Scott Forbes with high praise for Vance Honeycutt

UNC centerfielder Vance Honeycutt packs a rare combination or power and speed. He’s already being highlighted by his head coach.

Friday afternoon is the day college baseball players have been dreaming of since June – Opening Day.

Your first thought might be – baseball in February? But it’s still Winter time and college basketball is in full swing?

Yes – even in the cold, we’re playing baseball.

In a deep ACC, one of many teams projected to have a solid campaign is UNC. They return a deep pitching staff, sport over 20 newcomers and have arguably the best outfielder in all of college baseball – Vance Honeycutt.

He’s only a junior, but Honeycutt is playing himself into an early, first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. He’s the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the year, a career .279 hitter, has 37 home runs and 100 RBIs, plus 28 stolen bases.

Honeycutt is generating lots of praise for his play, including from his head coach, Scott Forbes.

“I think he’s gonna have his best year, he’s going to be the most complete he’s been,” Forbes said in an interview this week. “I’m just honestly going to enjoy being around him. I think he’s a generational type player. I’ve never coached a player that’s that good defensively with that much power offensively, that’s also just like a phenomenal kid. You know, he’s one of our leaders. He may not be a captain, but he also got a lot of votes. So I’m just going to enjoy it because I’m going to say a million times, when he’s gone, Vane Honeycutt would have had that, right? So I’m going to enjoy knowing like, hey, he’s got it.”

If you want to watch Honeycutt in action, your first chance to do so will be on Friday, Feb. 16 at 4 pm on the ACC Network.

The Diamond Heels open this weekend against Wagner, host Elon next Tuesday and then play a 3-game series against ECU from Feb. 23-25.

Scott Forbes earns 100th career victory

Scott Forbes earns 100th career victory in his third season as Diamond Heels head coach.

In three seasons as the Diamond Heels head coach, [autotag]Scott Forbes[/autotag] earned his 100th career win with the program.

Forbes took over for Mike Fox, who had a historic 22-year career finishing with a record of 840-355. Forbes once played under Fox at N.C. Wesleyan from 1995-97, and had been a member of the coaching staff from 1999-2002 and again from 2006 until being named the 25th head coach in the baseball program’s history.

Despite the big cleats to fill, Forbes took on the challenge, coaching the team to six straight wins to start his reign. The Tar Heels went to their fourth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance that season. Since then, Forbes has helped keep UNC in tournament play, including an ACC championship over N.C. State in his second season. That same year, UNC hosted the NCAA regional round for the 12th time in its program history.

Since then, Forbes has helped keep UNC in tournament play, including an ACC championship over NC State in his second season. That same year, UNC hosted the NCAA regional round for the 12th time in its program history.

So far this season, the Diamond Heels are 30-17, with a 21-12 home record. The 100th win was picked up Tuesday after the UNC fought back to win 5-4 against Gardner Webb.

Forbes and the Tar Heels will be back in action Thursday to take on NC State for their final home games of the regular season.

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UNC baseball coach Scott Forbes suspended

The NCAA has suspended UNC baseball manager Scott Forbes for two games after he was ejected on Saturday.

The UNC baseball program has an uphill battle to climb in the Chapel Hill Regional if they want their season to continue.

After losing to VCU on Saturday night, the Tar Heels will now face Georgia in an elimination game on Sunday. The winner plays VCU again on Sunday night hoping to force a deciding game on Monday. Basically, UNC has to win three games in a row to advance.

But they will have to get their first two wins without manager [autotag]Scott Forbes[/autotag].

The manager was ejected after two controversial calls went against UNC’s way in the second and third innings. The latest got him ejected and now the NCAA is handing down a suspension.

Per UNC officials, Forbes has been suspended for two games by the NCAA following Saturday’s game.

In the second inning, UNC loaded the bases with one out before Johnny Castagnozzi grounded into a double play. Tomas Frick was called out for interference at second base after hitting his head on the infielder’s knee. That erased a run for UNC which would have tied the game.

Then in the third inning, Danny Serretti’s pop-up wasn’t caught by infielder Marcus O’Malley who slid on the infield. Both UNC runners froze and were thrown out at second and third base. Forbes was then ejected as he believed an infield fly should have been called. Instead, it was a double play that took a scoring chance off the board and ended the inning again.

The Diamond Heels and Bulldogs are set for first pitch at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.

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Scott Forbes credits Hubert Davis for Diamond Heels’ turnaround

UNC baseball manager Scott Forbes revealed he talked to Hubert Davis about dealing with a losing skid.

The UNC baseball program wrapped up the regular season with a three-game sweep of No. 20 Florida State this weekend. And they are entering the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament this week playing some of their best baseball of the season.

After getting off to a good start this year, the Diamond Heels hit a road block and stumbled mid-season. At one point, it looked like their chances to reach the postseason were fading. But manager [autotag]Scott Forbes[/autotag] didn’t get down on his team and he looked to someone for some advice.

That someone was [autotag]Hubert Davis[/autotag].

Forbes and Davis have a close friendship and the manager talked to the UNC head basketball coach about the team’s struggles and what to do. Here is what he said via the Tar Heel Tribune:

“I’m lucky that I’m close with Hubert,” Forbes said after his team’s 11–0 Saturday win over Florida State in the regular-season finale to finish off its first ACC series sweep since February. “So, I’ve talked to him a lot about it. His saying the whole time was keep your eyes forward; eliminate the distractions.

“I’ve talked to our guys about it; don’t get on your phones. Don’t look at Twitter,” Forbes said. “Don’t look at what people are saying. And just focus on each other and what’s in front of them. Because you can’t do anything about what’s behind you.”

Davis’ team had their struggles mid-season before turning it around and making a run to the Final Four. So he certainly knows something about getting hot at the right time.

And for UNC fans, the hope is that the baseball team can go on a run in the coming weeks as well.

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