The North Carolina Tar Heels carried one of their most talented baseball rosters into last season – and took full advantage of it.
Headlined by an outfield that includes now-MLB draftees Vance Honeycutt, Casey Cook and Anthony Donofrio, UNC advanced to its 12th College World Series. North Carolina won its opening game against ACC rival Virginia, then lost consecutive contests to ACC power Florida State and eventual CWS champion Tennessee.
A highly-touted freshman class also helped the Tar Heels reach college baseball’s ultimate championship. Luke Stevenson started 63 of 64 games behind the plate, while Folger Boaz showed promise as a freshman ace before his season-ending elbow injury.
You also can’t forget about UNC’s shutdown bullpen, with nearly every relief man able to shutdown the opposition’s batting order. North Carolina sported arguably the best Division-I player in Dalton Pence, who was also rewarded with an MLB Draft selection.
The Diamond Heels have a tough task next season, replacing a good portion of their starters, but a particular bullpen arm and the Stevenson-Boaz should help.
Seven months ahead of the next college baseball season, Stevenson (11), Boaz (30) and reliever Cameron Padgett (94) are all ranked amongst D1Baseball’s Top 100 2025 MLB College Draft Prospects.
𝐈𝐂𝐘𝐌𝐈: @AggieBaseball outfielder @JaceLaViolette2 tops our list of college prospects for the 2025 #MLBDraft. https://t.co/jE2xz9GJUG
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) July 21, 2024
Stevenson, an offensive-minded catcher, collected a .284 batting average, hit 14 home runs and drove in 58 runners for UNC this past season. Boaz compiled a 3-1 win-loss record before his elbow injury, while Padgett – from Salisbury, NC like Honeycutt – was 1-0 with 20 strikeouts.
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