Diamond Heels Poised For NCAA Regional Action

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The Tar Heels begin their NCAA postseason run with a high noon showdown against the Patriot League champion Holy Cross. It is the 37th trip to the NCAA tourney for North Carolina in the program's history.

Carolina will play host in their regional for the 13th time since 2006, tied for the most in the nation in that span. The team has made 10 Super Regional appearances in that stretch, all coming from home regionals. It is the eighth straight NCAA tournament for UNC, the longest active streak in the ACC.

SCHEDULE
Friday, May 30
Game 1: North Carolina vs. Holy Cross - 12 PM ET - ACC Network
Game 2: Oklahoma vs. Nebraska - 5 PM ET - ESPN+
Saturday, May 31
Game 3: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser - 12 PM ET
Game 4: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner - 6 PM ET
Sunday, June 1
Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser - 12 PM ET
Game 6: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner - 6 PM ET
Monday, June 2 (if necessary)
Game 7 - Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser - TBA

CHAPEL HILL REGIONAL COMBATANTS
#1 Seed (No. 5 Nationally): North Carolina Tar Heels (42-12)
Head Coach: Scott Forbes
Record at UNC: 196-101 (5th Season)
NCAA Regionals: 37

#2 Seed: Oklahoma Sooners (35-20)
Head Coach: Skip Johnson
Record at OU: 265-173 (8th Season)
NCAA Regionals: 42

#3 Seed: Nebraska Cornhuskers (32-27)
Head Coach: Will Bolt
Record at NEB: 169-124-1 (6th Season)
NCAA Regionals: 19

#4 Seed: Holy Cross Crusaders (31-25)
Head Coach: Ed Kahovec
Record at HC: 105-154 (6th Season)
NCAA Regionals: 12

MAMBO NO. 5
➤ North Carolina was tabbed as the No. 5 national seed for the 2025 tournament, the first time they've been given that particular number.
➤ It's the ninth time the Heels have earned a top-eight seed, advancing to the CWS on seven of those occasions.
➤ Carolina has made the NCAA postseason eight straight seasons, the longest active streak in the ACC. Wake Forest is second at four in a row.
➤ North Carolina leads the nation in the number of times hosting regionals since 2006, sitting in a tie with Florida State at 13 total. In those years, the Heels hold a 35-7 record in the regionals while advancing to supers 11 times.
➤ The Tar Heel's all-time regional/district round record is 83-49.
➤ Head coach Scott Forbes has led the Tar Heels into the postseason each of his first five seasons, the only coach in program history to do so.

CLASS OF THE CONFERENCE
➤ At the conclusion of the regular season, Knapp was named the 2025 ACC Pitcher of the Year.
➤ It is the program's first pitcher of the year award since J.B. Bukauskas won in 2017. Knapp is the fifth Tar Heel to claim the honor.
➤ He joins: Andrew Miller (2006), Alex White (2008), Kent Emanuel (2013), and Bukauskas.
➤ The two-time captain wrapped up a dominant stretch in conference play that saw him go 10-0 while leading the league in ERA (2.00), opposing batting average (.173), innings pitched (72.0), and victories.
➤ He likely sealed his victory on Thursday night against #2 Florida State, where he faced off against presumptive top-10 pick Jamie Arnold and his primary competitor for the award.
➤ Knapp emphatically won the battle, going the full 9.0 innings allowing just four hits and three runs while racking up seven strikeouts on zero walks. His first career 9 inning complete game.

NATION'S BEST
➤ Sandwiching his ACC award, Knapp was named a semifinalist for both the Golden Spikes Award and the National Pitcher of the Year.
➤ He was the fist Tar Heel hurler to make either list since Bukauskas in '17.
➤ Knapp is the 10th different Heel to receive the Golden Spikes honor and gives UNC back-to-back seasons with a semifinalist for the first time since 08-09.

ARM TALENT
➤ The Tar Heels' staff leads the ACC in a number of categories including ERA (3.42, 4th NCAA), WHIP (1.21, 5th NCAA), and walks allowed per nine (3.42, 19th NCAA).
➤ The gap between Carolina's conference leading ERA and 2nd place (UVA, 4.68, +1.27) is bigger than the gap between 2nd and 13th (Cal, 5.77, 1.09).
➤ Carolina's starters are all over the ACC leader boards, pacing the conference game only lists in at least five categories.
➤ The trio of starters make Carolina the only team with three inside the top-10 in ERA in the ACC.
➤ Peaking at the right time, Jason DeCaro has a 1.89 ERA with four wins in his last six outings.
➤ UNC put up games with 17 and 14 strikeouts back-to-back twice in week two alone. The last time the team had 14+ Ks in back-to-back games more than once in the same season was 2008.
➤ In game one against NC State, neither team recorded a walk. It is the first time that's happened in a Carolina contest since at least the turn of the century. Dating back to the Queens contest, the Heels went 23 straight innings without surrendering a free base.
➤ UNC has six games this year where they haven't allowed a walk, the program's most since 2013.

LUUUUUUUUUUUUKE
➤ The man behind the dish for Carolina has been exceptional at the plate and in the field this season.
➤ Coming into the year as a draft eligible sophomore, the buzz began mocking him into the first round as the first catcher off the board.
➤ MLB.com ranked him as the No. 13 overall, No. 6 college and No. 1 catcher prospect in the 2025 class.
➤ Baseball America's draft expert Carlos Collazo: "A lot of people believe he is the best college catcher in the class...I could see him shooting up into the top 10 and going very high in the draft."
➤ Carolina's leader in home runs (18, 1st ACC) and walks (55, 1st ACC, 11th NCAA) has been a solid rock in the lineup. He has been involved all three times this season the Heels have sent out back-to-back home runs.
➤ He owns the most home runs by a Carolina catcher this century, passing Chris Iannetta who hit 15 in 2004.
➤ One of the biggest drivers of his high draft stock is his work on the defensive end. He is renowned as one of the best pitch framers in the business and is throwing out 32% of attempted base stealers.

POTENT (P)NOTABLES
➤ Despite the No. 5 national seed from the NCAA, the Tar Heels were selected for the No. 1 ranking in both the D1Baseball and USA Today Coaches' polls for this week. It is the fist time in the 11 year history of the D1 poll that Carolina sits on top.
➤ The Tar Heels have the 10th lowest amount of hit batters of any team in the country at 46.
➤ Alex Madera now has 105 career collegiate steals, 86 at Arcadia and 19 at North Carolina.
➤ Kane Kepley is 19th in the NCAA and 3rd in the ACC in hit by pitches at 25. He has only struck out 22 times.
➤ Since the Sunday 14 inning win over Duke, UNC's BA is up to .312 over its last 23. They were hitting .266 in the first 31 games of the year.
➤ Carolina leads the nation in Defensive Runs Saved according to 643 Charts:
1. North Carolina - 72.40
2. Georgia Tech - 65.40
3. Mercer - 61.49

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Players Mentioned

Jason DeCaro

Kane Kepley

Alex Madera