Diamond Heels Set For 13th Trip To College World Series

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Diamond Heels return to Omaha for their 13th trip to the Men's College World Series.

It is a second trip in three years for head coach Scott Forbes, who is the first coach in the program's history to earn a CWS berth twice in his first six seasons. In total, the Heels have gone nine times with him on staff. A testament to both the parity of college baseball and the consistency of this program, Carolina is the only team to have made it to Omaha twice in the last three years. And it was one win away from going in 2025.

Friday's primetime showdown with Ole Miss will be the first meeting between the programs in 57 years. The pair have only ever faced in the NCAA Tournament, with the Rebels claiming all four games across the District III rounds in 1964 and 1969.

SCHEDULE
Game 1: Friday, June 12 - ESPN - Live Stats

No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels (50-12-1)(22-8 ACC)
Head Coach: Scott Forbes
Record at UNC: 250-116-1
Record vs. Ole Miss: 0-0

Ole Miss Rebels (41-21)(15-15 SEC)
Head Coach: Mike Bianco
Record at Ole Miss: 990-585-1
Record vs. UNC: 0-0

PROJECTED STARTERS
Friday: RHP Jason DeCaro vs. RHP Taylor Rabe

SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Ole Miss 4-0
Current Streak: L4
Chapel Hill: 0-0
Away: 0-0
Neutral Site: 0-4
First Meeting: May 28, 1964

OMAHA: WHERE THE HEELS PLAY
➤ The 13th College World Series trip will add another chapter to a long story for a program that has made a habit of playing on the sport's biggest stage.
➤ UNC is tied for the most CWS berths since 2006 with nine, tied with only Florida in that span. The tie in third is between four teams at seven appearances.
➤ All-time the Heels hold a 19-25 record in Omaha, making the championship series on two occasions in 2006 and 2007. The team's 2007 run started with an 8-5 win over Mississippi State after winning a three-game Super against USC (South Carolina) and sweeping a regional that included East Carolina.
➤ Carolina is 5-7 in its CWS opening games and hold a 4-5 record against members of the Southeastern Conference in its 12 previous Omaha appearances.
➤ UNC is led by four Heels who played in the 2024 trip to the CWS in Gavin Gallaher, Jason DeCaro, Matthew Matthijs, and Cam Padgett. Five more were on the roster, but did not take the field.

HEELS WALK IT OFF TO GO TO OMAHA
➤ DeCaro made sure the Heels saw Sunday, but more heroics would be required to send them to Omaha.
➤ True freshman phenom Caden Glauber got the ball to make his third-ever start and led the way for Carolina, setting new career highs in innings pitched (7.1) and strikeouts (11) while holding USC to three runs on six hits and one walk.
➤ The limiting of the Trojans was vital for the Heels as they were unable to get their own offense going. A third inning Owen Hull double (one his four on the day) tied the game up at 1-1 before USC jumped ahead 3-1 with solo shots in the fourth and fifth.
➤ For much of the game, it felt like the Carolina offense had dried up at the worst possible time. It only produced five hits in the first seven innings as USC's Andrew Johnson put on an incredible show of his own.
➤ A spark emerged in the eighth when the Heels finally put back-to-back hits together and a two-out Owen Hull double was followed by another two-bagger from Macon Winslow to cut the deficit to one.
➤ More youngsters emerged from the Carolina pen to support Glauber as fellow freshman Jackson Rose and sophomore Walker McDuffie came in to combine for 1.2 shutout innings to maintain striking distance.
➤ Then came the bottom of the ninth. Every baseball player's dream scenario to be the hero. Five straight simply clutch at-bats from Tar Heels delivered the drama in the Chapel Hill Super Regional.
➤ First it was Cooper Nicholson drawing a walk on an eight pitch at-bat after going down 0-2 quickly.
➤Then it was the defensive sub, former walk-on Carter French, whose K was the last out of the 2025 heart breaking Super loss to Arizona, who drew three straight balls and a mid-AB pitching change. An unforgettably calm demeanor as he chatted with Coach Forbes before stepping back up to the plate to knock a single through the right side that would send Nicholson to third.
➤ Jake Schaffner would follow with a sac-fly that tied the game at 3-3 and sent the Bosh into a fever pitch.
➤ And finally, up stepped Owen Hull, who lived to fight another pitch as USC couldn't come up with a pop up foul. He would take advantage of the extra life with yet another two-out double just past the sliding Trojan center fielder to score French and send North Carolina back to Omaha. Bosh Magic.

ARM TALENT
➤ The strength of this team lies with the Carolina Arm Barn, who have solidified themselves as the best unit in the conference in recent years and 2026 has proved to be no different.
➤ The Heels have led the ACC in ERA each of the last two seasons and are looking to be the first to go three in a row since Louisville's five-year stretch from 2015-19. It would be the first time in UNC's history it had the best ACC ERA three years in a row.
➤ Last year's ACC and National Pitcher of the Year Jake Knapp led the conference in ERA in 2025. Tar Heels currently occupy the No. 1, 2, and 10 spots as Glauber, DeCaro, and McDuffie battle at the top.
➤ It would be the first time UNC pitchers have gone back-to-back years atop the conference since Robert Woodard and Jonathan Hovis did it in '05/'06.
➤ At least one of the dynamic duo of Glauber and McDuffie have appeared in 11 of the last 12 games for Carolina down the stretch run.
➤ The Heels currently have four arms in the top-15 in ERA in the ACC; no other team has more than two.
➤ DeCaro and Glauber are both over the 10-win mark, giving Carolina its first pair of teammates to hit double digits since Trent Thornton and Kent Emanuel had 12 and 11, respectively, in 2013.

GLOBE LIFE
➤ True freshman Caden Glauber (nicknamed "Globe" by his teammates) quickly emerged as a go-to arm for Forbes and company this season.
➤ The barely 18 year old skipped his senior prom to come to Chapel Hill early and went from unknown to the ACC Freshman of the Year thanks to elite velocity and a propensity to get out of sticky situations.
➤ Forbes has described him as a "future Friday guy" and "basically a starter waiting in the pen whenever we need him," often comparing him to Tar Heel legend and current big leaguer Trent Thornton.
➤ His strikeouts (99) and record (10-0) lead all NCAA freshmen while sitting second in ERA (2.20) and third in opposing batting average (.180). He is best among ACC rookies in all four categories.
➤ Currently holding a 10-0 record, it is the most wins without defeat by a Carolina freshman this century.
➤ The Heels are also 25-0 in his appearances.
➤ UNC has made a habit of trusting young arms. Jason DeCaro also graduated high school early.
➤ His heroics in Carolina's 14-inning marathon win at Clemson earned him the team's only ACC Player of the Week honor in 2026.
➤ He entered a tie game on the road in the bottom of the ninth and pitched all the way through the final out of the 14th to help the Heels pick up a crucial victory to even the series. He threw a phenomenal 6.0 shutout innings with six strikeouts and five hits.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jason DeCaro

Carter French

Gavin Gallaher

Caden Glauber

Owen Hull

Jake Knapp

Matthew Matthijs

Walker McDuffie

Cooper Nicholson

Jackson Rose

Jake Schaffner

Macon Winslow

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University of North Carolina Athletics