Baseball Hosts USC In Chapel Hill Super Regional

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Diamond Heels swept their way through the opening round of the NCAA Tournament to now prepare for their 13th Super Regional in program history and their 10th time hosting the round of 16.

Carolina holds an 18-9 all-time record in super regional play which debuted as the format in 1999. They have made eight College World Series appearances since 2006, the second most of any program in the country in that span. Seven of those trips to Omaha have come when hosting Supers themselves.

UNC will host USC in this best-of-three weekend after the Trojans emerged victorious from the College Station Regional as the No. 2 seed. It will be the first time these two teams have faced off since the Heels won a non-con series in Chapel Hill back in 2012. Their first two games against each other came in Omaha in the 1966 and 1978 CWS trips. Southern Cal. won both contests.

SCHEDULE
Game 1: Friday, June 5 – 3 PM – ESPN2 – Live Stats
Game 2: Saturday, June 6 – 2 PM - ESPN – Live Stats
Game 3: Sunday, June 7 - If Necessary

No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels (48-11-1)(22-8 ACC)
Head Coach: Scott Forbes
Record at UNC: 248-115-1
Record vs. USC: 0-0

USC Trojans (47-16)(20-10 B1G)
Head Coach: Andy Stankiewcz
Record at USC: 149-90-1
Record vs. UNC: 0-0

PROJECTED STARTERS
Friday: RHP Ryan Lynch vs. LHP Mason Edwards
Saturday: TBA
Sunday: TBA

SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: USC 8-3
Current Streak: L1
Chapel Hill: 2-3
Away: 1-0
Neutral Site: 0-5
First Meeting: June 13, 1966

FAMILIAR RUN THROUGH THE REGIONAL
➤ Carolina won all three of their games in the 2026 Chapel Hill Regional, beating familiar foes along the way.
➤ They started with a comfortable 8-0 win over VCU on Friday. Ryan Lynch led the way for the shutout with 7.0 innings of two hit ball with five strikeouts. Erik Paulsen logged three RBIs on a double and a single.
➤ Saturday saw a much tighter game, a 7-5 victory over ECU to break the season tie. Colin Hynek's three-run bomb tied the game in the fourth before UNC scored seven unanswered. Caden Glauber was exceptional in picking up his 10th win, throwing 4.1 IP in relief with eight punchouts.
➤ They won the weekend without the if necessary game for the first time since 2019 with a 9-3 victory over ECU once again. A consistent flow of offense supported good work on the mound to see UNC to a quick win.
➤ Paulsen was named the Most Outstanding Player of the regional after hitting .500 with six RBIs and three doubles. He was joined by Owen Hull, Colin Hynek, Ryan Lynch, and Jake Schaffner on the All-Tournament team.

MAMBO NO. 5
➤ Carolina was tabbed as the No. 5 national seed for the second straight tournament, the only two times in their history they've slotted into that particular number.
➤ It's the 10th time the Heels have earned a top eight seed, advancing to the CWS in seven of those years.
➤ UNC has made the NCAA postseason in nine straight seasons, the longest active streak in the ACC. Wake Forest sits behind with five in a row and NC State snuck in for four.
➤ The Diamond Heels lead the nation in number of times hosting regionals since 2006, sitting tied with Florida State at 14 total. In those 14 years hosting, they hold a 41-8 record in the regional round while advancing to supers 13 times.
➤ Carolina holds an 91-50 all-time record in the regional/district round.
➤ The Tar Heels' all-time Super Regional record sits at 18-9. They are the only program in the country to host supers each of the last three seasons and one of two to reach this round at all (West Virginia).
➤ Head coach Scott Forbes has led his program to the NCAA postseason in each of his six seasons at the helm. No other coach in program history did so in even each of their first four years.

APPOINTMENT TELEVISION
➤ The opener against Louisville was UNC's first game of the season to appear on linear TV. The team is currently scheduled for 18 cable network selections, 14 on ACC Network, three on ESPN2, and one on ESPN.
➤ With a wild card pick up for the Friday night game against NC State, Carolina surpassed Clemson for the most selections in the conference.
➤ The 16 thus far on the year is the most national TV appearances in a single season for the program.
➤ Last season, the Heels held a 12-4 record in TV games and were 8-1 in the regular season in such contests.
➤ This year they are 13-3 in their network games.

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 they had the best ERA three years in a row.
➤ On an individual level, ACC and National Pitcher of the Year Jake Knapp led the conference in ERA in 2025. With two weekends left, Tar Heels currently occupy the No. 1, 2, and 3 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 nine straight games for Carolina.
➤ The Heels currently have four arms in the top-20 of ERA in the ACC, no other team has more than two.
➤ Glauber has the fifth best ERA mark in the country and is the only freshman in the top-20.
➤ 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.

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Players Mentioned

Caden Glauber

Owen Hull

Colin Hynek

Jake Knapp

Ryan Lynch

Erik Paulsen

Jake Schaffner

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University of North Carolina Athletics