Baseball
Forbes, Scott
Scott Forbes
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- cahicks@unc.edu
- Phone:
- 919-962-2351
Scott Forbes is entering his fifth season as the head baseball coach at North Carolina in 2024-25 after taking over the reins of the program prior to the start of the 2020-21 academic year. He was named UNC's 25th head baseball coach on August 7, 2020.
The 2024-25 season will be his 28th season as a college coach and his 24th on the Tar Heel coaching staff. He previously served as associate head coach, hitting coach, pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. The 2024-25 season will be his 20th consecutive year on the Tar Heel staff.
During his first four seasons as head coach, Carolina has amassed a 154-89 (.643) record with four NCAA Tournament appearances, two Super Regional appearances and one trip to the College World Series. The Tar Heels have also won an ACC Coastal Division title and ACC Tournament championship with his guidance.
Overall, he has helped lead the Tar Heels to eight appearances in the College World Series, eight ACC division titles and four ACC Tournament titles. Carolina has been to the NCAA Tournament 19 times with Forbes as part of the coaching staff.
Last season, UNC went 48-16 overall in 2024 and earned the No. 4 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament with Forbes being voted ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.
He was also voted ACC Coach of the Year after he guided the Tar Heels to their first division title since 2018. UNC finished two games ahead of Clemson to claim the league's best conference record (22-8) and finished four games clear of preseason division favorite Virginia to win the Coastal. Under his leadership, Carolina won seven of its 10 ACC series – without being swept – and compiled a 37-3 record at home.
Under his tutelage, seven Tar Heels received All-America honors, including junior Vance Honeycutt who was named First Team All-America by four publications. Dalton Pence earned Second Team All-America accolades from four media outlets. Parks Harber and Matthew Matthijs also received All-America honors, while Jason DeCaro, Gavin Gallaher and Luke Stevenson were recognized as Freshman All-America.
Nine Carolina players earned All-ACC honors with Honeycutt being voted Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season while being named first-team all-conference along with Casey Cook.
Honeycutt became the 25th Tar Heel selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft when the Baltimore Orioles took him with the 22nd overall pick of 2024. Honeycutt was one of six Carolina players drafted in 2024.
UNC finished among the top 20 nationally in base on balls (8th), runs (10th), hits (11th), home runs (12th) and ERA (15th). It's 4.30 earned run average was tops in the ACC.
During the 2023 season, Forbes became the first UNC baseball coach to lead the Tar Heels into the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three seasons. Carolina finished the season with a 36-24 record and had four players earn All-ACC honors. Junior Mac Horvath was a First Team All-America selection and the second round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles. Honeycutt was voted ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Horvath was one of three Tar Heels drafted in 2023 along with fellow juniors Max Carlson (Boston Red Sox) and Tomas Frick (New York Yankees).
In his second season, Forbes led Carolina to its second ACC Baseball Championship in four years in 2022, sweeping through the conference tournament with wins over Clemson, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and NC State to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels were rewarded with a NCAA Regional host site and No. 10 national seed.
UNC captured the Chapel Hill Regional and advanced to the 10th Super Regional in program history and finished the season with an overall record of 44-22 with a 15-15 ACC mark. Honeycutt, a freshman outfielder, and junior pitcher Davis Palermo received All-America honors, while Angel Zarate (100) and Danny Serretti (96), who finished one and two in the ACC in hits, earned all-conference accolades along with Honeycutt.
Under his instruction Palermo, Serretti, Zarate, Brandon Schaeffer and Shawn Rapp matured into 2022 Major League Baseball Draft selections.
Carolina finished the 2022 season ranked the NCAA leaders in double plays (3rd), home runs (17th), shutouts (17th), hits (19th) and earned run average (21st).
During his first year at the helm of the program, Forbes guided the Tar Heels to their fourth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance. UNC finished the season with a final record of 28-27 against one of the nation's toughest schedules with one of its youngest teams. Pitcher Austin Love earned First Team All-ACC and ABCA All-Atlantic Region honors, while outfielder Justice Thompson received second-team all-conference accolades under Forbes' tutelage. He helped Love, Thompson and Caleb Roberts develop into 2021 MLB Draft picks.
Forbes has a record of 1,140-493 in 27 seasons in the dugout. Collegiate Baseball named him the National Pitching Coach of the Year in 2008, and Baseball America named him one of the country's top assistant coaches in 2018. Under his direction, Carolina's pitching staffs routinely finished in the top 50 in the country in ERA and UNC's recruiting classes have consistently been among the nation's best.
The Sanford, N.C., native began his coaching career with former UNC Head Coach Mike Fox in 1998 at N.C. Wesleyan and followed his mentor to Chapel Hill in 1999. He served as an assistant coach at Carolina for four years (1999-2002) before a brief three-year stint as an assistant coach at Winthrop (2003-05). He returned to Chapel Hill in 2006 as pitching coach, a position he held for 11 seasons (2006-16) before taking over as hitting coach in 2017.
Forbes has been instrumental in developing all aspects of the program in his tenure. As pitching coach from 2006-16, he worked with pitchers who were selected 33 times in the Major League Baseball Draft, and earned eight All-America and 21 All-ACC honors, including nine first-team All-ACC honors.
Miller (2006), Alex White (2008) and Kent Emanuel (2013) won ACC Pitcher of the Year honors during his time as pitching coach and J.B. Bukauskas won the award in 2017.
Miller was named Baseball America's National Player of the Year in 2006 and won the Roger Clemens Award as the top collegiate pitcher. Miller was the American League Championship Series MVP in 2016 and is a two-time MLB All-Star.
Matt Harvey started the 2013 MLB All-Star Game for the National League as a member of the New York Mets and Zac Gallen took the hill for the NL in 2023 as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Forbes coached seven of the 10 winningest pitchers in UNC history and the top five in career strikeouts. Carolina's All-America pitchers under Forbes include Miller (2006), Andrew Carignan (2007), White (2008), Brian Moran (2009), Patrick Johnson (2011), Emanuel (2012 and 2013) and Michael Morin (2012). Bukauskas also earned All-America honors in 2017.
As the hitting instructor from 2017-20, Forbes worked with several Tar Heels who earned All-America honors, including Brian Miller and Logan Warmoth in 2017, Kyle Datres in 2018 and Aaron Sabato in 2019. Michael Busch was the ACC Tournament MVP and a first-round draft pick in 2019, Warmoth was a first-round pick in 2017 and Sabato was selected in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins.
As a collegiate player, Forbes hit .321 at N.C. Wesleyan from 1995-97 and led the team to a pair of Dixie Conference titles and a fifth-place finish at the 1997 Division III CWS. As a senior, he hit .387 with 61 RBI and 27 doubles, which set the NCAA Division III single-season record. He earned second-team all-region honors and was team MVP and MVP of the Dixie Conference Tournament. He played his freshman season at Middle Georgia College before transferring.
Forbes earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from N.C. Wesleyan in 1998. He is married to the former Mandy Passwaters, and the couple has two daughters, Hannah and Ally.
The 2024-25 season will be his 28th season as a college coach and his 24th on the Tar Heel coaching staff. He previously served as associate head coach, hitting coach, pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. The 2024-25 season will be his 20th consecutive year on the Tar Heel staff.
During his first four seasons as head coach, Carolina has amassed a 154-89 (.643) record with four NCAA Tournament appearances, two Super Regional appearances and one trip to the College World Series. The Tar Heels have also won an ACC Coastal Division title and ACC Tournament championship with his guidance.
Overall, he has helped lead the Tar Heels to eight appearances in the College World Series, eight ACC division titles and four ACC Tournament titles. Carolina has been to the NCAA Tournament 19 times with Forbes as part of the coaching staff.
Last season, UNC went 48-16 overall in 2024 and earned the No. 4 overall seed for the NCAA Tournament with Forbes being voted ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year.
He was also voted ACC Coach of the Year after he guided the Tar Heels to their first division title since 2018. UNC finished two games ahead of Clemson to claim the league's best conference record (22-8) and finished four games clear of preseason division favorite Virginia to win the Coastal. Under his leadership, Carolina won seven of its 10 ACC series – without being swept – and compiled a 37-3 record at home.
Under his tutelage, seven Tar Heels received All-America honors, including junior Vance Honeycutt who was named First Team All-America by four publications. Dalton Pence earned Second Team All-America accolades from four media outlets. Parks Harber and Matthew Matthijs also received All-America honors, while Jason DeCaro, Gavin Gallaher and Luke Stevenson were recognized as Freshman All-America.
Nine Carolina players earned All-ACC honors with Honeycutt being voted Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season while being named first-team all-conference along with Casey Cook.
Honeycutt became the 25th Tar Heel selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft when the Baltimore Orioles took him with the 22nd overall pick of 2024. Honeycutt was one of six Carolina players drafted in 2024.
UNC finished among the top 20 nationally in base on balls (8th), runs (10th), hits (11th), home runs (12th) and ERA (15th). It's 4.30 earned run average was tops in the ACC.
During the 2023 season, Forbes became the first UNC baseball coach to lead the Tar Heels into the NCAA Tournament in each of his first three seasons. Carolina finished the season with a 36-24 record and had four players earn All-ACC honors. Junior Mac Horvath was a First Team All-America selection and the second round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles. Honeycutt was voted ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Horvath was one of three Tar Heels drafted in 2023 along with fellow juniors Max Carlson (Boston Red Sox) and Tomas Frick (New York Yankees).
In his second season, Forbes led Carolina to its second ACC Baseball Championship in four years in 2022, sweeping through the conference tournament with wins over Clemson, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and NC State to earn the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels were rewarded with a NCAA Regional host site and No. 10 national seed.
UNC captured the Chapel Hill Regional and advanced to the 10th Super Regional in program history and finished the season with an overall record of 44-22 with a 15-15 ACC mark. Honeycutt, a freshman outfielder, and junior pitcher Davis Palermo received All-America honors, while Angel Zarate (100) and Danny Serretti (96), who finished one and two in the ACC in hits, earned all-conference accolades along with Honeycutt.
Under his instruction Palermo, Serretti, Zarate, Brandon Schaeffer and Shawn Rapp matured into 2022 Major League Baseball Draft selections.
Carolina finished the 2022 season ranked the NCAA leaders in double plays (3rd), home runs (17th), shutouts (17th), hits (19th) and earned run average (21st).
During his first year at the helm of the program, Forbes guided the Tar Heels to their fourth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance. UNC finished the season with a final record of 28-27 against one of the nation's toughest schedules with one of its youngest teams. Pitcher Austin Love earned First Team All-ACC and ABCA All-Atlantic Region honors, while outfielder Justice Thompson received second-team all-conference accolades under Forbes' tutelage. He helped Love, Thompson and Caleb Roberts develop into 2021 MLB Draft picks.
Forbes has a record of 1,140-493 in 27 seasons in the dugout. Collegiate Baseball named him the National Pitching Coach of the Year in 2008, and Baseball America named him one of the country's top assistant coaches in 2018. Under his direction, Carolina's pitching staffs routinely finished in the top 50 in the country in ERA and UNC's recruiting classes have consistently been among the nation's best.
The Sanford, N.C., native began his coaching career with former UNC Head Coach Mike Fox in 1998 at N.C. Wesleyan and followed his mentor to Chapel Hill in 1999. He served as an assistant coach at Carolina for four years (1999-2002) before a brief three-year stint as an assistant coach at Winthrop (2003-05). He returned to Chapel Hill in 2006 as pitching coach, a position he held for 11 seasons (2006-16) before taking over as hitting coach in 2017.
Forbes has been instrumental in developing all aspects of the program in his tenure. As pitching coach from 2006-16, he worked with pitchers who were selected 33 times in the Major League Baseball Draft, and earned eight All-America and 21 All-ACC honors, including nine first-team All-ACC honors.
Miller (2006), Alex White (2008) and Kent Emanuel (2013) won ACC Pitcher of the Year honors during his time as pitching coach and J.B. Bukauskas won the award in 2017.
Miller was named Baseball America's National Player of the Year in 2006 and won the Roger Clemens Award as the top collegiate pitcher. Miller was the American League Championship Series MVP in 2016 and is a two-time MLB All-Star.
Matt Harvey started the 2013 MLB All-Star Game for the National League as a member of the New York Mets and Zac Gallen took the hill for the NL in 2023 as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Forbes coached seven of the 10 winningest pitchers in UNC history and the top five in career strikeouts. Carolina's All-America pitchers under Forbes include Miller (2006), Andrew Carignan (2007), White (2008), Brian Moran (2009), Patrick Johnson (2011), Emanuel (2012 and 2013) and Michael Morin (2012). Bukauskas also earned All-America honors in 2017.
As the hitting instructor from 2017-20, Forbes worked with several Tar Heels who earned All-America honors, including Brian Miller and Logan Warmoth in 2017, Kyle Datres in 2018 and Aaron Sabato in 2019. Michael Busch was the ACC Tournament MVP and a first-round draft pick in 2019, Warmoth was a first-round pick in 2017 and Sabato was selected in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins.
As a collegiate player, Forbes hit .321 at N.C. Wesleyan from 1995-97 and led the team to a pair of Dixie Conference titles and a fifth-place finish at the 1997 Division III CWS. As a senior, he hit .387 with 61 RBI and 27 doubles, which set the NCAA Division III single-season record. He earned second-team all-region honors and was team MVP and MVP of the Dixie Conference Tournament. He played his freshman season at Middle Georgia College before transferring.
Forbes earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from N.C. Wesleyan in 1998. He is married to the former Mandy Passwaters, and the couple has two daughters, Hannah and Ally.
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