The Diamond Heels had a stellar regular season, finishing with an ACC record of 22-8 and a second-place finish in the conference. On Monday, eight players were recognized with All-ACC honors. The eight player awards were the most in the ACC, and the second most UNC has ever had in a single season.
Freshman sensation Caden Glauber headlines the Carolina selections. The rookie pitcher earned Freshman of the Year honors and was named as an All-ACC First Team selection as well as being placed on the ACC All-Freshman
team. Glauber’s ERA of 1.96 is the best in the ACC and the third best in the country. He also sports a perfect 8-0 record, which is the most wins in the ACC without suffering a loss.
Joining Glauber on the All-ACC First Team are starting pitcher Jason DeCaro, outfielder Owen Hull, and shortstop Jake Schaffner. DeCaro has been one of the best starting pitchers in the country this season and sports a 2.03 ERA (5th best in the nation). He finishes the regular season with a 10-2 record and threw a complete game shutout against East Carolina earlier in the season. Hull and Schaffner have both be a big part of UNC’s offense, finishing with batting averages of .370 and .354, respectively.
Bullpen stalwart Walker McDuffie landed on the Second Team All-ACC squad. McDuffie finished with the fifth best ERA in the ACC (2.86) He recorded five saves and finished the regular season with 73 strikeouts in 56.2 innings.
Rounding out the Heels awardees are 2B Gavin Gallaher, pitcher Ryan Lynch, and catcher Mason Winslow. All three ended up as Third Team All-ACC selections. Gallaher in particular has shown to have a clutch gene, as most of his 11 home runs were launched when the Heels were behind and needed a big at-bat.
The Diamond Heels are the second seed in the ACC Tournament which will kick off on Tuesday, May 19th. UNC will have double bye and won’t play until later in the week; potential quarterfinal opponents include Virginia Tech, Clemson or Notre Dame.
