January probably seems a little early to be talking about baseball, but just like basketball season started before the football season was officially over, we’re now only a month out from the Diamond Heels opening their season. The First Pitch Banquet to preview the season has wrapped up and the two big outlets for college baseball rankings have released their first editions of 2026. As has been the case for the last few years under Scott Forbes, the Heels find themselves in pretty good position
in these preseason polls: Perfect Game has them ranked 18th, while D1 Baseball has them #11.
After last year’s iteration of the Diamond Heels came heartbreakingly close to a second straight Omaha trip, Scott Forbes has once again retooled his lineup while maintaining continuity in one of the best bullpens in the country. It feels like it should be impossible to not experience significant drop-off after losing the National Pitcher of the Year (Jake Knapp) and a sixth-round draft pick (Aidan Haugh) from last year’s weekend rotation, but the Heels are in position to do just that. It helps that Knapp and Haugh were the only departures from UNC’s 2025 pitching stable, which means that even with the loss of 29 starts, Forbes was able to retain 65% of innings pitched. That kind of continuity is great in most situations; it’s awesome when you’re getting it from the ACC’s best pitching staff.
Jason DeCaro is probably in line to be the Heels’ Friday ace. He had an uneven 2025 that ultimately didn’t live up to big expectations — He pitched an unreal first three weeks, looking like the best pitcher in the country with an 0.50 ERA through 18 innings, then got shelled in his first five appearances in ACC play, then ended the regular season with 5 straight quality starts before an unsteady postseason. He finished the year with 83.1 IP, 70 Ks, 26 BBs, and a 3.79 ERA — respectable numbers to be sure, but he and those around him will expect better. He once had top-10 pick hype due to his age (he’ll play the season as a 19-year old junior) and diverse pitch arsenal, but that shine has faded some as his development hasn’t been quite on the optimal path. If, in his draft year, he can make a bit of a jump in fastball velo and sharpen up his slider and/or curveball in order to better differentiate them, it’s still easy to see both a bona fide college ace and the guy that scouts wanted him to be a year ago.
He’ll likely be joined on weekends by Ryan Lynch and Folger Boaz. Lynch starred as a freshman last year in a relief role before starting a couple of postseason games and acquitting himself admirably, ending up with 61.1 IP, 73 Ks, 25 BBs, and a 2.93 ERA. He was a two-pitch guy last year with a devastating mid-90s sinker and a high-spin sweeper, so I’m interested to see if he’ll have a reliable third pitch — he’ll probably need one to get consistent length as a starter. Boaz came back from injury last year as UNC’s only real lefty arm out of the bullpen, and while he had a decent year — 30 IP, 30 Ks, 3.90 ERA — he gave up a few too many free passes due to being put in some uncomfortable situations. Starting seems to be a better fit for him, and as I saw in the Heels’ fall exhibition a couple of months ago, he’s added a cutter to his arsenal that looks like it’ll be a legitimate offering. Some projection is required to see both of these guys excelling as starters, but there are definitely signs and reasons for optimism — particularly given what we’ve already seen of this staff’s ability to develop good pitchers like Haugh. I think both could get drafted in the top 100 this July in addition to DeCaro.
And then, of course, there’s the bullpen. The majority of high-leverage innings will probably go to 2024 star Matthew Matthjis and 2025 star Walker McDuffie, but Forbes will also have guys like Cam Seagraves, Olin Johnson, Tom Chmielewski, and Kyle Percival who gave him some decent innings last year, not to mention guys who could step up like Boston Flannery and freshmen Caden Glauber and Talan Holiday. This should be a staff that’s favored to repeat as the ACC’s best.
By contrast, the lineup will be turning over at least 7 positions, so it’s harder to know what the Heels are getting there. We know that things start with Gavin Gallaher. He’s been a postseason star the past two years, but now is his time to be the face of UNC baseball offensively. His magical performance in last year’s regional buoyed his numbers, as his final slash line of .325/.409/.603 with 17 home runs belies the fact that he was a sub-.300 hitter entering the NCAA Tournament last year. He’ll be looking for more consistency at the plate this year, and he’ll also be moving from 3rd to 2nd defensively — there’s quite a bit of responsibility on his shoulders for this lineup. If there’s another returner, it’ll be Carter French, who locked down left field last year thanks to his defensive consistency. He hit .280 last year, which isn’t bad for most hitters but is when all of your hits are singles. He represents a safe floor as a #9 hitter, but would also provide value as a defensive sub and pinch runner if Forbes can find an outfielder who can not hurt the team defensively while offering more of a threat at the plate.
This year’s key transfers include Macon Winslow out of Duke at catcher, Jake Schaffner out of North Dakota State at shortstop, and Owen Hull out of George Mason in the outfield. Winslow made a huge jump from being okay as a freshman to being a very good offensive and defensive catcher as a sophomore, and there’s still room for him to grow. He gets rave reviews for his leadership from behind the plate and, like Gallaher, has been known to save his best for big moments — he was the Athens Regional Most Outstanding Player last year. Schaffner was the Summit League Defensive Player of the Year while batting .367 with 22 walks and 27 strikeouts to go with 18 stolen bases. You never know how a guy will react to a jump in competition, but he looks like a great replacement for Kane Kepley at the top of the lineup. Hull is an athlete who could replace Kepley in center or continue in UNC’s lineage of center-caliber athletes in right field, but his .367/.474/.557 line is a great starting point offensively — and he also took 42 bags. Beyond them are a few power bats such as Cooper Nicholson, Erik Paulsen, and Michael Maginnis. Those first two manned the corners in fall exhibitions, so expect them to roll out there come February — and they’ve probably got more power potential than anybody in last year’s lineup not named Luke Stevenson. Rounding out UNC’s options are returners Rom Kellis, Perry Hargett, Lee Sowers, and Sawyer Black, in addition to a few freshmen I don’t know much about. Kellis has as much bat power as anybody on the roster but struggled to make contact as a DH last year, while Hargett, Sowers, and Black all flashed at times as freshmen last year but need to find offensive and defensive consistency.
Like last year, it’s hard to know what the identity of this offense will be right away. I think there’s more power than there ended up being last year, but with this many new faces and moving parts, it could take some time to see what’s what. The good news is that they’ve got a lot of room for error if this pitching staff is as advertised. We’ll get our first look at these Heels on February 13th as they begin the season by hosting Indiana for a three-game weekend series.
