UNC Outfielder Kane Kepley Selected by Chicago Cubs in 2nd Round of MLB Draft

Kane Kepley is headed to the Show.

The Chicago Cubs selected Kepley with in the second round with the No. 56 overall pick of the 2025 MLB Draft Sunday evening in Atlanta.

Kepley joined the Diamond Heels in 2025 after two productive seasons at Liberty, following former Flames head coach Scott Jackson over to Chapel Hill. Replacing All-American Vance Honeycutt as UNC’s starting centerfielder, Kepley made his one year with the program county. He started all 61 games and posted a .291 batting average, leading the team in triples (seven) and stolen bases (45 in 49 attempts). His .451 on-base percentage led all qualified hitters on the team, in part due to Kepley being hit by a pitch 27 times, which led the team and ranked 15th in all of college baseball. Impressively, Kepley struck out just 22 times all season, by far the fewest of any UNC starter.

Kepley was just as efficient in the field, finishing the season as UNC’s only every-day starter to not commit a single error. He was named second team All-ACC.

Kepley is the second Diamond Heel to hear his name called in the 2025 MLB Draft, after the Seattle Mariners selected catcher Luke Stevenson in the first round earlier Sunday. The draft’s first three rounds will be completed Sunday, with rounds 4-20 set to be completed Monday.

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Joe Bray

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

‹

UNC Baseball Coach Mike Fox Retires After 22 Years With the Tar Heels

UNC baseball coach Mike Fox announced his retirement on Friday after 22 years with the university. Fox was the winningest active coach in Division I baseball and the first to lead an ACC team to four consecutive College World Series. He spent 37 years overall as a collegiate head coach. “Serving as the head baseball […]

UNC Baseball Wins Halloween with 'Step Brothers' Parody

Is it fair to say that members of the UNC baseball team won Halloween with their parody of the “Step Brothers” car singing scene? If you don’t know this scene or this movie, we can’t be best friends. pic.twitter.com/xm239Poijw — Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) October 31, 2018 With voices like a combination of Fergie and Jesus, […]

UNC Baseball Players Find Strength in Cook Out

UNC baseball is in the midst of a remarkable 2018 season, winning 44 games and earning a berth in the College World Series. One can attribute the team’s success to many things like hard work, determination and grit. But two Tar Heel players have a superstition that may have helped the team reach the pinnacle […]

UNC Defeats Oregon State 8-6 in Opening Game of College World Series

In the opening game of the College World Series, UNC defeated Oregon State 8-6. The Tar Heels used a five-run third inning to jump out to a 6-1 lead that Oregon State was unable to overcome. The game started on a rough note for Carolina when pitcher Gianluca Dalatri was forced to step aside due […]

Tar Heels Associate Head Coach Scott Forbes Talks 2018 Carolina Baseball

UNC baseball Associate Head Coach Scott Forbes talks about his life and Carolina baseball. This segment aired on Friday, January 26th at 7:30 on 97.9 The Hill’s Diamond Heel Preview Show. https://soundcloud.com/chapelboro-carolina/carolina-baseball-preseason-show-2-segment-1-coach-scott-forbes Picture via UNC Athletics  

Tar Heels in the Pros: Matt Harvey

Considered to be one of the best young pitchers in the major leagues, Matt Harvey has been on fire this season as a starting pitcher for the New York Mets.

UNC's Home Run Remington Announces 'Retirement' from Baseball Games

After nine seasons of loyal service to the Diamond Heels, UNC’s Athletics Rehabilitative Facility Dog, better known as “Home Run Remington,” has announced his “retirement.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Home Run REMINGTON (@homerunremington) 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐢 🩵 Our favorite dawg is ready for the 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 of retirement! Thank you […]

Chansky's Notebook: Draft Crush

UNC joins Michigan and Arizona as the three schools to have at least one athlete picked in the first round of the NFL, NBA and MLB drafts.

2025 MLB Draft Tracker: See Where the Diamond Heels are Headed in the Pros

The 2025 Major League Baseball Draft saw several Diamond Heels get selected. It continues a run of excellence for the UNC baseball program, which has had at least one player selected in every draft since 1978. The first Diamond Heel off the board was catcher Luke Stevenson, who went to the Seattle Mariners with the No. 35 […]

UNC Outfielder Kane Kepley Selected by Chicago Cubs in 2nd Round of MLB Draft

Kane Kepley is headed to the Show. The Chicago Cubs selected Kepley with in the second round with the No. 56 overall pick of the 2025 MLB Draft Sunday evening in Atlanta. About to be 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍 𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐄 in the Windy City! Kep is a Cub 🦁🐻#ProHeels pic.twitter.com/IsjxlBfnaa — Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) July 14, 2025 Kepley […]

›