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 catcherย Luke Stevenson, who went to theย Seattle Mariners with the No. 35 overall pick in the draft as part of the Competitive Balance Round A. Stevenson is the 26th UNC player to be selected in the draft’s first round and the second to do so in as many years, after Vance Honeycutt was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the 2024 draft.

Shortly after Stevenson’s selection, speedy UNC outfielderย Kane Kepleyย heard his name called by theย Chicago Cubsย with the No. 56 overall pick in the draft. Kepley made his one year at UNC count, leading the team in triples (seven), on-base percentage (.451) and stolen bases (45 in 49 attempts). He also led the team and ranked 15th in Division 1 by getting hit with a pitch 27 times. Impressively, Kepley was the only UNC starter to not commit a single defensive error all season long.

On the draft’s second day, starting pitcherย Aidan Haughย was the first Diamond Heel off the board. Theย Tampa Bay Raysย selected Haugh in the draft’s sixth round with the No. 177 overall pick. Haugh was also selected in the 2024 draft, going in the 16th round to the Minnesota Twins. After electing to come back to school, Haugh made the decision pay off, posing a 3.72 earned run average (ninth-best in the ACC) in 75 innings pitched.

Next off the board was UNC aceย Jake Knapp, who put together one of the most dominant seasons ever by a Carolina pitcher. Theย Chicago Cubsย rewarded Knapp by picking him No. 241 overall in the eighth round. Knapp’s unlikely journey to professional baseball began after he was cut by UNC-Wilmington in his freshman year, before spending two seasons pitching in junior college. Knapp transferred to Chapel Hill and had a modestly successful 2023 season, but suffered a massive setback when he tore the UCL in his throwing elbow before the 2024 campaign. Tommy John surgery forced him to miss the entire year and put Knapp’s career in question, but the right-hander responded with a superb 2025 season. He finished the season with a 14-0 record in 15 starts, a 2.02 ERA and just 16 walks in 102.1 innings. Knapp was named ACC Pitcher of the Year, National Pitcher of the Year and a unanimous All-American.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Joe Bray

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

Related Stories
‹
UNC Baseball Wins Game One Of Weekend Series With VT
BLACKSBURG- The North Carolina baseball team defeated Virginia Tech in game one of its weekend three series on Friday 21-8 reaching a season high in hits and runs. The Tar Heels started off strong with six runs in the first inning. Junior catcher Brian Holberton and senior outfielder Chaz Frank each added four hits for […]
The Tar Heels Top Maryland In Series Opener
CHAPEL HILL- The No. 1ย North Carolina baseball teamย won the first of a three-game series Friday night againstย Maryland, 12-4. The Tar Heels had three crucial innings as they tallied three runs in the third inning, four runs in the fourth innings, and five runs in the seventh inning. North Carolina exceeded 10 runs for the 14th […]
No. 1 UNC Baseball Handily Defeats Clemson In Game One
CHAPEL HILL- The No. 1 North Carolinaย baseball teamย defeatedย Clemsonย Saturday 10-3 in the first of its three-game series atย Boshamer Stadium. Junior pitcherย Kent Emanuelย led the Tar Heels with nine hits in eight innings. Junior catcherMatt Robertsย hit his first home run of his career. Senior first basemanย Cody Stubbsย added to the win with four hits. North Carolina took the lead […]
UNC Baseball Improves to 11-0 With Win Over Davidson, 10-2
CHAPEL HILL- The No. 1 North Carolinaย baseball teamcontinued its winning streak Tuesday as they defeatedย Davidsonย 10-2 and improved to 11-0 on the season. The 11-0 start is the first time the Tar Heels have achieved this mark to start the season since 2000 when the team won their first 21 games. Senior first basemanย Cody Stubbsย led North […]
UNC Baseball to be Featured in 'MLB The Show 26' Video Game
The Diamond Heels are in the game. UNC is one of 11 college baseball programs who will be added to the video game “MLB The Show 26” as part of its “Road to the Show” mode. In MLB The Show 26, Road To The Show adds 11 new colleges. @DiamondHeels Hereโ€™s your sneak peak at […]
UNC Baseball Releases 2026 Regular Season Schedule
The Diamond Heels announced their 2026 regular season schedule Tuesday. Carolina is coming off a 2025 season which saw it win the ACC Tournament in Durham and reach the Super Regionals in the NCAA Tournament. ๐šˆ๐š˜๐šž ๐šŠ๐šœ๐š”๐šŽ๐š. ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ž'๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ! The 2026 Diamond Heels schedule is here and it is glorious ๐Ÿ”ฅ ๐Ÿ“ฐ | https://t.co/fvngu5xSrp […]
UNC Baseball to Play October Scrimmage vs. NC State at Durham Bulls Athletic Park
The Diamond Heels will play a fall scrimmage against rival NC State at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in October, the program announced Wednesday. The game is scheduled for Thursday, October 16 at 6 p.m. ๐๐š๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž ๐š๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ƒ๐๐€๐: ๐™ต๐šŠ๐š•๐š• ๐™ด๐š๐š’๐š๐š’๐š˜๐š— We're headed back to Durham for a fall faceoff against the Wolfpack! May be a […]
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) ๐“๐ก๐š๐ง๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐‘๐ž๐ฆ๐ข ๐Ÿฉต Our favorite dawg is ready for the ๐™œ๐™ค๐™ก๐™™๐™š๐™ฃ ๐™ฎ๐™š๐™–๐™ง๐™จ 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 catcherย Luke Stevenson, who went to theย Seattle Mariners with the No. 35 […]
›