Photo via Perfect Game

It’s been a nightmare turned a dream-come-true for Reece Holbrook.

Carolina alumni and fans, especially those who follow Tar Heel baseball closely, remember the name Reece Holbrook for several reasons. His mom was Roy Williams’ administrative assistant, his dad was a coach on Mike Fox’s staff and he had a childhood sickness that triggered a movement.

At two years old, Reece was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a dangerous — but curable — disease. Because of Reece’s connections to UNC, members and supporters of the Carolina athletic department took on his family’s challenge as their own.

Reece became a celebrity of sorts, with a charity golf tournament named after him and Williams serving as the unofficial chairman of it each year.

Reece had a long, arduous battle against the disease with various treatments that ended in 2012. Five years later he was declared cancer-free, the disease in remission. By then his father, Chad, had moved on to be head coach at South Carolina and College of Charleston, and the Holbrook family’s once-sickly son had become an undersized, but high-valued, high school prospect.

Though Reece says he doesn’t remember a great deal about his early childhood in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels were his team then and they still are. As a freshman star for Hammond high school in Columbia, South Carolina, he had an unofficial visit to UNC and Coach Fox. After the weekend, he committed to play for the Heels after graduating high school in 2021.

Yes, it’s a feel-good story, but with only 11.7 scholarships allowed in Division I baseball each year, Fox had to have more than sentimental reasons for carving out a spot so far in advance for the 5′ 10″, 150-pound outfielder. Reece Holbrook is rated one of the top prospects in his high school class by more than one objective scouting service.

He could still change his mind and play for his father, or he could be good enough to get drafted and sign a big league contract before entering college. But, for now, Reece Holbrook is on track to live his dream in the town that once played host to his family’s nightmare.

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