The Pittsburgh Pirates gave the UNC baseball program yet another major leaguer this past weekend, when they called up former Tar Heel catcher Jacob Stallings to start behind the plate on Sunday.

He became the second UNC player to make a big league debut in 2016, after Colin Moran was brought up by the Houston Astros back in May.

Ten different former UNC players–including Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss–have made appearances in the majors this season.

Although Stallings went 0-for-4 against the NL Central division-leading Chicago Cubs in his first game, his collegiate head coach, Mike Fox, has long praised the 26-year-old’s superior work ethic.

The son of Pittsburgh head men’s basketball coach Kevin Stallings, he was drafted by the Pirates in the seventh round of the 2012 draft.

His selection came after helping the Tar Heels reach the College World Series twice during his four-year college career–while being named Second Team All-ACC, and leading the team with 42 RBIs in his senior year as UNC finished 46-16 and hosted the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional.

In his four years as a Tar Heel, Stallings’ teams posted an incredible record of 183-72.

List of Tar Heels in the MLB in 2016:

SP Matt Harvey – New York Mets

3B Kyle Seager- Seattle Mariners

LF Dustin Ackley- New York Yankees

C Tim Federowicz-Chicago Cubs

C Chris Iannetta- Seattle Mariners

SP Adam Warren- Chicago Cubs

3B Colin Moran- Houston Astros

RP Mike Morin- Los Angeles Angels

RP Andrew Miller- New York Yankees

 

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