The UNC baseball team has been down on its luck over the past two seasons–missing the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years for the first time since head coach Mike Fox took over in 1999.

Last season’s Tar Heels had the highest RPI ranking in history (19) to not be selected for the big dance.

Fans should feel a little better, though, after it was announced Wednesday by Baseball America that UNC ranked second in the publication’s annual recruiting class rankings.

Although the team has often been plagued by classes that include many players who end up going pro and never stepping foot on campus, this year’s ranking is the highest the Tar Heels have had since placing No. 1 in 2003.

Only Ole Miss, which was No. 1 in the rankings this year, has more incoming players ranked among the Baseball America Top 500.

UNC has six new players that are all listed among the top 208. Five of those players, however, are right-handed pitchers.

Tyler Baum (No. 91) is the star of the Tar Heel class, but he will likely compete for limited playing time along with: Austin Bergner (No. 165), Luca Dalatri (No. 174), Robbie Peto (No. 179) and Bo Weiss (No. 183).

Catcher Brandon Martorano (No. 208)–who teamed with Dalatri at New Jersey’s Christian Brothers Academy–rounds out UNC’s top six players.

Five of the six Carolina freshmen in the rankings were drafted in the 2016 MLB Draft: Weiss (Yankees, 29th round), Peto (Angels, 30th round), Martorano (Diamondbacks, 30th round), Bergner (Red Sox, 38th round) and Dalatri (Rockies, 40th round).

The Diamond Heels are set to begin play in their Fall World Series at Boshamer Stadium this weekend. Admission is free. The games are set for Friday at 6 p.m, Saturday at noon and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Related Stories
‹
Former UNC Star Michael Busch Shines at MLB All-Star Futures Game
Former UNC star Michael Busch became just the fourth Tar Heel to ever play in the MLB All-Star Futures Game on Sunday, and made the most of his time on the field. Busch was selected in the first round (31st overall) of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers and has been playing […]
No. 2 Seed UCLA Ends Season for No. 3 Seed UNC at NCAA Baseball Tournament
Having used up the arms of many of the team’s top pitchers over the first two days at the NCAA Baseball Tournament Lubbock Regional, No. 3 seed UNC suffered a season-ending loss to No. 2 seed UCLA on Sunday by a score of 12-2. The Tar Heels (28-27) gave reliever Connor Ollio just his third […]
Top-Seeded Texas Tech Powers Past No. 3 Seed UNC, Puts Tar Heels on Brink of Elimination
Saturday night in Lubbock saw the top-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders prove why they earned the right to host an NCAA Regional, as they put No. 3 seed UNC on the brink of tournament elimination with a 7-2 victory in their home stadium. The Tar Heels came into the night riding the high of an […]
No. 6 Seed UNC Eliminated From ACC Tournament Contention With Loss to Pitt
With a 5-3 loss to No. 10 seed Pitt on Tuesday night at Truist Field in Charlotte, the No. 6 seed UNC baseball team saw its chances to advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals disappear. The Tar Heels (26-25) still have a game to play against No. 3 seed NC State on Friday, but even […]
Georgia Tech Takes Regular Season Finale Over UNC Baseball
The UNC baseball team dropped its regular season finale on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, falling to Georgia Tech by a score of 10-6. It didn’t take long for the Yellow Jackets (28-21, 21-15 ACC) to pick up where they left off on Friday night with the bats, scoring three times in the second inning, six […]
Georgia Tech Outlasts UNC Baseball in High-Scoring Thriller
Offense was plentiful on Saturday night in Atlanta, but it was Georgia Tech that got the last laugh against the UNC baseball team–hitting a walk-off solo home run to win by a score of 10-9. The Tar Heels (26-23, 18-17 ACC) fell behind 5-0 after the Yellow Jackets put five runs on the board in […]
Austin Love Strikes Out 15 Hitters, Throws Second Straight Complete Game in UNC Baseball Win Over Georgia Tech
Sophomore right-hander Austin Love was absolutely dominant on the mound Thursday night in Atlanta, throwing his second straight complete game and striking out a career-high 15 batters to lead UNC to a 3-2 victory over Georgia Tech. Love also didn’t walk a single batter and allowed just two runs on eight hits total, as the […]
Huge Second Inning Propels UNC Baseball to Victory Over UNCW
An eight-run second inning helped the UNC baseball team build a huge lead early in Tuesday’s game against UNCW at Boshamer Stadium, which helped the Tar Heels defeat the Seahawks by a score of 14-9. A sacrifice fly by Justice Thompson gave UNC (25-22) a 1-0 advantage in the first inning, before a two-run blast […]
UNC Baseball Completes Sweep Over No. 8 Louisville, Clinches Spot in ACC Tourney
The UNC baseball team completed a huge series sweep over No. 8 Louisville on Sunday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium, winning by a score of 10-5–a victory which also clinched the Tar Heels a spot in the upcoming ACC Tournament. For Louisville (26-18), this represents just the second time the program has been swept in an […]
UNC Baseball Delivers Shutout Victory Over No. 8 Louisville on Senior Day
The trio of Caleb Cozart, Connor Ollio and Gage Gillian combined to throw a shutout Saturday at Boshamer Stadium for the UNC baseball team in a 5-0 Senior Day victory over No. 8 Louisville. They allowed the Cardinals (26-17) just three hits in the game, while clinching the series win following another phenomenal performance on […]
›