The Seattle Mariners selected UNC catcher Luke Stevenson with the No. 35 overall pick in the first round of the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft Sunday.

Stevenson, a draft-eligible sophomore, played key roles on Diamond Heels teams which reached the Men’s College World Series in 2024 and the NCAA Super Regionals in 2025, earning top-5 national seeds each time. He started 124 of a possible 125 games with Carolina during his two seasons in Chapel Hill, with 122 of those starts coming at catcher.

As a freshman, Stevenson posted a .284 batting average and hit 14 home runs, including a game-tying solo shot in the bottom of the ninth inning of UNC’s Super Regional Game 1 against West Virginia at Boshamer Stadium. He earned first team freshman All-America honors from both D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game, becoming the first UNC catcher to be named a freshman All-American since Tim Federowicz in 2006.

While Stevenson’s batting average dipped in 2025, he increased his power numbers by hitting a team-high 19 home runs alongside 10 doubles (up from eight in 2024), while also drawing an ACC-best 59 walks. He was named first team All-ACC, third team All-America and the MVP of the 2025 ACC Tournament, hitting two home runs in three games while leading UNC to the conference title.

Stevenson is just as renowned for his defense as his offense. While behind the plate, he committed just four errors across his two seasons with the Diamond Heels, finishing with a .996 fielding percentage. As a sophomore, Stevenson threw out 35 percent of attempted base stealers, allowing only one successful steal in UNC’s final 18 games of the 2025 season.

Stevenson’s selection marks the second consecutive year UNC has had a player selected in the first round of the MLB Draft, after the Baltimore Orioles selected outfielder Vance Honeycutt No. 22 overall in the 2024 draft. Stevenson is also the 26th all-time Diamond Heel to be picked in the first round and the 13th since 2006.

Carolina has had at least one player selected in each MLB Draft since 1978. The 2025 draft runs through Monday in Atlanta.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Mike Buscher

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