Following his team’s ACC regular-season title, UNC baseball head coach Scott Forbes has been named the ACC Coach of the Year. He’s the third coach in program history to earn the honor, after Mike Fox in 2018 and Mike Roberts in 1989.

Forbes is in his fourth season as head coach of the Diamond Heels, having taken over following Fox’s retirement in 2020. Under his guidance in 2024, Carolina won the Coastal Division for the first time since 2018 is one of just 13 teams nationally to win 40 or more regular-season games.

In addition to Forbes’ honor, junior center fielder Vance Honeycutt was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. Honeycutt posted a .987 fielding percentage on the season, recorded 148 put-outs against just two errors and tallied four outfield assists. His 12.07 defensive runs saved is the highest of any outfielder in Division 1.

Honeycutt – who put together his second 20-home run, 20-stolen base season of his collegiate career at the plate and is now UNC’s all-time leader in home runs – was also one of two Diamond Heels to be named first team All-ACC. Fellow outfielder Casey Cook also appeared on the team after a dazzling season at the dish. Cook posted career highs in every major offensive category, including batting average (.341), hits (73), home runs (16), runs scored (61) and runs batted in (73). His 211 at-bats and .437 on-base percentage were also team highs.

Three Diamond Heels appeared on the second team: pitchers Jason DeCaro and Shea Sprague and first baseman Parks Harber. Relievers Dalton Pence, Matthew Matthijs and catcher Luke Stevenson appeared on the third team, while DeCaro, Gallaher and Stevenson appeared on the All-Freshman Team. Carolina’s eight total selections on the first, second and third teams were not only the most in the league, but the most in a single season in program history. For a full look at the All-ACC teams and conference awards, click here.

UNC will be back in action in the ACC Baseball Tournament when it faces Pittsburgh on Thursday at 3 p.m. in Charlotte.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Joe Bray

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

Related Stories
‹
UNC Baseball Dominates Duke at Boshamer Stadium
Macon Winslow banged out three hits and collected five runs batted in against his former team Sunday as the Diamond Heels trounced Duke 13-0 in seven innings at Boshamer Stadium. 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥 😁#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/B72N5bbvrn — Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) May 3, 2026 Winslow was got himself involved early amid a six-run first […]
No. 9 Coastal Carolina Trounces UNC Baseball at Boshamer Stadium
No. 9 Coastal Carolina scored six runs in the seventh inning to blow open a close game at Boshamer Stadium, and the Chanticleers cruised from there to a 12-2 win against the Diamond Heels. Coastal Carolina opened the scoring quickly against UNC starter Jackson Rose, going ahead 1-0 in the top of the first inning. […]
Offense Explodes as UNC Baseball Blows Out Duke 22-5 in Series Finale
After scoring just four combined runs in the first two games of their series against Duke, the Diamond Heels broke out of their offensive slump with a 22-5, seven-inning win against the Blue Devils Saturday to clinch the series victory. The 22 runs were the program’s most in a single game since 2010 and its […]
Missed Opportunities Cost UNC Baseball in Loss at Duke
The Diamond Heels left 11 men on base on their way to a 3-1 loss at Duke Friday night, evening up the series with the Blue Devils at a game apiece. Duke capitalized on sloppy UNC defense in the first inning. After Carolina’s Ryan Lynch recorded the game’s first two outs, the next two Blue […]
DeCaro Dominates as UNC Baseball Beats Duke in Series Opener
Jason DeCaro allowed just three hits and one run across 7.2 innings in a 3-1 win for the Diamond Heels at Duke Thursday night. 𝐇𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 1️⃣ Decaro out duels Duke and we open with a 𝙙𝙪𝙗!#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/5LOXcbe51H — Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) April 24, 2026 UNC’s bats struggled themselves for much of […]
UNC Baseball Rolls Past High Point in Midweek Matchup
The Diamond Heels scored three runs in the second inning and six in the fourth on their way to a 9-2 win against High Point at Boshamer Stadium Tuesday night. 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐇𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐧 😤#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/ILzX04V18m — Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) April 22, 2026 Carolina’s nine runs came on just five hits, […]
UNC Baseball Drops Final Game of Weekend Series vs. No. 2 Georgia Tech
The Diamond Heels weren’t able to finish off a series sweep of No. 2 Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill Sunday, dropping the series finale 5-2 after winning Friday and Saturday. The Yellow Jackets led for nearly the entire game, striking quickly in the top of the first and then, after UNC tied it in the […]
UNC Baseball Cruises by UNC-Wilmington for 3rd Consecutive Win
The Diamond Heels scored five runs in the first inning and capitalized on five UNC-Wilmington errors Tuesday night in a 14-5 win at Boshamer Stadium. Sea ya later! Heels put another in the win column!#GoHeels x @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/6dj58HWgYR — Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) April 15, 2026 The five-run first inning began after UNC drew three consecutive […]
UNC Baseball Drops First Game, But Still Wins Weekend Series at Clemson
Despite a loss in Friday’s opener and a late deficit in Saturday’s second game, the Diamond Heels came back to win two out of three games and earn the series victory during the weekend at Clemson. It’s the second straight weekend UNC has won a series after dropping the first game, and the first time […]
Chansky's Notebook: The Blueprint
If Michael Malone wants to learn how to utilize the transfer portal, he should look no further than the UNC baseball program.
›