UNC Baseball

Complete coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels Baseball.

For Michael Busch, stronger plate discipline has come with an interesting tradeoff

After a 34-homer season in 2025 while mostly serving as a platoon bat for the Chicago Cubs, Michael Busch appeared to be on the verge of establishing himself as one of MLB’s premier first basemen -- a key cog in a lineup vying for its second straight postseason appearance. However, he’s gone about his production in a very different way than in 2025. (MLB.com)

Andrew Miller changed how bullpens were used after 2016. It started with a bold trade by the Indians

There’s a moment every baseball season when you know a team means business. For the 2016 Indians, that moment arrived when the front office shipped four promising prospects to the Yankees in exchange for reliever Andrew Miller. It wasn’t just a bold move — it turned out to be a seismic shift that would reshape the way baseball is played. (MSN.com)

Everything you need to know from UNC sports this summer

While the crowds departed Chapel Hill in May, the headlines didn’t. From deep tournament runs to historic draft success, North Carolina athletics delivered memorable moments all summer long. Here’s a recap of everything you missed in UNC athletics after the spring semester wrapped up. In May, UNC’s spring sports teams took on the postseason. (Daily Tar Heel)

Jake Schaffner will be an inspiration for years to come

Janesville (Wis.) Craig baseball head coach Josh Shere was chatting with a Philadelphia Phillies scout who was in attendance to watch Jake Schaffner ahead of a game against Verona during the 2023 high school season. Shere and Herbst raved about Schaffner. Their main message to the scout was: You should draft this guy now while you have the chance. (GazetteXtra)

Macon Winslow signs with Philadelphia Phillies

Former Diamond Heel Macon Winslow has come to terms on a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He signed for the exact draft value amount that his pick (Round 6, No. 190) was projected at, as his signing bonus with the franchise will be for $338.80k. Winslow finished the 2026 campaign with a .282 batting average, 10 home runs and 57 RBI. (Keeping It Heel)

Newsletter: CJ Rosser Visits, 4 New Basketball Offers, Football Training Camp Nears, MLB Signings

CJ Rosser, the nation's No. 1 basketball recruit, was back in Chapel Hill this past week, and Michael Malone's UNC Basketball staff extended four new scholarship offers. Bill Belichick says his second UNC Football team barely resembles his first, even with the quarterback race wide open. And several Tar Heels cashed MLB Draft signing bonuses. (Tar Heel Times Newsletter)

Chicago Cubs reliever Trent Thornton avoids serious injury after 108.9 mph comebacker

Roughly 20 hours later, Trent Thornton can laugh about taking a 109 mph liner off his left heel. The fear of a serious injury, though, quickly set in during the immediate aftermath of the sequence. The Detroit Tigers' Riley Greene rocketed Thornton's fastball back up the middle to open the 10th inning, striking the Cubs' reliever directly on his left heel. (Yahoo! Sports)

Ryan Lynch signs with San Diego Padres above slot value

Ryan Lynch's draft slot value was projected at $808,100. Given the options he had available to him, the Padres had to beat that bonus in order to get their guy, agreeing to up his signing bonus by nearly $200,000 to get him to one million. This season, Lynch was an absolute workhorse for UNC, logging 98.1 innings pitched over 19 appearances (18 starts). (Keeping It Heel)

Have We Already Seen the Best of Cubs First Baseman Michael Busch?

Michael Busch has quietly become a clearly first-division—and maybe a fringe All-Star—first baseman. Since the Cubs acquired him from the Dodgers ahead of the 2024 season, he's become a fixture, culminating in a breakout 2025 campaign that looked like the arrival of a true middle-of-the-order star. But his production has come back down a bit in 2026. (North Side Baseball)

From humble beginnings, Red Sox top draft picks making leap together again

Before arriving at UNC last fall, Jake Schaffner and Owen Hull had not spent their formative years in a traditional baseball hotbed. Schaffner, who the Red Sox picked No. 20 overall in this month’s draft, played high school ball in Wisconsin and two years at North Dakota State. Hull, Boston’s second pick at No. 67, played two years at George Mason. (MSN.com)

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