GoHeels Exclusive: Freeman Leading, On And Off The Diamond

By: Joe Wedra

If you ask Ike Freeman to describe himself, you won't get a complicated answer.

"It's really hunting and baseball. They're my two main things."

Ike Freeman is a simple man. And if you know him, you'll understand that to be an absolute truth. He's soft-spoken, a hard worker and embodies every bit of the description of the word humble. Trying to get the sophomore to talk about his accomplishments is a futile task. He's a laid-back gamer who wants to win, helping his teammates find a comfort zone along the way.

For Ike, being in the North Carolina clubhouse during this 2018 season is an opportunity – one to help others find a relaxed and fine-tuned mentality through his experiences that leads to the ultimate goal: redemption in the postseason.

Uncharted territory

After hitting .518 during his senior season at East Rowan High School in Salisbury, Freeman was ranked the ninth-best shortstop in the state of North Carolina by Perfect Game. He was known for his glove, but the bat certainly didn't hold him back from reaching the next level. When a player's at-bats result in a hit more often than they don't, there's no avoiding the collegiate spotlight.

But when Freeman arrived at UNC, he was no longer carrying the label of "prospect."

He was Ike Freeman, the freshman.

"Last year was a confidence thing," he described. "In high school, I started varsity every year so I just knew that I would start every game. Last year, not starting that first game… I remember in the huddle we were breaking it down. Everyone ran on the field and I was just looking around like, 'What do I do? I've never done this before. This is weird.'"

A shortstop throughout high school, Freeman entered his freshman season at UNC during a time in which Logan Warmoth had full control of the six position. A junior in 2017, Warmoth commanded the infield with a plus glove and a .336 batting average throughout the year. He was everything Mike Fox needed in an infield leadership presence, leaving Freeman to do what he knew how to do best – sit back, relax and be a sponge to Warmoth's excellence.

"I needed to work on my confidence," Freeman said, describing a process that further cultivated his patience. "In my first two at-bats I knew if I didn't get a hit, I would be taken out. I was just so pressured into trying to get a hit. And that's the complete opposite of what you want to do while you're hitting."

Freeman ended the year going 8-for-46, a .174 batting average.

In the span of just a couple months, his most-talked-about attribute went from "prospect" to simply the .174 mark. It acted as fuel for doubters entering 2018, but Freeman's approach to it was quite different. Even if it meant he'd need to change things up.

Growing on and off the field

Change is necessary in baseball. At the collegiate level, that becomes a harsh reality for players who have gone from being a top talent to seeing the bench in less than a year.

Over the past offseason, that was Freeman's world.

"I'm not the fastest kind of guy," he said. "So, I was thinking, 'Okay, if I'm not fast and I'm not a power hitter, I need to figure out something. So, I might as well eat a lot.'"

Just like that, a new mentality was born.

"It was a motivation, I guess you could say," Freeman said. "I worked really hard in the offseason and gained a lot of weight. I was in the weight room a lot and in the cages a lot before class. I really just wanted to prove a point that I'm more than just a defensive player."

In his freshman season, Freeman was listed on the North Carolina roster at 183 pounds. Coming into this season, that number changed to 199. With the shortstop job open for competition, getting the weight up was a good start.

One thing that he didn't want to change, however, was the way he approached the game. He continued to build a foundation throughout the fall and early spring by focusing on breathing and maintaining his cool, calm and collected mindset when he hit the field.

For Freeman, it's the only way.

"Being really laid back just helps me relax. I feel like when I'm playing relaxed and just having fun, that's the most important thing for me…

"I don't like to showboat or anything. I think that always comes back to bite you... that's not how I was raised. If I'm doing good, cool. That's good. But I feel like if you get too caught up in your emotions, whether they're really high or really low, it's going to affect you in the wrong way."

Perhaps his biggest growth, says Freeman, came courtesy of Adam Pate, who won UNC baseball's 2017 Francis "Tripp" Bourne Award for being the most dedicated player in a year in which he missed much of the season because of injuries.

The two formed a close relationship, bonded by Pate's ability to lead. Both strong in their Christian faith, Pate would drive Freeman to church during the summer and went out of his way to provide guidance in any way, both on and off the field. It was Pate's willingness and passion for leadership and service that inspired Freeman to want to take steps toward becoming a leader on the 2018 team.

"Adam Pate, you probably didn't hear that name a lot last year just because he was a junior coming back as a senior and he didn't play that much. But you can't really explain how much of a leader he was until he left," Freeman said. "I didn't realize that until this year at the beginning of the year…You never understand what Adam Pate did until he left."

Freeman says he remembers writing down words of encouragement over the offseason: "I want people to remember me as an Adam Pate type of leader."

Now, in his sophomore year, Freeman is well on his way to becoming just that.

Leadership and production

Entering this weekend's play, Freeman has been brilliant both in the field and at the dish through 36 games. He's hitting .308 with a .400 on-base percentage, getting clutch hit after clutch hit for the North Carolina offense. He leads the team in average in conference play (.364) and is 10-20 over the past two weekends of ACC play against Miami and Virginia.

On the field, it's safe to say he's filling the role at shortstop rather nicely.

But while he's reaching his goals on the diamond, much of his best work is being done in the clubhouse.

"Coming from last year to this year, I feel like I have gained a lot more respect from others," he said. "We have a lot of great leaders like Kyle [Datres] and ZG [Zack Gahagan] and some of them. But they're going to be leaving. So, I really feel like I have gained a lot of respect from the freshmen and even the other kids. I feel like I've led a lot more than I have and next year I'd like to be one of the top leaders."

Freeman knows the value of turning a double play and a timely base hit. Those things, after all, win baseball games.

But the attitude – the clubhouse atmosphere, even – is where Freeman chips in his most noticeable difference.

"I want to be known as always happy and always uplifting," he said. "Baseball is never going to go your way every time, but there's always that one guy in the dugout who always picks up the team."

For the 2018 edition of the Diamond Heels, "that one guy" is often none other than Ike Freeman.

If he's not careful, he might have to add another description to his name.

Avid hunter.

Skilled baseball player.

Valuable leader.

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University of North Carolina Athletics

Players Mentioned

Ike Freeman

Zack Gahagan

Adam Pate

Logan Warmoth

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