Honeycutt, Forbes Earn Major ACC Awards

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Winners of the ACC Coastal Division and owners of the conference's best record, the UNC baseball team reaped the rewards Monday as junior centerfielder Vance Honeycutt was named ACC Defensive Player of Year, Scott Forbes was voted ACC Coach of the Year and the Tar Heels landed a school-record 11 players on the All-ACC teams.

Eight Tar Heels were named either first, second, or third team all-conference, the most of any team, while a trio of UNC rookies landed on the ACC all-freshman team.

Honeycutt is the first player to be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year twice after receiving the honor last season. His 12.07 defensive runs saved is the highest of any player in the conference and tops among all Division I outfielders.

Forbes directed the Tar Heels to their first division title since 2018 and earned his first ACC Coach of the Year award. UNC finished two games ahead of Clemson to claim the league's best conference record and finished four games clear of preseason division favorite Virginia to win the Coastal. Under his leadership, Carolina won seven of its 10 ACC series – without being swept – and compiled a 32-2 record at home.

Honeycutt and fellow outfielder Casey Cook were voted first-team all-conference; first baseman Parks Harber and pitchers Jason DeCaro and Shea Sprague were named second-team; pitchers Matthew Matthijs and Dalton Pence, along with catcher Luke Stevenson, earned third-team honors.

DeCaro, Stevenson and Gavin Gallaher were also named to the All-ACC Freshman Team. UNC was the only squad with three representatives on the freshman team.

Honeycutt, a third-team selection each of the previous two seasons, led the conference in runs (75) and was second in home runs (22) and stolen bases (28) during the regular season, producing the second 20-20 season of his career. He ranks fourth all-time in the ACC in home runs with 59, the most in Carolina history.

A member of the ACC all-freshman team a year ago, Cook has posted career highs in every statistical category, including batting average (.340), hits (73), home runs (16), runs (61), and RBIs (73). He finished the regular season ranked second in the ACC in RBIs and seventh in runs.

On the mound, DeCaro and Sprague were a solid one-two punch for the Tar Heels. Sprague boasted the fewest walks per nine innings (1.79) in the ACC and had its third-highest strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.25) while compiling the 10th-lowest ERA (4.03). DeCaro ranks ninth in ERA (3.93), seventh in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (8.01) and sixth in opponent batting average (.236).

In his first year at UNC after transferring from the University of Georgia, Harber has posted career-highs in batting average (.358), home runs (19), RBIs (57) and leads the Tar Heels in OPS (1.135).

Matthijs and Pence have anchored the Tar Heels' bullpen all season. Matthijs is tied for the NCAA lead in victories with 12, has made 30 appearances and pitched 47 innings with a 3.36 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Pence ranks fifth in the ACC with six saves and has struck out 55 batters in 40 2/3 innings while holding opposing hitters to a .172 average.

Stevenson has been a mainstay behind the plate for the ACC's top pitching staff. He has started 52 games at catcher and leads the Tar Heels with 39 walks. Stevenson hit 13 home runs and drove home 55 runs with a 1.015 OPS.

Gallaher forced his way into the lineup early on and thrived offensively. He is batting .351 in 42 games, with six home runs and 30 RBIs.

The top-seeded Tar Heels (41-12) open pool play at the 2024 ACC Baseball Championship on Thursday, May 23, against No. 12 seed Pittsburgh (26-26) at Truist Field in Charlotte. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Network. It will also be available on the ESPN app, with radio coverage available locally on WCHL (97.9 FM/1360 AM) and free live audio at goheels.com.

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UNC ACC Award Winners

Defensive Player of the Year: Vance Honeycutt

Coach of the Year: Scott Forbes

Tar Heels on All-ACC Teams

First Team

Casey Cook, OF

Vance Honeycutt, OF

Second Team

Jason DeCaro, SP

Parks Harber, 1B

Shea Sprague, SP

Third Team