Baseball News and Poll Rankings (Not Game Threads) - Update 6/13: Knapp Named National Pitcher of the Year
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The boards are fixed! I finally can keep up with what the hell is happening
I feel like BA has been shitting on us the whole year.
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2025 College World Series Predictions: Picking Our ‘Eight For Omaha,' Super Regional Matchups & National Champion
With NCAA Tournament beginning Friday, Baseball America presents its final College World Series picks, including a national champion prediction.
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They have. They usually doI feel like BA has been shitting on us the whole year.
2025 College World Series Predictions: Picking Our ‘Eight For Omaha,' Super Regional Matchups & National Champion
With NCAA Tournament beginning Friday, Baseball America presents its final College World Series picks, including a national champion prediction.
UNC Baseball already adding reinforcements via the transfer portal
While the 2025 season is far from over, the Diamond Heels are also preparing for 2026 and beyond.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Knapp Named National Pitcher of the Year
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina ace Jake Knapp has been named the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year, the organization announced on Friday.
The nation’s most dominant arm all-season, Knapp receives official recognition for his excellence. He is the first Tar Heel to receive the honor since its introduction in 2009 and the first to be recognized as the sport’s top arm since Andrew Miller in 2006.
"Jake represents everything that is good about college baseball,” National Pitcher of the Year Committee Chair Chris Snead said. “Here is a young man that battled through one of the worst injuries a pitcher can suffer to return to the field. In the process, he inspired his teammates and became the unquestioned leader of his team. Fourteen consecutive wins is significant and impressive. He was a complete pitcher and more importantly, he was a great person and teammate."
Knapp joins elite company among the CBF’s award winners, including Stephen Strasburg, Aaron Nola, Jonathan Gray, and Paul Skenes.
“Jake is an incredible human being and leader,” said North Carolina head coach Scott Forbes. “Watching him have to sit out last year only to come back and lead our team and have such amazing success is a testament to how hard he works and the man that he is. I’m so proud of him and so happy to see him earn this award.”
This record-breaking 2025 campaign for Knapp almost never came to pass. The Greensboro, N.C., native was slated to be the Friday starter for the Heels going into the 2024 season before sustaining a season-ending elbow injury with just a few weeks left in the preseason.
“Coach Knapp,” as Forbes affectionately calls him, stayed locked in with the team despite his devastating situation, attending every practice, game, and meeting. The coaching staff credits his leadership as a key factor in their 2024 run to Omaha.
In the offseason, he weighed the possibility of going pro despite his months of rehab ahead. He instead chose to return to Chapel Hill where he trained hard to be ready for opening day.
And ready he was. 623 days since his last appearance, the second-year captain stepped back on the mound against Texas Tech and it was all up from there. Just the beginning of one of the most prolific seasons in North Carolina and college baseball history that saw him become the ACC Pitcher of the Year, the NCBWA District 4 Player of the Year, and a first-team All-American.
The big righty finished the season with 16 outings and 15 starts, leading Carolina to victory on every single occasion. His 14-0 record is the best of any pitcher in the nation and cemented his legacy in the UNC record books. It is the most wins in a single-season without defeat and tied for the most victories overall in program history.
He wrapped up his improbably prolific 2025 season with a 2.02 ERA, fourth best in the country and tops among the power four, in 102.1 innings pitched. He racked up 88 strikeouts with an almost unbelievably low 16 walks.
His 0.86 WHIP was third best nationally and just .03 away from breaking the program record. He went over a month in the heart of the season without allowing a walk, going 27 straight IP across four starts. He would not allow a free pass in six of his appearances, including four of his last five.
A testament to his hard work in the rehab process, Knapp recorded the first two complete games of his career in 2025. He would eclipse over 100 pitches 11 different times as well, having done so only once before this season.
Other finalists for the National Pitcher of the Year included Gabe Craig (RHP, Baylor), Jacob Morrison (RHP, Coastal Carolina), Zane Taylor (RHP, UNCW) and Dylan Volantis (LHP, Texas).
"The way that Jake was able to overcome a significant injury and become the leader of his team isn't something that you usually see from a starting pitcher,” National Pitcher of the Year Committee Chair Brian Melakian said. “What he gave his team every time that he took the ball this year was truly special and what you would expect from someone deserving of being named National Pitcher of the Year."
William Soulé
University of North Carolina
Associate Director
Knapp Named National Pitcher of the Year
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – North Carolina ace Jake Knapp has been named the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year, the organization announced on Friday.
The nation’s most dominant arm all-season, Knapp receives official recognition for his excellence. He is the first Tar Heel to receive the honor since its introduction in 2009 and the first to be recognized as the sport’s top arm since Andrew Miller in 2006.
"Jake represents everything that is good about college baseball,” National Pitcher of the Year Committee Chair Chris Snead said. “Here is a young man that battled through one of the worst injuries a pitcher can suffer to return to the field. In the process, he inspired his teammates and became the unquestioned leader of his team. Fourteen consecutive wins is significant and impressive. He was a complete pitcher and more importantly, he was a great person and teammate."
Knapp joins elite company among the CBF’s award winners, including Stephen Strasburg, Aaron Nola, Jonathan Gray, and Paul Skenes.
“Jake is an incredible human being and leader,” said North Carolina head coach Scott Forbes. “Watching him have to sit out last year only to come back and lead our team and have such amazing success is a testament to how hard he works and the man that he is. I’m so proud of him and so happy to see him earn this award.”
This record-breaking 2025 campaign for Knapp almost never came to pass. The Greensboro, N.C., native was slated to be the Friday starter for the Heels going into the 2024 season before sustaining a season-ending elbow injury with just a few weeks left in the preseason.
“Coach Knapp,” as Forbes affectionately calls him, stayed locked in with the team despite his devastating situation, attending every practice, game, and meeting. The coaching staff credits his leadership as a key factor in their 2024 run to Omaha.
In the offseason, he weighed the possibility of going pro despite his months of rehab ahead. He instead chose to return to Chapel Hill where he trained hard to be ready for opening day.
And ready he was. 623 days since his last appearance, the second-year captain stepped back on the mound against Texas Tech and it was all up from there. Just the beginning of one of the most prolific seasons in North Carolina and college baseball history that saw him become the ACC Pitcher of the Year, the NCBWA District 4 Player of the Year, and a first-team All-American.
The big righty finished the season with 16 outings and 15 starts, leading Carolina to victory on every single occasion. His 14-0 record is the best of any pitcher in the nation and cemented his legacy in the UNC record books. It is the most wins in a single-season without defeat and tied for the most victories overall in program history.
He wrapped up his improbably prolific 2025 season with a 2.02 ERA, fourth best in the country and tops among the power four, in 102.1 innings pitched. He racked up 88 strikeouts with an almost unbelievably low 16 walks.
His 0.86 WHIP was third best nationally and just .03 away from breaking the program record. He went over a month in the heart of the season without allowing a walk, going 27 straight IP across four starts. He would not allow a free pass in six of his appearances, including four of his last five.
A testament to his hard work in the rehab process, Knapp recorded the first two complete games of his career in 2025. He would eclipse over 100 pitches 11 different times as well, having done so only once before this season.
Other finalists for the National Pitcher of the Year included Gabe Craig (RHP, Baylor), Jacob Morrison (RHP, Coastal Carolina), Zane Taylor (RHP, UNCW) and Dylan Volantis (LHP, Texas).
"The way that Jake was able to overcome a significant injury and become the leader of his team isn't something that you usually see from a starting pitcher,” National Pitcher of the Year Committee Chair Brian Melakian said. “What he gave his team every time that he took the ball this year was truly special and what you would expect from someone deserving of being named National Pitcher of the Year."
William Soulé
University of North Carolina
Associate Director
Heels get dook catcher Macon Winslow from portal. Hit .278 with 9 hrs and 48 rbi this season. He’ll be a junior.
UNC baseball gets transfer portal commitment from Duke catcher Macon Winslow
UNC baseball picked up a commitment from a former Duke player on June 16. Here's a breakdown of that move and what it means for the Tar Heels.
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