When you think North Carolina Tar Heels baseball, what's the first thing that comes to mind? An ACC powerhouse? Scott Forbes' ability to consistently recruit high-level talent? The greatest program lacking a College World Series title?
2026 was arguably the best season in UNC baseball history, which ended one game short of the program's first National Championship. North Carolina swept its way through the Chapel Hill Regional, needed a Game 3 Super Regional comeback-for-the-ages against USC, then swept its first three games in Omaha.
How good are the Diamond Heels historically? In D1Baseball's rankings of its Top 100 programs, UNC lands at third overall.
8-time National Champions LSU lead the rankings, 6-time champ Texas lands second, 2024 CWS winner Tennessee is fourth and 2017 champ Florida rounds out the Top Five.
North Carolina made the NCAA Tournament in each of Forbes' first six seasons as head coach, highlighted by two CWS trips in the past three years. Over the last five seasons, the Diamond Heels have a .710 winning percentage, six regional appearances, hosted Super Regionals four times, two ACC Tournament titles and a CWS finals appearance.
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭. 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. pic.twitter.com/fZwWd2MVG2
— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) October 14, 2026
After its historic 2026 run, UNC watched a record six stars selected in June's MLB Draft. When shortstop Jake Schaffner went 20th overall to the Boston Red Sox, North Carolina became the only program with a first-round draft pick in three consecutive seasons.
The 2027 Diamond Heels re-load with plenty talent, headlined by returners Caden Glauber, Gavin Gallaher and Erik Paulsen. Is next year finally the one a National Championship comes to Chapel Hill?
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Where is UNC ranked amongst D1Baseball's Top 100 programs?