UNC head coach Scott Forbes, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
The 2026 North Carolina Tar Heels and head coach Scott Forbes are hoping the baseballs bounce their way in the program’s 13th trip to the College World Series (CWS). North Carolina has fallen short in its previous 12 appearances in Omaha, Nebraska, the second-most appearances on college baseball’s biggest stage without a national title.
Now, with the perennial powerhouse Tar Heels back in familiar territory, Forbes believes this is the team that can finally break through and bring a national championship trophy back to Chapel Hill.
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“I’m happy for them, because they get to go. I’ve been to Omaha before,” Forbes said in his postgame press conference Sunday after ousting USC in the super regionals. “I get to see the joy on these guys’ faces of coming back in here tomorrow and preparing to win UNC Baseball’s first national championship.”
North Carolina proved to be one of the best teams in the country all season, earning the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. But after sweeping through the Chapel Hill Regional in three games, the Heels dropped the opening contest of their super regional with the Trojans. They staved off elimination with a 4-0 victory Saturday, but in Sunday’s winner-take-all Game 3, they found themselves trailing 3-1 with only four outs left to mount a comeback.
Two clutch doubles in the bottom of the eighth inning drew them to within one. Then a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth tied the game, setting up the heroics from junior outfielder Owen Hull.
Hull’s walk-off double sent the Tar Heels back to Omaha for the second time under Forbes and the second time in the past three years, the only program in the country to accomplish that feat. The win also marked North Carolina’s 50th win of the season and Forbes’ 250th career win. The longtime UNC assistant was named to the head coaching position ahead of the 2021 season after the retirement of legendary coach Mike Fox.
Since being elevated to head coach, Forbes hasn’t been shy about mentioning his faith in Jesus. He did it once again in Sunday’s press conference.
“I’d written a Bible verse on my card today, that no matter what — everything that I do — just make sure I do it like I’m supposed to do it through my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I’m just thankful that He gave me the opportunity to be here and be around these guys. I’m the one that gets blessed by their presence,” Forbes said.
Moments after North Carolina punched its ticket to the 2024 College World Series, Forbes’ first as head coach, he made sure to deflect all praise that was sure to come his way.
“It’s not them getting me to Omaha, it’s me hoping to get them. That’s been my prayer all year,” Forbes said in an on-field interview with Raleigh’s CBS 17 News. “I changed the thought process of how I coached in 2022 and I made a decision that, if I’m a Christian believer, I’ve gotta coach through that avenue.”
In that year of Forbes’ paradigm shift as a coach, he was featured in the Heart of a Coach Q&A in the Spring 2022 edition of Sports Spectrum Magazine. There, he spoke about how his faith affects his approach to his job.
“My faith in Christ impacts everything I do as a coach,” he said. “I try my best to make every decision through Him and coach so that others will hopefully see Him in me daily.”
He continued later, “Keeping perspective as to why I coach, I am challenged the most in making sure I remind myself daily that you win in many more ways than just the final score.”
North Carolina begins its CWS journey on Friday evening in a matchup with Ole Miss (41-21), which advanced past No. 4 Auburn to get to Omaha. In 2022, the last time the Rebels made it to the CWS, they left with a national championship.
First pitch is set for 7 p.m. ET.
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