Multiple Diamond Heels Headed to the Pros After MLB Draft

SPORTS

CHAPEL HILL, NC – Big names from an ACC championship team are heading on to greener pastures.

Luke Stevenson, Kane Kepley, Aidan Haugh and Jake Knapp will now represent the Tar Heels in pro baseball after leading their squad to an ACC tournament championship this past season. The MLB draft was held on July 13th and 14th earlier this week. These player selections bring Head Coach Scott Forbes’ total draftees up to 21, 10 of those being pitchers.

Luke Stevenson is the biggest name here. He’s a young, heavy-hitting sophomore catcher who was a force for the Heels this past season. He batted .251 while driving home 19 home runs, the most by a Carolina catcher since 2004. He’s as consistent as they come, starting all 61 games for the Heels this season. Not to mention, he is an elite defender who threw out 35% of attempted base stealers. It was more than enough to earn him All-American and first-team All-ACC honors.

The Mariners decided to scoop him up in the first round and he became Scott Forbes’ second first-round pick after UNC superstar Vance Honeycutt was taken in the first round last year by the Baltimore Orioles. He is the 26th first-round selection in Carolina baseball’s storied history.

Outfielder Kane Kepley was also taken on day one of the MLB draft. He was picked up in the second round by the Chicago Cubs. Kepley served as a speedy center fielder who paced the team in bases stolen (45) and batted lead-off, hitting a very respectable .291. The Salisbury, NC native was a ball hawk in the outfield who also had multiple big moments for his squad stealing bases.

Pitcher Aiden Haugh was drafted last year in the 16th round by the Minnesota Twins but declined the offer and decided to return to Chapel Hill, where he posted an impressive 3.72 ERA. Haugh’s gamble paid off and he was selected in the 6th round by the Tampa Bay Rays.

Haugh served as a powerful 6-foot-6, roughly 230-pound pitcher who teamed up with fellow draftee Jake Knapp to give the Heels dominance at the top of their pitching rotation. Haugh started 22 games for the Heels over his career and has come a long way since starting his career at Fayetteville Tech.

We can’t forget eighth-round pick Jake Knapp, also known as a consensus All-American, ACC Pitcher of the Year, and National Pitcher of the Year. Watching Knapp this season, you were inspired with confidence he would deliver. He achieved just that during his graduate season, posting a 2.02 ERA, which ranked fourth in the country. At a time when a metal bat turns a ground-out into a line drive and a pop-fly to a home run, that kind of performance is to be commended. What’s even more commendable is wins. Knapp racked up 14 of those with not a single loss. It makes sense that he was selected as the National Pitcher of the Year. Knapp will join fellow Tar Heel Kepley in the Cubs organization as he represents Chapel Hill.

Thomas Hicks is a journalist with video, PR, and writing experience who studied at UNC and the Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Thomas is always looking for work and the next story! He loves working with his camera or with his pen. This reporter can be contacted at thomasjhicks55@gmail.com, LinkedIn: Thomas Hicks and X: ThomasJ_H