UNC Baseball: Vance Honeycutt named MVP after impressive tournament

UNC baseball standout Vance Honeycutt won MVP honors following an impressive ACC Tournament performance.

Following an outstanding Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament performance that saw the North Carolina Tar Heels win four games in four days — none by fewer than four runs — en route to their eighth league title in program history and first since 2019, freshman sensation Vance Honeycutt was named tourney MVP.

Honeycutt, one of the best overall players in the ACC, if not the entire country, hit .400 with four home runs and 10 RBI over the four-day tournament. He hit a go-ahead two-run home run against the Wolfpack in his first at-bat and then followed it up with a three-run home run in his second at-bat to extend the Tar Heels’ lead in the championship game.

Given the kind of play that we’ve seen from Honeycutt throughout his first season in Chapel Hill and particularly over the last month, it wasn’t all that surprising. After all, he’s carrying a batting average of .377 with 11 home runs and 25 RBI since May 6.

"“To watch his growth in such a short amount of time has been really cool,” UNC head coach Scott Forbes said after the game. “But I see these kids every day. I see things people don’t see, and I see what Vance is. He listens, he’s extremely coachable, and he works. When you do that and you’re that talented, you’re going to have success.”"

For the season, Honeycutt is hitting .284 with 21 round-trippers and 49 RBI. He stole 28 bases to become the first 20/20 player in program history. He’s sixth on the team in batting average, fifth in doubles, third in hits, first in triples, first in slugging percentage, and first in OPS.

Honeycutt and the Tar Heels are set for an NCAA Tournament opening-round matchup with Hofstra on Friday afternoon. He’ll try to stay hot as the Tar Heels look to advance to their first College World Series appearance in four years.

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