An incredible trio earn North Carolina's most prestigious athletics honor

The Patterson Medals serve as North Carolina's most prestigious honor that recognizes athletic excellence and career achievements.

Every year, these medals are awarded to well-deserving student-athletes who have made a profound impact on the University of North Carolina. In order to receive one, recipients must have competed in at least three seasons as a Tar Heel in their respective sport and exhausted their respective college eligibility.

This year's recipients, the 103rd Patterson Medal honorees, without a doubt, made their mark on the university in their respective sports.

UNC announces its 2026 Patterson Medal winners

Reese Brantmeier, Jason DeCaro and Ryleigh Heck are the 2026 recipients of the Patterson Medals.

A Whitewater, Wisconsin native, Brantmeier made it a habit of winning championships while competing on the UNC women's tennis team. She won the NCAA singles championship in 2025, was a member of Carolina's 2023 NCAA champions, 2023 ITA indoor national champions and 2024 and 2025 ACC championship teams.

Brantmeier is the first UNC women's tennis player to win 10 ITA All-American honors, and now is just the fifth tennis player in program history to earn this prestigious accolade.

DeCaro set the tone on the mound for the Diamond Heels for the past three seasons, anchoring a pitching staff that made two trips to Omaha during his time at North Carolina.

Over three seasons in Chapel Hill, the North Port, New York native posted a career 26-7 record with an earned run average of 3.46. He allowed a .236 batting average and is the first pitcher to strike out 200 or more batters under head coach Scott Forbes, punching out 247 in 270.1 innings. His 26 victories are tied for eighth all-time in program history.

A three-time All-ACC honoree and former freshman All-American, DeCaro's best season as a Tar Heel came in 2026. He earned first-team All-America honors, and his final start at Boshamer Stadium is one fans will remember for quite some time: a complete-game shutout in the Chapel Hill Super Regionals to keep North Carolina's season alive.

Following the conclusion of his junior season, DeCaro was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third round of the 2026 MLB Draft. He is now the 19th Diamond Heel to earn the Patterson Medal and the first pitcher to earn the accolade since Robert Woodard back in 2007.

Heck wrapped up her UNC field hockey career as one of the most decorated athletes to ever compete for the program. She earned the honor of having her No. 12 jersey retired by winning the National Player of the Year award in 2023, a year in which she scored the game-winning goals in both the ACC and NCAA title games.

The Ocean City, New Jersey native is one of two UNC field hockey players to win National Player of the Year, ACC Player of the Year, ACC Tournament MVP, earn four All-America and All-ACC honors and make four All-NCAA Tournament and All-ACC Tournament teams. Erin Matson, her former teammate and most recently head coach, is the other, showing just how elite company Heck put herself in with this accolade.

Heck didn't lose much at UNC, as the Tar Heels boasted an 80-6 record during her career. This included an insane 36-2 in ACC regular-season and tournament play, showing how dominant the Tar Heels were in the conference while Heck was on the field. She is now the eighth field hockey player to earn the honor and the first during the Matson era at UNC.

All three of this year's recipients put together incredible college athletic careers at North Carolina, as their legacy will carry on for many generations to come.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow