UNC Baseball secures commitment from notable transfer outfielder

Not many programs can say that all three of their starting outfielders were selected in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Vance Honeycutt is heading to Baltimore while Casey Cook is set to head to Texas. Anthony Donofrio, who spent one season with the UNC baseball program, is heading to the Seattle Mariners after a stellar season in Carolina Blue.

While this is fantastic for all three former Tar Heels, it does leave the program in a bit of a bind heading into next season.

However, Scott Forbes and his staff are putting in the work to replace some of the lost talent, as North Carolina brought in two notable reinforcements over the last few days.

After Sawyer Black (former Liberty commit) announced that he will join the UNC baseball program, Kane Kepley, an outfielder who burst onto the scene at Liberty, has decided to follow his former head coach Scott Jackson to Chapel Hill as well.

When Kepley first entered the transfer portal, UNC baseball fans were excited about the possibility of him joining the program. He made it official on Wednesday afternoon by his above post on social media.

A 5-foot-8, 165-pound left-handed hitter, Kepley spent his first two collegiate seasons at Liberty, as his sophomore season was a very strong one. He earned second-team All-Conference USA honors for his efforts, as he led the team in batting average, hits, runs, total bases, and walks. He was essentially unstoppable on the base paths, stealing 25 bases over 27 attempts, as he also added some power with 9 home runs over his 58 games played.

Kepley is no stranger to the state of North Carolina, as he's a Salisbury native (just like Honeycutt). The hope is that Kepley can continue the success of outfielders from his hometown, as the goal will be for him to be a significant contributor to next year's squad.