Two of the top 2026 MLB Draft pitching prospects call Chapel Hill home

The UNC Baseball program has consistently produced top pitchers year in and year out, as they compete at the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference and consistently make a push to the College World Series and back to Omaha, Nebraska.

Scott Forbes and North Carolina will attempt to return to Omaha for the first time since 2024 after a disappointing end to the 2025 season, with Arizona upsetting the Tar Heels in Game Three of the NCAA Super Regionals.

In order to do that, they will be replacing a lot of talent from last year's squad, but two key pieces out of the bullpen return. Jason DeCaro and Ryan Lynch. Both right-handed pitchers have been staples of Forbes' pitching staff.

DeCaro has become the Friday night starter in conference play and is slated to hold that role again this season as a junior. Lynch had an incredible freshman season in 2025, spending most of his time as a shutdown reliever out of the bullpen before moving into a starting role during the postseason when it was win-or-go-home scenarios.

UNC Baseball fans already know that both of these pitchers are talented. But how talented? Baseball America ranked the two North Carolina right-handed arms in the top ten on their top-100 draft prospects board.

There is a good reason both pitchers ranked highly on this list. DeCaro is coming off a season in which he made 16 appearances, threw 83.1 innings, and posted an ERA of 3.78. Lynch, on the other hand, saw action in 27 games during 2025, pitching 61.1 innings and having a 2.93 ERA.

The UNC Baseball team is the only program to have two players ranked inside the top ten, and the Tar Heels will certainly need DeCaro and Lynch to be at their absolute best next spring if they have hopes of making that return trip to the College World Series while chasing the program's first-ever National Championship.