The UNC baseball program revealed two major staff promotions that will take effect starting this upcoming academic year.
𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 🥳👏@CoachForbes_UNC has announced the promotions of Bryant Gaines to Associate Head Coach and Carter Hicks as the program's first General Manager.#GoHeels pic.twitter.com/4YmLJv5gvl
— Carolina Baseball (@DiamondHeels) August 11, 2025
Head coach Scott Forbes announced that Bryant Gaines has been promoted to Associate Head Coach while Carter Hicks will serve as the program's first ever General Manager.
Gaines is one of the best coaches that the country has to offer, as he's been an instrumental part of the UNC baseball program's staff for each of the past 11 seasons. A Tar Heel alumni and two-time captain for the Diamond Heels, Gaines has been around the program for 15 seasons, as North Carolina has experienced plenty of success when he was on the roster as both a player and a coach.
Last season, Gaines guided the UNC baseball program's pitching staff, playing a significant role in the team's ability to lead the ACC in ERA for a second consecutive season. The Tar Heels' team ERA was also third-best in the entire country, as not many staffs were as dominant as the one that called Boshamer Stadium its home field.
He has had plenty of success stories in terms of developing players, as you don't even have to look far to identify them. Jake Knapp, a former JUCO product, returned from Tommy John surgery and earned National Pitcher of the Year honors, while Aidan Haugh was another junior college product who heard his name called in this year's MLB Draft.
Hicks, another graduate of the University of North Carolina, has been the team's director of player and program development since 2022. Now, his new role will have him taking charge of revenue sharing, NIL, roster management along with any other new challenges that come about through the constant changing landscape of college athletics.
These are two well-deserved promotions. Both individuals have invested a great deal of hard work and dedication to the program and are now being rewarded for it. Gaines' promotion is one that everyone saw coming, especially given the success he's had guiding the pitching staff. Promoting Hicks to the General Manager role helps guide the UNC baseball program into the future, as the hiring of this position was inevitable.