The UNC baseball team has performed well throughout the 2025 season, standing at a record of 39-12 overall and 18-11 in conference play. North Carolina is listed as the No. 3 team in the country after the latest rankings were released.
North Carolina's loss against the Florida State Seminoles in the final game of the regular season led to the becoming the three-seed going into the ACC Baseball Championship. However, that was not enough to stop the Tar Heels from winning the three-game series against another talented team in college baseball.
Head Coach Scott Forbes has built a solid team that has all of necessary pieces to reach the College World Series yet again, and his shortshop, Alex Madera has been a key piece to success.
Madera's performance on the field has etched his name as one of the Wallace Award Semifinalists. The Brooks Wallace Award is given to the best shortstop in all of college baseball.
The 5-foot-10 and 179-pound shortstop is sitting at a batting average of .333 with an OPS of .847, starting every single game during the regular season. In addition, he has 62 hits and scored 38 times, also sending a couple of baseballs out of the park with two home runs. Madera has speed as well, stealing 10 bases on 11 attempts.
Carolina is scheduled to play Boston College in the Quarterfinals of the ACC Baseball Championship at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The game will take place on Friday, May 23 at 7 p.m.
If UNC can defeat the Eagles, then it will either be paired up with Florida State for a rematch or the Duke Blue Devils.
Regardless of who the Tar Heels are playing, the pitching, hitting, and defense is enough to take down whoever serves as an obstacle to winning its first ACC championship since 2022.