UNC star infielder named best player after Chapel Hill Regional
The North Carolina Tar Heels finally pieced together another complete game on the baseball diamond, dominating Oklahoma on Monday, 14-4, to win the Chapel Hill Regional and advance to the Super Regionals this coming weekend.
UNC (45-13), which won three of its four games in the Chapel Hill Regional, will face the Arizona Wildcats for a spot in the College World Series.
Just like 2024, when the Diamond Heels advanced to the Super Regionals, there was a constant force behind this year's Regional run: third baseman Gavin Gallaher. When North Carolina needed a base hit, home run, a runner driven in or virtually anything offensively, its star sophomore at the hot corner delivered.
Gallaher finished this year's Chapel Hill Regional hitting an unconscious 13-of-18 (.722 batting average), which included three home runs and 10 RBIs. Gallaher saved his best performance for last in Monday's winner-take-all game, hitting 4-for-6 with four RBIs, two home runs and four runs scored.
It should come as no surprise to anyone, Sooners fans included, that Gallaher earned Most Outstanding Player honors.
Gallaher rose to prominence as a clutch freshman during last season's Chapel Hill Regional, blasting a walk-off grand slam against Long Island University during the opener. UNC trailed during the ninth inning of that game and, saving his team from embarrassment, Gallaher blasted a no-doubt, bases-loaded grand slam that send Boshamer Stadium into a frenzy.
The Diamond Heels will need every bit of Gallaher's offense during the Chapel Hill Super Regional, which will start Friday, June 6 against Arizona at a time TBD.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Top-40 class of 2026 basketball recruit announces visit to UNC
The North Carolina Tar Heels have an extensive list of offers in their 2026 basketball recruiting class, with a few of those targets already scheduling visits to Chapel Hill. On Monday, UNC just got word that one of its 13 targets has an official visit scheduled. Maximo Adams, a 4-star small forward who plays at Sierra Canyon School in the Los Angeles suburbs, scheduled North Carolina for one of his six visits. Adams is ranked 40th overall nationally, 17th amongst small forwards and the sixth-ranked prospect in California. Along with Qayden Samuels, Anthony Thompson, Tajh Ariza, Cameron Holmes and Bryson Howard, Adams is one of six wings to receive an offer in the Tar Heels' 2026 class. Though UNC generated most of its 2024 offense from the backcourt, it was small forward Drake Powell who played a major factor in a late-season, NCAA Tournament push. Now a member of the Brooklyn Nets, Powell proved to be a 5-tool player who can handle the ball, throw down massive dunks, snag rebounds and drain 3-pointers. North Carolina has some strong competition for Adams amongst the fellow schools he'll be visiting. Kentucky, Michigan State, Kansas, Duke and Texas all made the Big Dance in March, with the Blue Devils facing Houston in the Final Four. The Tar Heels landed a strong 2025 recruiting class: 5-star power forward Caleb Wilson, ranked Top 10 nationally amongst all recruits, plus a pair of combo guards in Derek Dixon and Isaiah Denis. If Adams chooses UNC as his next destination, he'll continue to prove that Hubert Davis know how to land top-end talent. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions. This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC basketball getting visit from top-40 small forward Maximo Adams
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Double Bubba: UNC to Pay 2 AD Salaries During Transition
The University of North Carolina has publicly released the employment agreements detailing how the school will compensate its two top athletic officials during a planned 24-month leadership transition. As part of a contract extension signed last month, current athletic director Bubba Cunningham will receive $903,000 in base compensation annually over the next two years, including his first year serving in his new role as 'senior advisor.' Cunningham was hired as UNC's top athletics official in 2011. More from Michigan's $30M Fine Projection Is 11% of School's Sports Budget Tuberville Cashes Auburn Checks, Cruz Gets Texas Tickets When the Fraud Stands Tall: A Football Triumph Story Turns Dark His successor, former RFK Racing president Steve Newmark, will earn $600,000 in the upcoming academic year while shadowing Cunningham, before formally becoming athletic director next summer. At that point, Newmark's base salary will rise to $1 million annually through June 2029, according to his contract. For the 2026-27 academic year, UNC will effectively be paying both men athletic director salaries, with Cunningham earning only slightly less than Newmark in base pay. Both men will also be eligible for the same performance bonuses, which could add hundreds of thousands of dollars to their compensation. Incentives include five-figure payouts if Tar Heels men's or women's basketball teams secure NCAA Tournament bids or if UNC football, now coached by Bill Belichick, reaches a bowl game. Incidentally, both Newmark and Cunningham will earn less in base pay than Belichick's son, Steve Belichick ($1.3 million), UNC's newly hired defensive coordinator, as well as football general manager Mike Lombardi ($1.5 million). From July 2027 through June 2029, following his first year in the new role, Cunningham will earn $540,000 in base salary plus a discretionary bonus equal to half his pay. He is also eligible for eight more 'longevity incentive compensation awards' of $110,409 each—totaling $883,272—between now and June 2027. In 2026 alone, those incentives could provide him nearly half a million dollars on top of his base pay, meaning Cunningham would substantially out-earn his successor during the transition year. Cunningham will also report directly to the university's chancellor—not to Newmark—and be 'administratively integrated' with the office of the vice chancellor for finance & operations, a structure that suggests his compensation may be paid outside of the athletic department's budget. Cunningham's new role will focus on development and fundraising, advising on NIL issues, and representing UNC in conversations with Congress and other government officials. He will also teach a course for undergraduate or MBA students. Cunningham is one of a number of high-profile athletic directors who have chosen to step aside amid the rapidly changing rules regarding college athlete compensation and governance. Others in the last two years include Ohio State's Gene Smith, Notre Dame's Jack Swarbrick and Oklahoma's Joe Castiglione. Best of NFL Franchise Valuations Ranking List: From Cowboys to Bengals Tennis Prize Money Tracker: Which Player Has Earned the Most in 2025? Browns Officially Get Public Money for New Stadium in Ohio Budget
Boston Globe
5 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Bill Belichick bringing ‘Patriot Way' to UNC, from showing old Patriots film to minimizing weekly radio appearances
Belichick will appear on the first episode of 'Carolina Football Live' ahead of UNC's season-opening matchup against TCU on Sept. 1, but after that, general manager Mike Lombardi will appear in the head coach's spot in every episode for the remainder of the season. The majority of college head coaches have weekly appearances on radio shows that include their name in the title, Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Belichick wasn't a stranger to making weekly radio appearances during his time with the Patriots, either. He appeared on WEEI shows the day after Patriots games over his two dozen years with the team. Advertisement Even as he made regular appearances on multiple shows in his year away from the game in 2024, Belichick's distaste for making media appearances was part of his brand during his time with the Patriots, so it isn't much of a surprise that he's largely opting out of the team's weekly radio show. Advertisement Belichick recently did an interview 'In all honesty, we've shown a lot of Patriots film and other great players in the NFL too,' Belichick said. 'But a lot of Patriots film on here's what we want you to do and here's how to do it. Watch [Dont'a] Hightower, watch [Tom] Brady, watch [Rob] Gronkowski, watch [Julian] Edelman, watch Lawrence Taylor, watch these guys do it because they were great at it.' Those players helped Belichick achieve great success with the Patriots, or in the case of Taylor, with the Giants. Beyond re-living the glory days, though, there is a reason why Belichick is using film of his past players at Chapel Hill. 'It's actually been fun to go back and watch some of those guys,' Belichick said. 'Show them how good they were and why they were so good because of the way they played, the technique, and how they understood the game.' While those players helped Belichick win eight total Super Bowls in his coaching career, he isn't dealing with championship expectations in his first year at UNC. The Tar Heels were picked to finish eighth in the ACC's preseason poll, and their projected win total sits at 7.5 wins at DraftKings Sportsbook.
