Chapel Hill, NC – With snow shovels and tarp rollers doubling as preseason equipment, North Carolina baseball coach Scott Forbes arrived at his February 3 media availability sounding equal parts eager and unsentimental. The season was close, he said — close enough to feel real — but not close enough to skip the daily grind. After nearly six months of practice dating back to August, Forbes framed the stretch run before Opening Day as less about last-minute tweaks and more about sharpening an identity: a team built on depth, defined by culture, and now operating in a rapidly changing college sports economy. The Tar Heels open the 2026 season February 13 against Indiana, with national outlets placing UNC in the preseason Top 25 and conference coaches projecting the Tar Heels near the top of the ACC race.
Forbes’ press conference offered a clear snapshot of the modern program he’s trying to steer: leadership emerging from quiet veterans, a pitching staff with multiple “Friday” candidates, a lineup in motion, and a roster shaped by the transfer portal and the MLB draft — all under new rules that tie roster limits and scholarship flexibility to the broader era of revenue sharing.
A winter countdown built on an unusually long runway
Forbes began with a simple timeline meant to remind everyone — players and reporters alike — that college baseball is not a short-term project. Practices began in August. Class started around mid-month. “Hard to believe it’s been almost 170 days since we started practice,” he said, noting that the length of the preseason creates a rare kind of continuity for a college team that now expects turnover every year.
That runway is a competitive advantage, Forbes argued, if it is used correctly: not merely to install strategies, but to strengthen relationships. “You’re together a ton,” he said. “That really helps you as a team get closer … gives you a lot of time to prepare for the season.”
It also creates the peculiar mental tension that defines early February. Forbes joked that he sleeps “pretty good,” but he also admitted to a familiar coach’s anxiety: the nagging sense that the team is not ready, even after months of work. “The only thing really that keeps me up at night is not feeling like I have our players prepared,” he said — prepared enough, specifically, “so they can just go out and play free and easy.”
The weather, he acknowledged, has complicated the final build-up. Practices have been interrupted by cold snaps and snow, a challenge that is hardly unique to UNC but still relevant for a sport that depends on repetition. His answer, however, was pure pragmatism: they’ll keep moving the tarp, keep finding ways to scrimmage, keep chasing daily improvement. The theme — no excuses, only adjustments — would come up again when the conversation shifted to roster limits, scholarships and money.
No. 11 in the country, but Forbes insists the ranking is not the target
UNC’s national expectations are not a secret. In mid-January, D1Baseball ranked the Tar Heels No. 11 in its preseason poll, a placement that aligns with Forbes’ description of a team he believes can “compete … at a national level.”
Inside the ACC, coaches picked UNC just behind Georgia Tech in the league’s preseason poll, reinforcing the idea that the Tar Heels enter the year as both a national and conference factor.
But Forbes offered a reminder that doubles as a warning label for preseason narratives: rankings are useful for recruiting and marketing, he said, yet ultimately irrelevant when games begin. “Where are you going to be ranked when you get to those regionals and super regionals?” he asked. The real goal is simpler: to walk into every series believing the dugout is “as good, if not better” than the opponent’s.
That framing matters because it provides context for the rest of his answers. Forbes was not selling a finished product. He was describing a process built to hold up across four months, not four headlines — a process that depends heavily on depth and internal competition.
Leadership: captains, chemistry, and a culture Forbes wants to protect
Forbes identified two captains for 2026: Gavin Gallagher and Matty Matthijs. He described both as players who arrived quietly and grew into leadership. “Two young men that when they got here really didn’t say much,” he said, “that have learned how to lead.”
The Gallagher example — and the time Forbes spent discussing him — offered insight into what the coach values. Gallagher, Forbes said, has been consistent since day one, “very coachable,” and willing to play almost anywhere. Forbes listed a defensive résumé that reads like a utility player’s blueprint: third base, shortstop, second, first, outfield. That willingness, Forbes argued, is not just altruism; it’s strategic for a player’s future. If a player embraces a team-first role, Forbes believes, the pro evaluation process will reward it.
The lesson is broader than one player. In an era in which roster spots and playing time can feel more transactional than ever, Forbes wants leaders who reinforce an older college baseball truth: championships are still built on unglamorous tasks — defensive consistency, base-running detail, and the daily habits that keep a team from drifting.
When asked which of the program’s “five pillars” best describes this group, Forbes chose “servanthood,” placing it alongside “humility,” which he said sits at the top “for a reason.” He defined service not as volunteerism but as competitive investment: “making your teammates better.” In his telling, a player who focuses on improving others ultimately improves himself, because the collective level rises.
It is the kind of language coaches often use, but Forbes connected it to a reality every player in the room understands: soon, not everyone will play. “We’ve been scrimmaging, everybody’s been playing — that’s not going to be the case,” he said. The teams that survive that transition are the ones that “stay ready” and keep their attention on winning rather than individual roles.
Roster rebuilds, the portal, and a coach’s balancing act
One of the most pointed questions of the afternoon centered on turnover: UNC rebuilt much of its roster, yet still entered the preseason ranked in the national Top 15. Was that now routine?
Forbes did not pretend it was easy. He acknowledged that the “new landscape” will make roster churn a near-annual challenge — but he also argued baseball has always lived with a version of that reality because the MLB draft routinely pulls away top talent. The portal may be newer, he said, but the core job remains the same: recruit the right players, blend transfers with freshmen, and build a team that functions.
Forbes also leaned on a reference that signals how he thinks about sustained competitiveness: he called himself a “huge” fan of former Alabama football coach Nick Saban, and referenced Saban’s recurring emphasis on a “commitment to success” as the foundation for staying on top. In Forbes’ view, that commitment must now include the resources to recruit and retain — not just the coaching to develop.
The important note in his answer was not bravado, but structure. Forbes described UNC’s portal approach as “strategic,” shaped by specific needs identified quickly after the season ends. In one telling example, he described the urgency of a recruiting visit scheduled immediately after a postseason loss — a reminder that modern roster-building starts the moment a season ends, sometimes before the sting fades.
The overall message: roster movement is not an excuse; it is a constant. Programs that treat it like a temporary storm will fall behind. Programs that build systems around it will remain relevant.
Pitching: “1A, 1B, 1C” — and a rotation still being decided
Forbes’ most detailed baseball discussion centered on the area he believes most determines postseason potential: pitching.
Asked about the rotation, he emphasized competition and avoided naming firm roles too early. Jason DeCaro, he said, has been a “horse,” and the staff expects him to be a central figure again. Yet Forbes described the rotation as a three-way (or four-way) battle rather than a strict hierarchy. “For me,” he said, “it’s 1A, 1B, 1C.”
He listed several options — including DeCaro, Ryan Lynch, Folger Boaz and freshman Kaden Glauber — and said the weekend rotation decision would come after the staff finally gets a normal Friday-Saturday-Sunday scrimmage rhythm. The plan: meet with the coaching staff and settle on the best alignment for Indiana.
Forbes also made a point that experienced college baseball followers will recognize: a deep staff creates “tough decisions,” and some of the best arms may wind up in the bullpen. He referenced 2024, when Dalton Pence served as a key bullpen weapon and, in Forbes’ view, the team’s best pitcher — a role acceptance that helped fuel a run to Omaha.
That story functions as both compliment and challenge. It praises players who sacrifice prestige for wins and warns current pitchers that roles will be earned, not granted. It also speaks to how a program prepares for postseason baseball, where bullpen depth often decides super regionals and College World Series games.
Defense, depth, and the daily details Forbes believes win titles
If pitching sets the ceiling, Forbes argued, defense sets the floor. When asked about defensive progress, he responded with a coach’s default setting: there is always “a long ways to go.” But he also offered specifics about how he sees the pieces fitting.
He cited progress from Cooper Nicholson at third base and improvement from players deeper down the chart. He described a middle infield combination that “complement[s] each other really, really well,” with Gallagher expected to start at second base and Jake Shaffner at shortstop.
At first base, Forbes expects Erik Paulsen to start, but he described depth options that can create matchup flexibility. He singled out Tyler How as a multi-position option capable of playing both outfield and first.
Behind the plate, Forbes sounded particularly optimistic. He suggested the catching situation could be as strong as any in recent memory, comparing it to past seasons when the staff could catch one player and DH another — a configuration that helps manage fatigue during the grind of a spring schedule. He emphasized “bat speed” and “rest,” two factors that often separate April performance from May performance.
His broader point was philosophical: championships, he said, are won with pitching, sound defense, base-running, and execution — the fundamentals that still matter even as the sport adds technology and the business side shifts.
Under-the-radar names: Tyler How’s jump and Boston Flannery as an “X-factor”
Every preseason media day includes a question about improvement, and Forbes answered with two names that reveal where he sees hidden upside.
First: Tyler Howe, a freshman Forbes said has improved rapidly in “strength and conditioning,” becoming stronger, faster, and louder off the barrel. Forbes described How as someone who “could always hit,” but who now looks more physically ready.
Second: Boston Flannery, a pitcher Forbes labeled an “X-factor.” Forbes praised Flannery’s maturity and academic growth, and said pitching coaches have adjusted his delivery and added pitches. He expects Flannery to be “thrown in the fire,” but argued he carries an advantage unusual for a pitcher with limited game innings: he has lived the postseason environment — Omaha dugouts, regionals, super regionals. That familiarity, Forbes suggested, can shorten the learning curve when pressure rises.
These examples connect back to Forbes’ central theme: depth matters most when the season tests it. College baseball, he reminded reporters, rarely looks in May the way it looks in February. Injuries happen. Slumps happen. Someone “we don’t even think” will start might get an opportunity and “never comes out.”
The new college sports economy arrives in baseball: roster limits, scholarships, and revenue sharing
One of the most consequential segments of the press conference came when Forbes was asked about the “off-the-field stuff”: revenue sharing, roster limits, and scholarship expansion — changes that have quickly become central to how programs plan, recruit, and keep players.
The rules are evolving, but several pillars are now clear. In June 2025, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors formally adopted changes that move away from sport-by-sport scholarship limits and toward roster limits, allowing schools that opt into the settlement framework to offer scholarships to any athlete on the roster — up to the cap.
For baseball, that shift is dramatic. Historically, Division I teams operated under an “equivalency” model with 11.7 scholarships spread across large rosters. Under the new structure tied to the settlement environment, baseball rosters are set to be capped at 34 — and scholarship limits are effectively replaced by the roster number for schools operating under those rules.
Forbes told reporters he actually likes the smaller roster, calling it “good for college baseball.” He discussed the practical difference between managing 35 versus 40 or 50 players and suggested a leaner roster can sharpen competition and clarity.
On scholarships, Forbes said UNC reached “fully funded” levels — a notable point because the scholarship shift has been widely viewed as a major change in the sport’s economics, potentially increasing the number of players receiving meaningful athletic aid.
He also made a blunt statement that college coaches increasingly say out loud: resources matter. “We have to be committed to baseball to have a chance to win a national championship,” Forbes said, adding that he is not going to “hide” from the need for as much revenue share support as possible.
The settlement environment that opened the door for direct institutional payments to athletes has been widely covered as a new era for college sports. Legal and policy summaries note that participating institutions can directly compensate athletes through revenue sharing beginning July 1, 2025, under terms connected to the broader settlement structure.
At the same time, those same settlement terms have raised concerns nationally about roster caps and the possibility of athletes losing spots — concerns that surfaced in court coverage as judges weighed settlement approval and objections.
Forbes’ response to all of it was consistent with his coaching identity: adapt, don’t complain. He referenced a team “no complaining rule,” arguing that even if UNC has less than some programs and more than others, success still comes down to choosing the right players and preparing them to win.
But the subtext is important: the sport’s competitive balance may increasingly hinge on how aggressively schools invest in baseball under revenue sharing, and how creatively they manage 34-man roster constraints while maintaining depth for injuries and the long season. That tension — between the need for depth and the demand for roster efficiency — is likely to shape the next decade of college baseball.
Technology as a separator: UNC’s Trajekt machine and the push to narrow the gap
Forbes saved some of his most animated commentary for a topic that bridges old-school baseball obsession and new-school development tools: UNC’s adoption of the Trajekt pitching machine.
He described UNC as the first college program to install a Trajekt machine — an advanced pitching robot system designed to replicate tracked pitch trajectories — and credited a major donor for making it happen. UNC’s own program communications have highlighted that “first” status, and the company describes its technology as capable of replicating real trajectories with hardware and software designed for training.
Forbes’ argument was not that technology replaces work. He explicitly warned it does not replace “hard work” and “discipline” and “competitiveness.” Instead, he said, it enhances preparation by allowing hitters to face “live situations” in a controlled environment — and, in his view, helps narrow a long-standing imbalance. “Pitching has been so far ahead of the hitters,” he said, and Trajekt represents one of the first tools that can “narrow that gap.”
He also emphasized what the machine teaches psychologically: humility. Facing elite pitch shapes and velocities — even in training — forces hitters to accept that failure is part of the job. Forbes offered a familiar baseball truth: a hitter can strike out three times and still have a “good day” if the one ball he squares up changes the game.
Local coverage of UNC’s adoption of Trajekt has pointed to the program’s “cutting edge” push and the broader narrative of preparing “like the pros,” reinforcing the idea that technology is becoming part of how elite programs brand and build themselves.
If there is a takeaway from Forbes’ enthusiasm, it is that college baseball’s competitive edge is now created in multiple places at once: in recruiting, in retention, in roster economics, and increasingly in player development infrastructure.
What Forbes wants the season to become — and what will decide if it does
A preseason press conference rarely produces a single definitive prediction. But Forbes offered a set of themes that, taken together, outline how he believes UNC can turn preseason promise into postseason leverage:
- Preparation that creates freedom. Forbes wants players prepared enough to play “free and easy,” without pressing.
- Leadership that survives role changes. With playing time about to tighten, captains and veterans must keep the team aligned.
- Pitching depth with buy-in. A “1A/1B/1C” rotation is only an advantage if the bullpen embraces its importance.
- Defense and execution as non-negotiables. Forbes believes championships are still won with fundamentals as much as talent.
- Adaptation to the new landscape. Roster limits, scholarships, and revenue sharing will shape the sport, but Forbes insists the response must be practical: adjust and compete.
The season will supply the tests. February weekends will reveal whether the offense can stabilize amid turnover. March road trips will expose defensive reliability under pressure. April conference series will stress pitching depth and health. And May — if UNC reaches it in position — will demand the kind of composure that Forbes tried to describe in a single phrase: “slow heartbeat.”
A modern roster, an old demand — win the day in front of you
Scott Forbes walked into February with a roster built for 2026 realities: transfers and freshmen blended into a unit expected to compete nationally, a pitching staff deep enough to complicate rotation decisions, and a program investing in both scholarships and technology while navigating the new roster-limit era.
Yet the message he delivered sounded intentionally timeless. Rankings are not the finish line. Roster churn is not an excuse. Technology is not a shortcut. And the sport’s new economic structure — however disruptive — does not change the daily job.
“We got to get better today,” Forbes told his players, repeating it publicly as if to make it a contract.
The broader changes in college sports will keep evolving in courtrooms and conference meetings, but the team’s identity will be built the same way it always has been: one practice, one series, one response to adversity at a time.