The North Carolina Tar Heels came up just short of their program’s first-ever national championship. Their season came to an end on Monday, June 22, after the Oklahoma Sooners defeated them 13-2 in game three of the national championship series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha.
Despite the loss, the Tar Heels continue to present themselves as one of college baseball’s most competitive programs as of late. It was their second appearance in the College World Series in three years. It was also North Carolina’s first national championship they have played in since 2007.
The Tar Heels’ head coach, Scott Forbes, talked about the idea of his program maintaining an elite level of play and competitiveness down the road.
“I sure hope so,” Forbes said. “We’re going to try. That’s for sure. That’s something that we’re always going to do. We’re going to work our tails off to get back here.”
He added, “And the more you get to a place, hopefully you can knock that door down. We’ve just got to keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s the players, and helping them get better and leave here better people.”
Gavin Gallaher and Matthew Matthijs are thankful for Forbes and North Carolina baseball
After the game three loss, North Carolina players Gavin Gallaher and Matthew Matthijs expressed how thankful they were for everything they gained out of playing baseball for the Tar Heels.
Gallaher talked about how well the North Carolina baseball program has treated him as not only a player, but also as a person.
“If you are a player and you’re looking for a place that’s going to care for you and they’re going to love you, they’re going to put you as a person before they put you as a player,” Gallaher said after fighting away some tearful emotion. “They’re going to show up every day, and they’re going to give you their best no matter what their lives off the field look like…It’s truly amazing.”
Matthijs took time to thank Forbes for everything he has done for him during his North Carolina career.
“I don’t think there’s another program out there that has the coaching staff that truly loves every single player as much as that man right there does,” Matthijs said, referring to Forbes sitting close by. “He cares about us. He loves us.”
“I want to say thank you for giving me an opportunity when I was 14 years old,” Matthijs added while looking at Forbes. “I’ve loved every minute. Thank you.”
WBN NCAA: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: North Carolina players watch from the dugout as Oklahoma goes to bat in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the NCAA College World Series baseball finals in Omaha, Neb., Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
