North Carolina
Is 2024 The Greatest Year Ever For North Carolina MLB Draft Talent? — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects – Baseball America
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The state of North Carolina isn’t quite in the elite hotbed producing tier of the big three states—California, Florida and Texas—it is solidly in a second tier that also includes Georgia, Illinois and New York.
While the Tar Heel state has produced prominent high school players like Josh Hamilton, Cameron Maybin, Madison Bumgarner, Corey Seager and more recently MacKenzie Gore and Walker Jenkins, its draft strength relies mostly on the quality and quantity of its college baseball programs.
As MLB teams have increasingly shown a taste for college players compared to the early draft days when preps were all the rage, the state of North Carolina has only become a bigger player at the top of the draft.
In the first 35 years of the draft, from 1965 to 1999 the state produced 19 first-round picks. Of those, 10 were high schoolers and nine came from the college demographic—a slight majority edge (52.6%) toward high-risk, high-reward preps.
Since the turn of the century and in the last 24 years, from 2000-2023, North Carolina has produced 46 first-round picks: one from junior college, 12 from high school and 33 from the college demographic—an extremely strong swing toward four-year players (71.7%).
That trend should continue in the 2024 class, which as a whole is built around the strength of college hitters, and is particularly flush with talent from North Carolina colleges. Several scouts this spring have already mentioned how this could be an all-time year for the state in terms of top-of-the-draft talent.
Six teams on our current college top 25 are North Carolina programs and 11 players on our current draft rankings are North Carolina college products inside the top 100. Perhaps more impressively, seven of those players currently rank inside the top 30 and are prime candidates to be selected in the first round this July.
If that happens, the 2024 class would shatter North Carolina’s first-round record of five players, which was set in 2019 when Will Wilson, George Kirby, Greg Jones, Blake Walston and Michael Busch were all taken in the first round.
Below we’ll examine each of the 11 players currently ranked inside the top 100 from North Carolina. Full scouting reports for each player are also available on our draft rankings, linked above. Players are listed with their current draft rankings.
2. Nick Kurtz, 1B, Wake Forest
Kurtz has yet to fully turn things on offensively this spring but entered the year regarded as one of the best all-around hitters in the class. Through 11 games he is hitting just .237/.453/.421 with a pair of home runs and a double. Kurtz is showing his usual excellent eye at the plate with twice as many walks (14) as strikeouts (7). His combination of batting eye, contact ability and power give him a chance to be the first player off the board even with a first base defensive role, though he’ll need to heat up and produce like his first two seasons to make that happen. There’s no reason to think he won’t do that.
6. Vance Honeycutt, OF, North Carolina
Honeycutt is perhaps the toolsiest hitter in the college draft class and is off to a strong start to open the 2024 season. His .304/.467/.696 line would represent career bests in each triple slash category. He has already homered six times in just 12 games and his eight stolen bases put him on a solid pace to replicate the 25-homer, 29-steal season he managed as a freshman in 2022. Currently, Honeycutt seems to be splitting the difference between his 2022 approach (lots of strikeouts, lots of power) and his 2023 approach (fewer strikeouts, fewer homers) which is perhaps a best-case scenario for him.
7. Seaver King, OF, Wake Forest
King was one of the most impactful transfers in college baseball this offseason and Wake Forest has plugged him into the cleanup spot and center field this spring. He’s currently riding a 10-game on-base streak and is hitting .283/.346/.565 with four home runs and a pair of stolen bases. It’s unclear where most MLB scouts like him best at the next level, though he should have the athleticism to add value as a defender at an up-the-middle position in some capacity.
14. Josh Hartle, LHP, Wake Forest
Wake’s Friday night starter, Hartle might have less impressive pure stuff than every pitcher on this list, but his advanced command and starter traits made him the top pitcher in the class to enter the season. He has not looked his best in his first three starts but has still pitched well, posting a 2.04 ERA in 17.2 innings with a 23.6% strikeout rate and 4.2% walk rate. His matchup against Duke and fellow 2024 lefthander Jonathan Santucci will be one of the better pitching matchups of the season and a significant test in front of a large scouting crowd.
15. Chase Burns, RHP, Wake Forest
In addition to King, Burns was another high-profile incoming Wake transfer over the offseason and entered the 2024 campaign looking to establish himself as a starter with some of the best pure stuff in the country. The first three weeks have been solid for Burns as he has pitched to a 2.60 ERA in 17.1 innings with a 43.3% strikeout rate and 11.9% walk rate. Showing improved command and an ability to tap into a deeper pitch mix as Wake begins ACC play this weekend will be key for him, though he’s already a top-10 pick for some scouts.
22. Jacob Cozart, C, NC State
Cozart is in the mix to be the first catcher selected—along with a solid trio of backstops including Stanford’s Malcolm Moore, California’s Caleb Lomavita and Texas prepster Cade Arrambide—and has shown an impressive power/patience combo early this spring. He’s currently hitting .371/.540/.829 with five home runs and more walks (13) than strikeouts (10) though the pitching competition will ramp up significantly from here.
28. Jonathan Santucci, LHP, Duke
Santucci has been one of the most impressive arms in the country through the first three weeks and his plus slider has befuddled each team he’s faced. He has yet to allow a run in his first 17 innings of work and has posted a 46.3% strikeout rate and 10.4% walk rate. There’s room to improve his fastball command moving forward. He has a huge opportunity this weekend. Wake features far and away the best offense he has faced so far. His matchup with Josh Hartle could allow him to continue pushing up the draft board.
34. Michael Massey, RHP, Wake Forest
Massey is still stretching out after transitioning from a bullpen to starting role this spring. He was on a 75-pitch limit that he barely exceeded in his most recent start and has yet to throw six complete innings, but he has been dominant against an early-season slate featuring Akron, Dayton and Elon. In 12.2 innings he has posted a 0.71 ERA and 22:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Many MLB teams will target his fastball considering it has elite cut-ride shape. If Massey continues to perform well as a starter, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him move into the first round with conviction instead of sitting in his current position on the fringe.
48. Trey Yesavage, RHP, ECU
Yesavage is one of 11 D-I pitchers who has already eclipsed the 30-strikeout threshold this spring and has been dominant in his first three starts, including a tough week two test against North Carolina that he aced with 11 strikeouts in six innings. Yesavage has been dominant and pitched deep into games early this season. He has a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings as well as a 44.1% strikeout rate and 7.4% walk rate with a legitimate four-pitch mix.
62. Fran Oschell III, RHP, Duke
Oschell III has been the most disappointing player on this list in the early parts of the 2024 season. He has continued to pitch out of the bullpen for Duke and has struggled with his command in his brief three outings out of the bullpen. He currently owns a 5.40 ERA in just 1.2 innings of work and in his most recent outing he faced just two batters before being pulled after hitting the first and walking the second.
90. Jacob Jenkins-Cowart, OF, ECU
Jenkins-Cowart has been a tremendous offensive force in ECU’s cleanup spot this season. After the first weekend of the year, he earned AAC player of the week, and he recorded multi-hit games in all three matchups against North Carolina in week two. He’s hitting .444/.500/.844 with four home runs and six doubles in his first 11 games and looks the part of a solid power-hitting right fielder. He’s got an up arrow early this spring.
It was a closer matchup than expected, but the North Carolina Tar Heels eventually separated themselves in an 80-62 win over the USC Upstate Spartans on Saturday at the Dean E. Smith Center.
There were times of lapses and lack of attention to detail, which led to the Spartans scoring easy baskets in transition and in the half-court offense.
While speaking with the media during his postgame press conference, head coach Hubert Davis explained what he was seeing on the court from his players.
- “It’s a tremendous lesson,” Davis said. “I told them, I’m a visual learner. I can remember things, but if I see it, I remember for the rest of my life, and my hope is that they could clearly see that there is a connection between how you prepare and how you practice in relation to how you play. And I identify the areas that have to be there every day. It’s not missed shots. It’s not the turnovers. Everybody misses shots, everybody turns the ball over, everybody makes mistakes.”
- “I just think the things that you have control over; I think those are the things that are non-negotiable,” Davis continued. “You have to bring it every day. That’s energy, effort, attention to detail, enthusiasm, and can’t use the excuse that we have final exams. I’m married and I’ve got three kids. I got prepared for this game early.”
With that being said, here are reasons the Tar Heels should be encouraged following Saturday’s performance.
Luka Bogavac is Playing with Confidence
These are the types of games for role and bench players to build confidence and find their footing in the offense. It was the second consecutive game in which Bogavac shot the ball efficiently, but this was the first time this season that it felt like he was playing with full confidence and rhythm.
The overseas transfer went 6-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-6 from three-point range, totaling 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
If Bogavac plays anywhere remotely close to this level during conference play, the Tar Heels will have a chance to compete for the ACC regular season title.
Could Depth be a Strength?
Just a couple of weeks ago, we were questioning how deep this roster was. Without Seth Trimble, North Carolina’s guard play looked suspect, but over the last few weeks, a couple of players have emerged as potential impactful players.
Freshman guard Derek Dixon has been the standout bench player in the previous two games, averaging 11.5 points, while shooting 53.3 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three-point range.
Sophomore forward Jonathan Powell had his breakout game on Saturday, scoring 17 points while shooting 6-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
It appears North Carolina has at least two bench players who can produce double-digit points on a moment’s notice. With Trimble returning to the lineup soon, which will slide Bogavac back to the bench, the Tar Heels have the flexibility to incorporate eight players into the rotation.
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North Carolina
Virginia signee Hamrick leads Shelby Crest to its 7th North Carolina high school football title by beating Hunt
Wilson J.B. Hunt and Shelby Crest will battle for the Class 5A North Carolina High School Athletic Association title at 8 p.m. at Durham County Memorial Stadium in Durham.
Both teams enter with 12-2 records in this contest.
Crest has won 6 state titles, the most recent came in 2015 in Class 3AA.
The Crest Chargers have won five in a row since a 21-14 loss to Ashbrook on Oct. 24. During the playoff run, the Chargers have knocked off Concord, 69-6; East Lincoln, 31-14; South Point, 28-14 and Hickory, 39-21.
East Lincoln and Hickory were both ranked ahead of the Chargers in the state.
The Hunt Warriors carry a 6-game winning streak into the finals. One of the two losses came against fellow finalist Tarboro, which is in the 2A finals.
The postseason run has included a pair of close wins for the Warriors, 30-28 against Eastern Alamance in the first round and then 32-29 over Croatan in the quarterfinals. Last week, Hunt beat Northside-Jacksonville, 20-7, to punch the ticket to the finals.
According to MaxPreps, dating back to 2004, these teams have not played.
Crest
QB Ely Hamrick, sr. — 2,686 yards passing and 29 TDs; 706 yards rushing and 17 TDs; signed with Virginia; once played at IMG Academy
RB Malachi Gamble, jr. — 501 yards rushing and 9 TDs
WR Michael Edwards, sr. — 48 catches for 801 yards and 8 TDs; 24 carries for 248 yards and 10 TDs
WR Namjay Thompson, jr. — Has 47 catches for 804 yards and 13 TDs
LB Chris Gunter, sr. — Leads team with 81 tackles; has 10 TFL
S D’Various Surratt, sr. — Team-high 4 interceptions; signed with North Carolina State
S Lyrick Pettis, sr. — 3 interceptions; Duke signee
Hunt
LB Judah Harris, jr. — 184 tackles, 49 TFL, 6 sacks, 56 QB hurries, 2 FF, 2 FR
DT CJ Dickerson, jr. — 174 tackles, 46 TFL, 15 sacks, 40 QB hurries
WR/CB Isaiah Chadwick, sr. — 6 interceptions; 23 catches, 361 yards, 2 TDs
WR/CB Jamauris Howard, sr. — 16 catches for 307 yards, 3 TDs; 8 interceptions
LB Trevorous Cooper, fr. — 127 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 FR
QB Mez Harris, jr. — 1,435 yards passing and 8 TDs; 122 carries for 1,271 yards and 16 TDs rushing
RB Doryan Jones, so. — 243 carries for 1,754 yards and 21 TDS
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The 5A @NCFarmBureau Sportsmanship Award recipients, presented by NCHSAA Board members Eddie Doll and Chris Blanton. Congrats!
🏈 Mez Harris (#2) @Hunt_High_NC — NCHSAA (@NCHSAA) December 14, 2025
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|
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hunt |
7 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
|
Crest |
7 |
17 |
7 |
0 |
31 |
Hunt gets the all first
Nehemiah Rayquan Parker nearly gets a pick for Crest. Bobbled it twice but it fell to the ground
Crest gets the ball
Hamrick to Edwards for a first down and the ball is near midfield
Big play! Cooper with a blocked punt with 8:02 left. The Warriors will have good field position
Jones with a first-down run. Ball at the 30-yard line; Pettis is hurt on the play
Jones with another big run off tackle. This time, going to the right; Ball at the 5-yard line
Jones with another carry and taken down at the 2 The ball pops out but he is ruled down by contact
TOUCHDOWN! Harris with a 2-yard run at 5:42. PAT is good. Hunt 7, Crest 0
Crest has to punt again. Hunt ball with 4:46 left but ball at the Crest 43-yard line
TURNVOER! Hunt goes deep and Javion Hopper hauls it in. Ball at the 5-yard line. 4:32 left
Ball at the 1-yard line after a TFL
Hamrick to Thompson for a 49-yard completion 2:58 left
Big play! Jason Black runs down to the 3-yard line but a horse collar tackle will make it closer. Crest ball at the 2
Flags on the play
Offsides on Crest
1st and goal at the 7
TOUCHDOWN! Edwards with TD no. 11 on the season. Hamrick ran ahead of Edwards toward the goal line. 1:29 left. Crest 7, Hunt 7
Touchdown by Michael Edwards for Crest. Crest 7 – Hunt 7. 1:29 left in the 1st. pic.twitter.com/QygPT3Dnt4
— What’s Up Shopper (@WhatsUpShopper) December 14, 2025
4th and 1 at the 35 now for Crest; Hunt jumped off sides to make it a little bit shorter
TOUCHDOWN! Edwards with 35-yard run and Hamrick is one of the lead blockers. Crest 14, Hunt 7, 9:17 left in 2nd
Touchdown by Michael Edwards for Crest. Crest 14 – Hunt 7. 9:17 left in the half. pic.twitter.com/YqroLPdlds
— What’s Up Shopper (@WhatsUpShopper) December 14, 2025
Hunt punts; Crest taking over with 5:57 left
TV timeout
Black with a 9-yard run on the first play for the Chargers
Hamrick keeps it and runs for a first down. Ball into Hunt territory; 6-foot-5 TE Romeo Sanders with a big block for the Chargers
Hunt calls a timeout with 3:52 left. Chargers are driving
Edwards in a QB in a Wildcat formation and gets down to the 5 but flags on the play
Holding on Chargers will move the ball back
On a draw, Jason Black runs up the middle and the ball is at the 6.
TOUCHDOWN! Hamrick on a tush-push play. 2:06 left. Crest 20, Hunt 7
Offsides on Hunt; offense coming out for 2 points now
A lineman jumps offsides and Crest is sending kicking unit out for the second time
PAT is good. Crest 21, Hunt 7
Television replay just saw the flag thrown on Crest prior to the game; don’t see that often
TOUCHDOWN! Harris tries to pass; finds no one and goes through a entire Crest defense for an 80-yard score. 1:42 left. Crest 21, Hunt 14
Crest calls timeout with 18 seconds left
Hamrick to Surratt — usually a defensive player — for a big gain. Ball at 10
Another timeout with 8 seconds left
incomplete pass; 4 seconds left
FIELD GOAL Carson Grier with a 27-yard FG. 0:00; Crest 24, Hunt 14
Crest gets the ball first
Hamrick to Brock Melton for a first down. WR got an extra 7 yards after initial tackle
Unsporstmanlike call against Crest; guessing for Melton’s celebration after catch, but no mic on ref that time to know who call was against and I can’t read lips that well
TOUCHDOWN! Hamrick with another TD run from the 24. 9:56 left Crest 31, Hunt 14
Jones gets the ball near midfield with a long run. He’s up to nearly 100 yards on the night. Ball is at the 48
Harris drops back and finds nothing. He runs for a first down and the ball is at the 32
Bad snap — high — turns into a TFL for Christian Stowe. 4th down coming up for Hunt with 5:37 left and rolling
TURNOVER! 38-yard FG goes wide right; 5:10 left
Crest ball coming out of Media timeout
Hamrick and Black with back-to-back first down runs. Ball at a midfield for the Chargers
Cooper is hurt for Hunt with 2:03 left. He looks to be favoring a shoulder injury
TURNVOER! Harris with an interception with 7 seconds left in third quarter
Incomplete pass; Hunt still doesn’t have any passing yards; Incomplete pass celebration gets a flag on Crest. 1 second left in the 3rd
Hunt calls a timeout with 11:53 left
Hunt punts the ball again; Crest ball with 10:45 left
Big play from Hamrick to Edwards and the ball is at the 13-yard line now.
Crest facing a 4th and 31
TOUCHDOWN! Hamrick to Thompson for a TD at 4:16.
Thompson did a backflip after TD and a flag followed, so … connect the dot
Unsportsmanlike call on Crest; so touchdown is off the board
TURNOVER! Harris fumbles and Gunter recovers with 3:22
Sunday’s matchup will be a step down in competition, as the North Carolina Tar Heels’ recent schedule has featured Michigan State, Kentucky, and Georgetown in the last four weeks. With all due respect to the USC Upstate Spartans, they are not in the same class as any of the three teams mentioned above.
North Carolina’s coaching staff and personnel should not view this game as a pointless outing, as the Tar Heels can utilize this matchup to continue developing key features that will serve them well down the road.
With that being said, here are a couple of expectations for North Carolina in a home matchup against USC Upstate.
Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar Should Continue Dominance
The Tar Heels’ frontcourt, consisting of Veesaar and Wilson, has been the team’s driving force on both ends of the floor. That trend should continue on Saturday against USC Upstate, as the Spartans are an undersized team, with their tallest player at 6-foot-9.
This season, Wilson is averaging 19.3 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game, while shooting 53.2 percent from the field. Meanwhile, Veesaar is averaging 16.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game, while shooting 63.6 percent from the field.
Both players could total career highs in points and rebounds in this game, which could easily translate to 20+ in each category.
Another Steppingstone for the Backcourt
North Carolina’s backcourt produced a complete group effort against Georgetown on Sunday, with Kyan Evans and Derek Dixon having standout performances. Evans totaled seven points and four assists, which all occurred in the opening minutes, but it set the tone for the Tar Heels. Dixon scored 14 points, while shooting 5-of-7 from the field, including 3-of-5 from three-point range.
Head coach Hubert Davis highlighted both players’ performances against the Hoyas during his postgame press conference.
- “I thought the start that [Kyan Evans] had was huge for us,” Davis said. “I mean, it’s not just the shots that he made. He was confident, he was aggressive, he was on point. It’s been five out of eight games where he’s gotten into foul trouble, so we’ve [got to] find a way to keep him out there on the floor.”
- “I really like [Kyan] and Derek [Dixon] on the floor at the same time,” Davis continued. “I’ve always said that I love multiple ball handlers. You can’t take us out of our offense. And with those two, with the way that Georgetown was switching defenses, we always had somebody that can handle the basketball and get us into a set and get us organized.”
That was the first time in weeks where Evans was playing with complete confidence and was not hesitant shooting the ball from the perimeter. As for Dixon, it was the second straight game the freshman guard played a monumental role in the team’s win. Both players have an opportunity to replicate that level of production on Saturday.
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