North Carolina juniors Jason DeCaro and Gavin Gallaher are a rarity in college baseball’s transfer portal era, and they have the Tar Heels two wins away from the program’s first Men’s College World Series title.
DeCaro and Gallaher have spent three years in coach Scott Forbes’ program, and they have served as veteran leaders for the Tar Heels.
“These guys that now have been in the program for three years, they do understand that we are going to do things a certain way around here, and we’re going to respect the game,” Forbes said. “We’re going to respect our university. You’re going to go to class. You’re going to work hard to get your degree.
“I was in the locker room, and I liked to think that (former UNC) Coach (Mike) Fox could say that by the time I was a senior, there were a lot of things that didn’t get to him that we took care of in the locker room. And that’s the mark of a great program and a great team if your players are doing that. So these guys have been doing that all season.”
DeCaro, a righty pitcher from North Port, N.Y., and Gallaher, an infielder from Apex, N.C., were starters on North Carolina’s 2024 squad, which went 1-2 at the Men’s College World Series.
“it’s awesome to be in this situation,” DeCaro said. “From the day that me and Gavin stepped foot on campus, this was always the goal, was to be in this game and to win it. So just to see where we came from, from freshman year coming here, last year, how we ended the season (losing in the super regional), and then this year, the journey’s just been awesome. Just excited that we have this opportunity to go out there and compete for a national championship.”
DeCaro, a first-team All-ACC selection, leads the Tar Heel pitching staff with 18 starts. He ranks second on the team with 93 strikeouts and a 2.31 earned run average.
He struck out eight and allowed just two hits in throwing a complete-game shutout in a 4-0 UNC win over USC in the super regional, and he followed that up by tying a season-high with nine strikeouts over 6.2 innings when the Tar Heels opened MCWS play with 6-2 win over Mississippi.
“(I was) just trying to slow myself down a little bit,” DeCaro said after the win over the Rebels. “We talked earlier in the week about how we’re taking it one pitch at a time. I feel like I did a pretty good job with that.”
North Carolina pitcher Jason DeCaro (29) throws a pitch against Virginia during game one of the College World Series Friday, June 14, 2024 in Omaha, Neb. Photo by John S. Peterson.
DeCaro walked three and scattered five hits while allowing two runs against the Rebels, keeping the Tar Heels in the game until they could grab the lead with two runs in the seventh.
“I just felt like his delivery’s been really good,” Forbes said after the Mississippi win. “I think every pitch is tunneling, what we call every pitch is the hitter looks like he thinks it’s going to be in the zone. So really, I felt like from the first pitch he threw until we took him out, he was in complete control.”
Gallaher has recorded 15 hits and 11 RBIs in this year’s NCAA Tournament, including driving in seven runs in three MCWS contests.
He put UNC ahead for good in the opening game against Mississippi with a seventh-inning single that scored Colin Hynek and gave the Tar Heels a 3-2 lead. His single came right after an offensive timeout and a quick discussion with Forbes. That hit was Gallaher’s first in Omaha after going 0-for-12 in 2024.
Gallaher broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh inning for the second consecutive game with a two-run triple in UNC’s 5-2 win over West Virginia in the winner’s bracket game.
“I just try to keep everything the same, stick with the routine and trust my preparation,” he said after the win. “That’s what can really keep you grounded. And it also helps having (Forbes) down at third base, just to look down there and he’s always got a smile on his face. Kind of takes a little bit of weight off your shoulders.”
Gallaher added four hits and four RBIs in North Carolina’s 12-7 win against West Virginia in the Bracket One championship, sending the Tar Heels to a meeting with Oklahoma in the Championship Series.
After playing his first two seasons at third base, Gallaher switched to second base before this season. He has committed just five errors at second.
“Gavin Gallaher is the definition of a baseball player — old school, can play all over the field, doesn’t care where he plays,” Forbes said. “He played two years at third, tough position to learn. Moved over to second, our middle infield. He’s been outstanding. We had him and Jake Schaffner at shortstop pretty much the whole fall. I told him he was playing second. He don’t care. He just wants to win.”
DeCaro and Gallaher will both have draft decisions to make about whether or not they choose to return to North Carolina as seniors after July’s MLB Draft. If the championship series ends up being their final games in Tar Heel uniforms, Gallaher said there’s not a better place to bring their UNC careers to a close.
“Yeah, we were here in ’24, ran into two good teams, came close,” he said. “And then last year, we’re one inning away from being in Omaha again, so that really hurt. So to be back here, win our first three games, be in the national championship, it’s something that, I mean, it’s truly amazing.”
